Situation Analysis- Pharma Industry
The retail pharmacy industry in Slovakia faced huge competition, owing to the presence of a large number of pharmacies [2005 pharmacies, as of 2011, or roughly one pharmacy for every 2683 inhabitants]. Stiff guidelines and directives issued by the Ministry of Health, wherein it was required that every pharmacy have a “responsible pharmacist”, and only one pharmacy be operated per license, led to the rampant mushrooming of the retail pharmacy outlets throughout Slovakia. Under such stiff competition, pharmacies differentiated themselves on the basis of cosmetic and hygiene product selection, and more importantly, the level of customer service that they provided.
The Sunpharma Group, a growing pharmacy chain, established in 1998, fell short on counts of customer service provided by their pharmacists and the soft skills possessed by them. Though the pharmacists had all the technical know-how related to the drugs and medications, they still needed some training when it came to serving the customers as the front-line people heading the pharmacies. Linda Dolinova, the Human Resources manager at the Sunpharma Group realized that the need of the hour was to train the employees to enhance customer service and support, so as to sustain themselves in the fiercely competitive pharmacy industry.
The pharmacists’ role no longer remained merely that of a technically equipped person when it came to medication; it was more than that. The role of the pharmacist was evolving, as the growing customer needs placed more emphasis on “serving” and “satisfying” customers, along with providing customers with advice and consultation as and when required.
Moreover, the retail drugstore format in Slovakia was shifting towards that of an open-space, self-service one, a deviation from the earlier closed-space format. Sunpharma had already gone ahead with and it generated favourable responses from the customers under its “Mystery Shopping” initiative. Sunpharma strived to live up to its
The Sunpharma Group, a growing pharmacy chain, established in 1998, fell short on counts of customer service provided by their pharmacists and the soft skills possessed by them. Though the pharmacists had all the technical know-how related to the drugs and medications, they still needed some training when it came to serving the customers as the front-line people heading the pharmacies. Linda Dolinova, the Human Resources manager at the Sunpharma Group realized that the need of the hour was to train the employees to enhance customer service and support, so as to sustain themselves in the fiercely competitive pharmacy industry.
The pharmacists’ role no longer remained merely that of a technically equipped person when it came to medication; it was more than that. The role of the pharmacist was evolving, as the growing customer needs placed more emphasis on “serving” and “satisfying” customers, along with providing customers with advice and consultation as and when required.
Moreover, the retail drugstore format in Slovakia was shifting towards that of an open-space, self-service one, a deviation from the earlier closed-space format. Sunpharma had already gone ahead with and it generated favourable responses from the customers under its “Mystery Shopping” initiative. Sunpharma strived to live up to its