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Before beginning to write the project, it is useful to develop a concise and clearly worded
mission statement that briefly describes your business or practice, what it intends to accomplish,
and for whom it will be provided. As new services are developed each should have its own
mission statement that is consistent with the overall mission statement of the practice.

 
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After reading this article the pharmacist will be able to:

`p J plain the purpose of this business.
`p xdentify core components of this typical business plan.
`p ifferentiate marketing analysis with marketing strategy.
`p escribe financial statements and projects of the business plan.

charmacists will be more likely to attain long range goals and achieve success after putting this
plan into action. Help determine answers to following questions:
`p oes the business plan meet current patient care trends?
`p oes the plan e pand the market share of the pharmacy?
`p oes the plan meet the pharmacy¶s organizational vision and mission?
`p Are the financial projections based on reasonable assumptions? oes the pharmacy have
enough reserves to implement the plan?
`p xs the plan based on realistic assumptions, factual information and logical reasoning?




The healthcare and pharmacy industry in the world faces ever increasing challenges including:
the launch of generics as brands come off patent; the future role of pharmacy in supermarkets;
the long term sustainability of the charmaceutical benefits scheme (cBS); and accessibility to
new, innovative medications on the cBS.

Jach business in the industry has a team of healthcare researchers who are e tremely passionate
about the healthcare industry and the challenges that face healthcare companies. Our healthcare
team has e tensive e perience working in the industry, including researchers who have worked
for pharmaceutical companies, x S and Government agencies.

To develop a business plan in this industry, loads of planning and its implementation is needed to
develop the path where lots of competition and restriction e ists. We will move ahead keeping in
mind the current environment that we face.
A well constructed business plan is the pharmacist¶s most effective tool for reaching long term
goals and achieving success with patient care services. A sound plan not only describes the
pharmacist¶s idea in compelling and convincing language, it also demonstrates that the author
has the professional ability and business competence to make the envisioned concept a reality.

charmacists without a business plan often start their services based on the presumption that ³if x
build it, they will come³only to have their businesses fail because of faulty assumptions. Those
who have the time to develop thorough business plans before implementing their services have a
competitive advantage and the fle ibility to change course efficiently if une pected event occurs.

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This section provides a brief description and history of the pharmacy¶s current business in order
for us to have a frame of reference for understanding how the service will fit into e isting
operations. We will have the framework on answering the following problems:

`p What are the pharmacy¶s physical layout, location and hours of operation?
`p What types of employees does the pharmacy will need?
`p èumber of prescriptions to be filled daily on an average?
`p ºist of currently offered products and services.


 
   

After summarizing pharmacy¶s current business, we should describe the proposed service and
how we build it upon e isting operations and strengths.

We will have to e plain what the service is, how will it be performed and how will it stand out
from others in the market place.

We will do market analysis, required marketing strategy, marketing plan, and financial analysis
to discuss the operations plan as well.

  

This can be viewed as a plan with a plan, answers essential questions about the market for the
proposed service. The first part of the marketing plan, the market analysis describes the target
market for the service and e plains how the service will be differentiated from the competition.
The second part marketing strategy describes methods to promote the service to patients and
other interested stakeholders.


  


This analysis should include SWOT method which assesses pharmacy in the e ternal
environment. Strength includes staff training or certification, a loyal patient base, high volume
location with patients having third party coverage for the service. xntangible strengths such as
e cellent reputation in the community and strong relationships with local physicians will also be
helpful. Weakness includes any barriers that may hinder the delivery of high quality service, low
employee morale, poor pharmacy design, workflow problems or poor third party payers.

The market analysis will provide information of unmet health needs that will be fulfilled by new
services. Analysis of pharmacy records will gather information about target market along with
certain conditions that customers have to come to pharmacy.

The market analysis should also identify other partners who have interest in planned services.
chysicians are an important group as they refer patients to the pharmacy.

   

This section of the research presents the pharmacy¶s strategy for promoting the service to the
intended target market. xt includes strategies for market penetration, business growth and
communications.

J amples of promotional activities that may be part of the marketing plan include a direct mail
campaign, special events or presentations as the pharmacy to introduce the service. Radio,
television and newspaper advertisements are other common ways to promote services.

Relationship marketing techniques are an important component of the overall marketing strategy;
it emphasizes the use of personal selling skills to inform prospective patrons of the features and
benefits of the service.

The business plan should include an accurate estimate of the anticipated costs for advertising and
promotional activities. ass media advertising can be a significant e pense. One simple
technique to enhance the results will be gathering information from new patients about how they
learned about the pharmacy service and promote those ideas.

 

This section shows the revenue a new service is e pected to generate from sources such as
consulting fees and product sales and anticipated e penses which typically include staff time,
marketing costs, rent, utilities, supplies and equipments. xt even projects a breakeven point for
the service.

The financial plan includes projections of revenue and e penses for 3-5 years after startup.
Generally it is best to use moderate assumptions and avoid inflated estimates that are unlikely to
be realized. The plan may include low, moderate and high estimates of revenue based on varying
assumptions for the level of demand.

To develop the financial section, pharmacists need to look critically at all potential sources of
income and the costs associated with their proposed services. The historical and projection
statements typically include:
1.p xncome and e pense statements, which show profit and loss for the business at the end of
a given time period.
2.p Balance Sheets, which are position statements that show assets and liabilities on a given
date.
3.p Cash Flow Statement, which shows flow of money and into and out of the business.

