Business summary:
The current topic is based on the Health care equipments and supplies in China. In such marketing cases, a detailed study has been made regarding the various medical equipments, devices and the names of the suppliers are required to be discussed. There are various medical equipments that are existed that help to diagnose the patients. However, there are certain innovation has been observed regarding the medical products like scanner and vein scanner and so on. A deep marketing competition can be observed here in this case due to various marketing strategies adopted by various companies and therefore, a good investigation is required in this case. A detail conversation is required here regarding the price fixation and quality of medical practitioners and a growing demand in this sector has been observed in China.
1.2 Business aims:
The main intention of this business is to concentrate on the growth of medical market in China and make a strong analysis on the market condition and its impacts on the business relation of China. According to a report, it has been observed that total revenue of $44.7 billion has been collected in China in the medical field and an annual growth has been observed in this sector. This has made China to hold the number one position in the Asian Pacific region and a clear 10% revenue increment has been observed. Therefore, it can be stated that the aim of the business is to retain this reputation and provide much concentration in this field.
1.3 Financial summary: for next 3 years
It has been observed from the above noted paragraphs that the future of the health care equipments and supplies in China is developing in nature and according to the market value forecast; the Chinese health market will earn a total value of $75,049.3 million by 2022. Further, the annual growth rate in this case will be 10.9%.
Further, according to the financial statement, the rate of Chinese expenditure on the medical equipment has been increased and it is expected to grow 12% in the financial year of 2018-19. Additionally, paying ability of the consumers is also highlighted.
1.4 Your business name:
Doctor MediEx UK LTD
In the world of medical equipments and supplies, Doctor Mediex UK Ltd is a bright name. The company has been incorporated in the year 2017 and according to the latest report; the company has able to retain its active status in medical field. The company has supplied lots of medical equipments with an intention to develop the base of the company and the market frontline of the United Kingdom as well.
1.5 Strapline:
This is a private limited company and involved in manufacturing medical and dental instruments.
1.6 Elevator pitch:
The organisational behaviour and operational activities of a company are governed by the elevator peach. It assesses the organisational goals and helps the company to determine a path for its success. The organisational interest of the company can be provided through elevator pitch and in this case, the responsible person of the company gives persuasive speech. Every company needs to sell its products and services and they are using elevator pitch to identify the goal and explain the activities and plan of the company. Further communication is possible through the unique selling proposition and elevator pitch helps to generate the process.
Why do you want to run your own business?
It is clear from various reports and statistics that the Chinese market is a profitable one for the medical equipments and suppliers. Therefore, professing a business in this field could be great option for any entrepreneur. There are certain necessities to start up a business in this field. According to the current study of the case, it has been observed that the Director of the company has an ample of knowledge in this medical field and he has pursued Master degree in Biomaterial and Regenerative Medicine. Further, it has been observed that he has trading experience for five years in the territory of China and it will help him to assess the needs and threats in the medical marketing.
2.2 Previous work experience:
In case of running a company, experience plays an important role and it helps to implement proper plan for developing the standard of the company. It is clear from the case study that the would be director of the company has worked for three years as a quality control manager in overseas company and he has an ample of knowledge regarding the medical markets of China. Further, he has conducted quality control tests and he has reviewed all the relevant documents concisely. All these things will help him to earn profit in the business. Additionally, the director has knowledge on the financial activities and legal processes that will help him to profess the business in China successfully.
2.3 Qualifications and education:
In case of every business, the directors and the management bodies should have the knowledge and experience over the business product. A director of a company should take decisions and implement plans for the development of the company and therefore, he should have proper quality for running the business. In this case, it has been observed that the Director of the company has pursued his Masters Degree on medicine from Sheffield University. Further, he has a previous working experience that could lead him towards success.
2.4 Training:
According to business management, proper training is important to develop the base of a business. Training helps to sharpen the business and organisational ability of the person and it helps the director to take appropriate decision for standardising the company (Alsadi & Al Sabbagh, 2015). From the case study, it has been observed that the Director of the company has good knowledge on the medical field, as he has participated in various businesses. Further, he has received certificate from the Google Digital Garage and he has learnt the primary knowledge to run a business.
Details of future training courses you want to complete:
In the aspect of training courses, I would like to learn about the knowledge about marketing of these products and further on the way strategies are made in order to suit the products with the needs of modern healthcare practices.
2.5 Hobbies and interests:
This chapter is quite important for assessing the eligibility of a person to run a business. Apart from the educational qualification, other soft skills are important and they will help the person to take important decisions and chalk out plans. The director has an interest to analyse the markets of various countries and assess their operational activities to know about the strategies of the companies. The communication skill of the director is much good and it will help him to make prospects for the company.
