HotSpace Hospital Fire Doors

The project aimed to support the client, a leading specialist door manufacturer in the UK to develop a strategic growth plan, by researching their business and market position and identifying opportunities for growth. Three year goals were:

• Double turnover

• Maintain strong profitability

• Ensure sustainable growth

• Create conditions for significant outside investment

Through comprehensive market analysis, expert interviews and HotSpace data the following insights emerged:

FirstStandardisation is an opportunity:

• The NHS is moving towards standardisation to improve productivity and reduce complexity.

• This shift is often confused with cost-cutting but is primarily about efficiency and uptime.

Fire safety & doors are not top NHS priorities

• NHS stakeholders see doors as commodities, focusing on patient wellbeing (especially in mental health).

• Manufacturers faces confusing challenges in justifying premium prices for bespoke products as buyers would potentially pay more for more standard or modular solutions.

Market is misaligned with NHS buying behaviours

• Suppliers focus on specialisation counter to growing needs for interchangeable designs, multi-functionality and quicker maintenance.

Market is highly fragmented and unable to align around standards

• Hundreds of sub-scale manufacturers and service providers compete for contracts.

• Few have reserves to innovate and set industry standards

• The entire market would benefit from standardisation yet no manufacturer has stepped forward to set an industry standard going forwards.

Identifying buying trends and motivations

• Sources: AI-powered research across 60+ industry sources, including NHS procurement reports, government data, architectural guidelines, and interviews with key NHS capital decision makers.

• Goal: Determine what factors influence NHS buying decisions.

• Outcome: 8 spaces that drive decision-making on hospital doors.

Mapping the Market

• Sources: HotSpace review of over 260 door manufacturers and suppliers.

• Goal: Measure how much competitors talk about and position themselves in each space.

• Outcome: A ranking of how well the industry aligns with NHS demand trends and needs.

Finding the cold, cool, warm and hot space.

• Comparison: Comparison of the relative size of the spaces within demand and supply (HotSpace method).

• Outcome: Clear areas where NHS needs are not fully met by vendors—potential growth opportunities for the client.

🟢 Standardisation, End-User Focus, and Safety are the most influential factors for NHS procurement. SDS needs to align with these priorities.

🟢 The industry over-focuses on safety and specialisation but under-focuses on standardisation and patient experience, where NHS demand is strongest.

🔴 The industry is out of sync with NHS priorities.

🟢 The client had an opportunity to reposition itself as the door manufacturer that enables the NHS to keeps more wards running, helping more patients get better sooner.