   

When estimating projecting revenue, they consider income from both product sales and fee based
services. Fee based compensation is another potential revenue source. xf cash paying patients are
a primary market, the plan needs to e plain the proposed fees and the rationale for setting them.
Service fee structure is also described as they may be segmented into sessions that can be
purchased individually or at a more economic package price for the entire program.

The plan should also provide information on the other potential purchasers of the pharmacy
service. Anticipated revenue from third party payers such as health insurers also should be
described as appropriate.

   

The financial plan should estimate initial and outgoing e penses for the service. This will help to
demonstrate the pharmacy¶s cash flow and adequate capital reserves until the service surpasses
the breakeven point. Briefly projected e penses in these general categories are to be included:

1.p Start up Costs: These e penses include the cost of training and any changes the pharmacy
layout needs to accommodate the service. Other start up costs may include new
technology and supplies.
 2.p Fi ed Costs: These costs remain constant as the volume of service delivery changes. For
e ample, a monthly newspaper or television advertisement would be a fi ed cost. xt also
includes salary, utilities, insurance premiums and building rent or mortgage.

3.p Variable costs: These costs fluctuate as the volume of service delivery changes. The
biggest e perience in this category is typically the cost of professional time for the
pharmacist who provides the service.

  

This phase should provide information on how the new service will be funded. xf the pharmacy
will need e ternal funding to start the service, we e plain how much funding will be needed and
for how long. xf the service is internally funded, such as by the pharmacy owner or profits from
the e isting business, we describe the mechanism and anticipated need for self funding.

  

The financial section includes a contingency plan in the event that the new service fails. xf debt
has been incurred to start the service, how will it be repaid? cossible e it strategies include
starting a new service in lieu of the failed venture, selling the company to new owners or
downsizing the service to curtail e penses. This planning gives investors confidence about
preparation for the management of the pharmacy in situations where the course taken by services
doesn¶t matters.

    

Key factors in small business failures say that 98% of failures result from managerial
weaknesses. A sound management team is crucial for success of a new venture; the business plan
should include a section that highlights the qualifications and e perience of the senior managers
who oversee the service. We describe the management team¶s role, duties and responsibilities,
previous e perience and successes and e plain how these qualifications relate to the
implementation of the proposed service.

Some business e perts advise entrepreneurs to assemble an e ternal board of advisors who meet
periodically to help the senior management team evaluate the venture and make strategic
suggestions for improvement. Also highlight the educational background and any specialized
training of key staff members to hand they key tasks related to the service.

 


This describes the process of service delivery and e plains how it will be integrated into e isting
pharmacy operations. escribe strategies in place to ensure adequate staffing and efficient
workflow, documentation and record keeping, adequate insurance coverage and compliance with
state and federal regulations.

xt also describes methods to regularly evaluate and continuously improve the quality of
pharmacy services. This section also briefly outlines the key steps necessary to implement the
new service and the e pected time frame for each step. The documented outcomes from the
service can be used in future marketing efforts.

^




Researching and collecting valuable information regarding business in pharmacy industry is very
time consuming and difficult to collect. We had to interview several people working in this
industry and various patients to get a view about how the business operates.

`p We have interviewed various business consultants as in to know how the industry works.
`p ifferent pharmacists are contacted to take a view the business profile that is needed in
this domain.
`p Various retailers and dealers were in action to give us the academic review of the
pharmacy services business and their business deals helped us understand that how they
operated the business and were in touch with the service providers.
`p charmacists helped us understand their required needs and what do the patients e pect
out of it and how their relations with the patients are helpful in developing the business.
`p edical Representatives were taken in account to detect the marketing strategies offered
by the competitors and how it helped them convince the doctors to prescribe their
services and products, and why developing a relationship with them in necessary in order
to develop reputation.
`p We also investigated the e isting pharmacy service providers for the kind of business
they operated, the e pectation that they have and the required efforts for the same.

We collected data from all these parties and forwarded it to business consultants in order to
get an idea about how the business plan should be developed in the pharmacy services
industry.





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We will see a competitor profile worksheet in advance to enhance our planning. xt will give us a
complete view of how is the industry like, what is the required importance of each function and
how can be e ercise them in order to grow rapidly.

  
 
 
èame of the competitor Competitor #1 Competitor #2 Competitor #3
ºocation
Service offered
arketing Strategy
xmage and Reputation
cricing Structure
Strength
Weaknesses

This strategy is the process that helps us plan and direct in an advantageous position before
entering into the business. xntegration of operational processes with other functions like
marketing and financial plans will support the goals and objectives on a higher level too.

Technology and human health are obviously critical components of the business. xt will help the
pharmacists remain competitive in future.

The business owners will be able to penetrate in the industry and grow rapidly as they will be
able to focus on demand and requirements and it will result positively because of the competitor
details that they will study. The marketing activities will enhance the customer base and provide
them desired reputation resulting in their success and also provide recognizable health caretakers
to the public.

Following this plan and the theory mentioned the business will easily differ in its projection with
similar inputs and similar investment plan as per the industry, it will help them develop a distinct
image and grow accordingly with focuses on humanity, health issues, loyal patients and
customers and they will incur growth in a desired way.

Following this the firm will be a stable and profitable entity and the owner will be able to
manage it easily and comfortably.





 
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