2.7 Additional information:
After completion of the learning outcomes,
I would to like to forward my resume to the higher authority of the company in
order to get the scope of getting selected in the company.
Section
three
Products and services
3.1 What are you going to sell?
In this company, the director wants to supply certain medical products and equipments and creative business plans have been implemented to this effect. Further, proper services will be provided to various companies that will create trust for the company.
3.2 Describe the basic product/service you are going to sell:
Various armamentariums have been produced by the company with an intention to grab the market position in China and creative plans are chalk out to monitor the medical treatment with zero side effects. Various equipments are there in the medical field and it has been observed that the present company has chosen to sell products like Syringes, needle free vaccination, vein scanner, medical consumables, disposable gloves, hand hygiene, face masks, surgical drapes, surgical suture, mobile aiding services and protective clothing. From these, it can be stated that much observation has been made by the director and the management bodies of the company and they have decided to sell those products after conducting market analysis in the medical field. Further, certain creative products have also been launched. Products like disposable gloves and needle free vaccination will help the company to establish trust in the medical market for the company.
3.3 Describe the different types of product/service you are going to be selling:
Syringes are helpful to collect blood samples, vaccination and inject saline. Further, needle free vaccination will help the patient to survive different diseases without any pain of injection. Scanning the body with an intention to understand the bone density and other internal problems is an important practice in the medical field. The present company has also thought to produce vein scanner and other medical consumables. Gloves are a mandatory thing in the medical field and the company has decided to produce disposable medical gloves to stay away from any side effects and germ. A good quality of hand hygiene has been produced by the company and there is much opportunity that these products will bring success for the company. Apart from these, various surgical drapes and suture are an important source of medical science and the company has taken serious steps in this case. Innovative ideas of the company have been reflected in the case of starting mobile aiding service.
3.4 If you are not going to sell all your products/services at the start of your business, explain why not and when you will start selling them:
From the above points, it has been clarified that the company has decided to produce a number of medical equipments and decided to supply them to various stores. However, certain medical equipments have not been enlisted in the company’s profile. Products like Cannula, Endoscope, Sterilizers, Otoscopes and so on. The main reason behind this is in China, the annual selling rate in the medical field has been grown and huge competitive environment has been observed here. Therefore, a complete analysis is important in this field and profitable and common products are required to be manufactured. All these have led the company to produce the above mentioned equipments with an intention to earn profits.
3.5 Additional information:
The products will be sold based on the
requirements of the healthcare sectors and therefore, those products which are
of lesser demand will not be sold so as to decrease the business cost.
Section four
The market
4.1 Are your customers:
From the above points, it has been clarified that the company has decided to produce a number of medical equipments and decided to supply them to various stores. However, certain medical equipments have not been enlisted in the company’s profile. Products like Cannula, Endoscope, Sterilizers, Otoscopes and so on. The main reason behind this is in China, the annual selling rate in the medical field has been grown and huge competitive environment has been observed here. Therefore, a complete analysis is important in this field and profitable and common products are required to be manufactured. All these have led the company to produce the above mentioned equipments with an intention to earn profits.
4.2 Describe your typical customer:
For the proper development of the business, it is important to know about the partner and a demography regarding the typical customers is required thereby (Wirtz et al., 2016). This process helps to know the customers and the future profitability of the business can be assessed thoroughly. According to this demographic, level of the target customers are required to be understood first. Further, a brief detail is required regarding the clients. The ability and level of the clients will help the company to increase the productivity and to certain extent, typical customer helps to conduct proper survey on the customers.
4.3 Where are your customers based?
According to various reports, it has been observed that the medical equipments and supplies market in China has been developed gradually. Therefore, it is important to create certain base for the customers. The main target of the company is to make a strong internal customer base and hence the company has implemented certain plans to make relationship with certain companies. Further steps have been made to supply medical equipments to the international companies.
4.4 What prompts your customers to buy your product/service?
There are certain fundamental needs of the clients and the companies are trying to maintain such needs to attract the customers so that they could buy their products. Every customer wants a friendly environment and an intrusion of product suppliers will help them to buy their products. The producing company should have to understand the needs of the clients and there should be much fairness in the dealing process. The company should have to provide various alternatives to the clients and should generate valid information to them.
4.5 What factors help your customers choose which business to buy from?
The Chinese market has become a competitive market for the medicinal products and various companies are adopting techniques to attract the customers. Therefore, the present company is required to make positive decisions to retain their position in the market. Certain factors are there that helps the customers to choose products and make proper market decision. The factors are name of the brands, placement of the products, packaging, proper and fair pricing of the products, and market reputation of the company.
4.6 Have you sold products/services to customers already?
Yes
If you answered “yes”, give details:
The company has set its products and chalk out plans to identify the base of the clients. Necessary plans have been taken in this case. However, the company has already started to sell its products to different companies. Further, it can be seen that the company has played an active role in this field. Product like Syringe, Vein Scanners are the most productive and exported materials to the different national companies.
4.7 Have you got customers waiting to buy your product/service?
Yes
If you answered “yes”, give details:
The company believes on speedy response and therefore, it makes positive approach to the clients and the customers do not have to wait for the products and services.
4.8 Additional information:
5.1 Key findings from desk research:
From the desk research, it can be assessed that in order to ensure growth of the business, it will be essential to create the brand awareness of the products such as syringes and others. This will help in making the local medicine shops and the healthcare organizations aware of the benefits of the products and moreover, the local customers will be also interested to buy them, due to the fact that these will be recommended by the individuals of the local medicine shops as well.
5.2 Key findings from field research – customer questionnaires:
The population and GDP of China is on rise, therefore; naturally there will be greater demand of medical equipments due to the fact that the number of medical shops and healthcare organizations will increase rapidly in order to serve the patients (Li, Zhou & Wu, 2015). Moreover, customers of China are also interested in receiving high quality medical treatments in affordable pricing. Therefore, if the focus is given on increasing the quantity of products and sold in an affordable price ranges, then there will be huge increase in the sales along with the fact that majority of population of the country will be also more interested on buying these products (Eckel et al., 2015). Along with this, the healthcare organizations will be also interested on buying these equipments in order to save their treatment cost.
5.3 Key findings from field research – test trading:
The findings of the field research suggest that brand awareness is going to be the key for the success of the medical products of the company and the focus should also be given on attracting the customers by lowering the price along with increasing the quality of the products (Huang & Sarigollu, 2014).
5.4 Additional information:
It will be essential to have a strong marketing team by which the marketing employees will be able to identify the demands of the local medical shops and healthcare organizations on their choices on the quality and price of the medical and dental equipments (Wilder, Collier & Barnes, 2014).
Section six
Marketing strategy
| What are you going to do? |
Why have you chosen this marketing method? | How much will it cost? |
| To conduct surveys with the local customers and to promote the products in the social media sites (Ireland, 2016) | This method will be beneficial in order to understand the perspectives of a wider section of audience along with understanding the strategies used by the competitors in the market. | $350+$150 |
| TOTAL COST | $500 |
Section seven
Competitor analysis
7.1 Table of competitors
| Name, location and business size | Product/service | Price | Strengths | Weaknesses |
| Abott Laboratories Chicago, USA | Development of medical devices | 25$ | High revenues | Tough competition from local companies |
| GE Healthcare Buckinghamshire, Great Britain | Medical technologies | 30$ | Operating in 100 countries | High competition |
| Siemens Healthineeers Bayern | Medical equipments | $32 | Wide number of product range | Limited to only a few number of countries |
7.2 SWOT analysis :
| Strengths 1. Popularity of the products 2. High demands 3. Lower prices | Weaknesses 1. High completion 2. Lower innovation |
| Opportunities 1. Expansion of market 2. Increasing demand of products | Threats 1. Increasing threats 2. Foreign companies entering the market 3. Changes in consumer behaviour |
7.3 Unique Selling Point (USP):
| Unique Selling Point (USP) The USP of the products is their lower cost and thus making it affordable for the treatment cost of the patients. Moreover, due to a wide range of products, the sales of these products are also higher compared to other competitors. Moreover, these products will be also available in high quantities through the market. |
8.1 Production:
Medical and dental equipments
8.2 Delivery to customers:
By selling them in the medical shops
8.3 Payment methods and terms:
By cheques and demand drafts
8.4 Suppliers:
| Name and location of supplier | Items required and prices | Payment arrangements | Reasons for choosing supplier |
| GD Pharmacy | Syringes, gloves | By cheques | On time delivery |
8.5 Premises:
The factory of the company
8.6 Equipment
| If being bought | ||||
| Item required | Already owned? | New or second hand? | Purchased from | Price |
| Gloves | Yes | New | GD Pharmacy | $60 |
8.7 Transport:
By trucks
8.8 Legal requirements:
Agreement between the two parties
8.9 Insurance requirements:
Insurance of delivery of the products
8.10 Management and staff:
Operation manager
8.11 Additional information:
The items to be
supplied should be delivered on time and the communication with the suppliers
should be maintained throughout the business. Moreover, backup for thee
suppliers should be kept at the time of emergencies.
Section nine
Costs and pricing strategy
| Product/service name | ||
| A | Number of units in calculation | 50000 |
| B | Product/service components | Components cost |
| C | Total product/service cost | 150000 |
| D | Cost per unit | 3 |
| E | Price per unit | 5 |
| F | Profit margin (£) | 2 |
| G | Profit margin (%) | 40% |
| H | Mark up (%) | 20% |
10.1 Sales and costs forecast
| Month | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | TotaL | |
| A | Month name | 4000 | 4000 | 4000 | 4000 | 4000 | 4000 | 4200 | 4200 | 4200 | 4200 | 4200 | 4200 | 50000 |
| Sales forecast | ||||||||||||||
| B | Product/service | 12500 | 12500 | 12500 | 12500 | 12500 | 12500 | 12500 | 12500 | 12500 | 12500 | 12500 | 12500 | 150000 |
| C | Product/service | |||||||||||||
| Costs forecast | ||||||||||||||
| D | Product/service | 4000 | 4000 | 4000 | 4000 | 4000 | 4000 | 4200 | 4200 | 4200 | 4200 | 4200 | 4200 | 50000 |
| E | Assumptions (e.g. Seasonal trends) |
10.2 Personal survival budget
| Section | Monthly cost (£) | |
| A Estimated costs | Mortgage/rent | 12000 |
| Council tax | 1400 | |
| Gas, electricity and oil | 1650 | |
| Water rates | 1500 | |
| All personal and property insurances | 600 | |
| Clothing | 400 | |
| Food and housekeeping | 500 | |
| Telephone | 160 | |
| Hire charges (TV, DVD etc.) | 300 | |
| Subscriptions (clubs, magazines etc.) | 250 | |
| Entertainment (meals and drinks) | 160 | |
| Car tax, insurance, service and maintenance | 170 | |
| Children’s expenditure and presents | 125 | |
| Credit card, loan and other personal debt repayments | 320 | |
| National Insurance | 640 | |
| Other | 100 | |
| B | Total costs (£) | 20275 |
| C Estimated income | Income from family/partner | 15000 |
| Part time job | 7000 | |
| Working tax credit | 900 | |
| Child benefits | 1000 | |
| Other benefits | 500 | |
| Other | 400 | |
| D | Total income (£) | 24800 |
| E | Total survival income required (£) | 4525 |
Cashflow forecast
| Month | Pre-start | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Total | |
| A | Month name | <!– /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:””; margin:0cm; margin-bottom:.0001pt; text-align:justify; line-height:200%; mso-pagination:none; mso-hyphenate:none; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:”Times New Roman”,”serif”; mso-fareast-font-family:”Times New Roman”; mso-ansi-language:EN-GB; mso-fareast-language:#00FF;} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;} @page WordSection1 {size:612.0pt 792.0pt; margin:72.0pt 72.0pt 72.0pt 72.0pt; mso-header-margin:36.0pt; mso-footer-margin:36.0pt; mso-paper-source:0;} div.WordSection1 {page:WordSection1;} –> This chapter is quite important for assessing the eligibility of a person to run a business. Apart from the educational qualification, other soft skills are important and they will help the person to take important decisions and chalk out plans. | |||||||||||||
| Money in (£) | |||||||||||||||
| B | Funding from The Prince’s Trust | 5000 | |||||||||||||
| Funding from other sources | 3500 | ||||||||||||||
| Own funds | 1500 | ||||||||||||||
| Incomes from Sales | 6000 | ||||||||||||||
| Other | 900 | ||||||||||||||
| C | Total Money in (£) | 16900 | |||||||||||||
| Money out (£) | |||||||||||||||
| D | Loan repayments The Prince’s Trust | 2500 | |||||||||||||
| Personal drawings | 1200 | ||||||||||||||
| Council tax | 1400 | ||||||||||||||
| Gas, electricity and oil | 1650 | ||||||||||||||
| Water rates | 1500 | ||||||||||||||
| All personal and property insurances | 600 | ||||||||||||||
| Clothing | 400 | ||||||||||||||
| Food and housekeeping | 500 | ||||||||||||||
| Telephone | 160 | ||||||||||||||
| Hire charges (TV, DVD etc.) | 300 | ||||||||||||||
| Subscriptions (clubs, magazines etc.) | 250 | ||||||||||||||
| Entertainment (meals and drinks) | 160 | ||||||||||||||
| Car tax, insurance, service and maintenance | 170 | ||||||||||||||
| Children’s expenditure and presents | 125 | ||||||||||||||
| Credit card, loan and other personal debt repayments | 320 | ||||||||||||||
| National Insurance | 640 | ||||||||||||||
| Other | 100 | ||||||||||||||
| E | Total money out (£) | 10975 | |||||||||||||
| F | Balance (£) | 5925 | |||||||||||||
| Opening balance | 4500 | ||||||||||||||
| Closing balance | 3525 |
10.4 Costs table
| Cost item | What is included and how you worked it out | Total cost |
| Computers | Backup devices | $900 |
| Telephones | Wires to connect | $450 |
| Internet connection | Wifi devices | $230 |
| Machineries | Warranty on the items | $2500 |
| Delivery vehicles | $8000 | |
| Surveillance cameras | Monitors | $1100 |
| Clothes for the workers | $350 | |
| Tables and chairs | $400 | |
| Delivery of food | $600 per month | |
Section eleven
Back-up Plan
11.1 Short-term plan:
The backup plan will involve storing all the vital business data in the hot sites and further, these data will be encrypted to ensure that unauthorized users are not able to access them at any point of time. These data will include information about the customers and about all the financial transaction of the company. Moreover, stocks of the medical and dental instruments will have to keep in abundant in order to ensure that sales of the products are continued in case of any interruption in the business. Even in the case of human resource, additional sales representatives will be hired in case if some of the existing employees leave the job, and then there will be no interruption in the marketing process.
11.2 Long-term plan:
Long-term plan of this business will be on conducting risk analysis on scheduled basis (Sadgrove, 2016). Moreover, the number of manufacturing units will be increased which will help in continuity in production even if one of the unit get damaged due to natural disasters. Further, an emergency operation centre will be created which will help in availability of the infrastructures and other business assets during the time of emergencies.
11.3 Plan B:
The plan B will be based on increasing the market of these products. For this, it will be essential to go through an agreement with local popular companies by which the collaboration will be able to bring in trust of the local customers and along with this, the marketing strategies can also be enhanced due to the fact that the local company will be able to assess on how the marketing can be conducted in those areas.
11.4 Plan B continued…:
In the aspect of expansion of the business, it will be essential to hire some employees of the respective areas who will be able to identify the demands and choices of the clients. Moreover, despite increase in competition, this plan can be beneficial as the local market will be analyzed far better and thus suitable strategies can be created with success (Tiorabi, Giahi & Sahebjamnia, 2016). There should be back up of different suppliers who will be able to deliver the required resources on time. Further, the number of local clients should also be increased and the company should not stick to only a few clients and this is because due to the rise of competition, there can be possibility that these clients get attracted to the products of other companies. Therefore, with the presence of enough clients, there should not be any such issues in the near future.
References:
Alasadi, R., & Al Sabbagh, H. (2015). The role of training in small business performance. International Journal of Information, Business and Management, 7(1), 293.
Eckel, C., Iacovone, L., Javorcik, B., & Neary, J. P. (2015). Multi-product firms at home and away: Cost-versus quality-based competence. Journal of International Economics, 95(2), 216-232.
Huang, R., & Sarigöllü, E. (2014). How brand awareness relates to market outcome, brand equity, and the marketing mix. In Fashion Branding and Consumer Behaviors (pp. 113-132). Springer, New York, NY.
Ireland, I. N. (2016). Quarterly Survey of Customers and Wider Business Base in Receipt of Support.
Liu, Y., Zhou, Y., & Wu, W. (2015). Assessing the impact of population, income and technology on energy consumption and industrial pollutant emissions in China. Applied Energy, 155, 904-917.
Sadgrove, K. (2016). The complete guide to business risk management. 4th ed. Routledge.
Torabi, S. A., Giahi, R., & Sahebjamnia, N. (2016). An enhanced risk assessment framework for business continuity management systems. Safety science, 89, 201-218.
Wilder, K. M., Collier, J. E., & Barnes, D. C. (2014). Tailoring to customers’ needs: Understanding how to promote an adaptive service experience with frontline employees. Journal of Service Research, 17(4), 446-459.
Wirtz, B. W., Pistoia, A., Ullrich, S., & Göttel, V. (2016). Business models: Origin, development and future research perspectives. Long range planning, 49(1), 36-54.
