WEBINAR: Value Chain in Pharma – from a Problems and Opportunities perspective
Good evening colleagues. You may know about the work we are doing with PCN in building a number of interns as future leaders of the pharma sector. It’s a 6-month programme and you can see the profile for this inaugural cohort HERE.
They are going through assignments, peer team roles, online training, mentoring, employability skills, entrepreneurship development and many more.
Here’s an excerpt from today’s webinar with them.
Today (Saturday, 26 May 2018), I held a webinar with the inaugural cohort of the Pharmacists Leadership Stimulant Programme. Talked about the Value Chain in Pharma, from a Problems and Opportunities perspective. You can watch a recording of the webinar.
The value chain, as we see it at Advantage Health Africa is an 8-point chain of processes comprising Procurement, Logistics, Inventory Management, Finance & Control, People Development, Merchandising, Sales and After-Sales.
Needless to say, each point of the chain is fraught with problems. Many present themselves as opportunities to grow the bottom line of organisations. From financial and non-financial perspectives.
We took a journey through how the Elite Pharmacists of The PLSP need to set a position in an area of the chain that stands out. Ask yourself – which one bothers me the most, which one have I become aware of?
Aim to build up your understanding of that aspect. To do this, aim to see benchmarks – sample countries or peer organisation or sectors that you can study to learn how they deal with a similar or same issue.
Each Elite Pharmacist must see from the potential leadership capabilities in them and then learn to “own” an area or aspect, embracing solutions that exist or develop new ones through innovative thinking. No longer must we fold our arms or give up in exersperation as though nothing can be done.
Our healthcare system is waiting for a pharma sector that addresses key issues in a holistic and sustainable manner.
Examples of the problems range from procurement related ones (opacity, disparate providers, porous distribution system, poor reliability of recall process, inadequate information, minimal use of natural/medicinal substances as well as dearth of much needed medicines that become scarce at the point of need.
In logistics lies the issues around just in time availability, bar coding, tracking, traceability and tracking of medicines, RFID and packaging (especially for heat and light sensitive medicines), cold chain integrity and distribution to the interlands to make medicines accessible, affordable and at the right quality.
Inventory management requires astuteness and pragmatic ways to ensure inventory to sales ratios are efficient, to ensure overstocking and understocking are soundly addresses, consider inventory mix per community, provide line of sight to inventory using technology (think Smart Shelves) and simple processes, address pilferage, damage and wastage from poor handling of expiration.
Finance and control, from absence or non-adherence to Standard Operating Procedures (in similar way we have adopted GMP in drug production), use of internal audits and control for every aspect of operations for institution building and accountability for material and financial resources. More pharmacists need to study finance and control to serve an industry as sensitive as ours, where the nature of medicines are considered in decision making. Medicines are not common commodities.
People development issues, ranging from the culture of coaching and mentoring, creating career paths and aspirations are considered in depth to answer the questions in everyone’s mind – “what is in it for me”; fashioning win-win solutions instead of the easier position that favours one side over the other, consider motivation through role clarity and responsibilities. Problem of scaling training and other capacity development interventions (some Elite Pharmacists need to curate thousands of content for eLearning and dissemination), conduct people centered surveys to understand attraction or not of the industry as an employer of choice as well as creative means of rewards and recognition for the social nature of the role of pharmacists.
Merchandising may require Elite Pharmacists to specialise in interior design fundamentals that inform shop floor dynamics. They must master the art of ambience control, work with design experts to address why many many premises look tired and cluttered, cultivate best practices in display and use of access control and process management that .Ake’s it convenient for clients to engage pharmacists and carry out transactions. Merchandising issues have besieged the industry and the scalability of solutions makes it an attractive issue to explore further.
Sales must be approached from professional point of view. Pharmacists are not “Drug Pushers”! Clients must see value in the recommendations we make. Their urgent calls to the pharmacy must be met with care and attention to protocol that ensure we identify needs (emotional and logical needs), understand precedence and recommendations are made with clear treatment outcomes. Referrals must be more common, with healthy collaborative relationships with other care givers in the health team. Also, sales techniques that can be reproduced in any location need to be developed. Elite Pharmacists can make a mark here when they study what works and what does not work, not just for medicines but also services. I shared an example of my-medicines.com, as a shared platform for online orders and crowdsourcing via an aggregation of over 650 pharmacies across Nigeria. This is innovation addressing this aspect of the value chain. A problem solved and address access to medicines for the populace.
Finally, I drew attention to Aftersales. An aspect that seems to leave value on the table. An underrated process in the chain which, if properly harnessed, could lead to better treatment outcomes, address dosing and compliance issues, provide bespoke care and lifestyle interventions through appropriate content and generally make pharmaceutical care more relevant to the well being of those we have sworn an oath to serve. Elite Pharmacists must find solutions that are scalable and simple to use for client management. Study what exists and see from other aspects of life what is possible.
It all starts with seeing issues as opportunities. The Elite Pharmacists of the PLSP were urged to see their unique position as solutions providers, not to be dismayed or deterred by what seems like “it won’t work”. They should pick an area to focus and build or work with others to provide solutions. The world is awaiting their emergence!
Just do it!!
Abimbola Adebakin, Project Director
The PLSP
HAPPY EASTER
Welcome to a great new month, start of a fresh Q2, 2018 and yes, the begining of your journeys as Elite Pharmacists.
While the official announcement is in a few days, we at the Project Office will love to appreciate each person who applied for the Pharmacists Leadership Stimulant Programme (The PLSP).
You have differentiated yourself already by that act. You made a decision that we believe you will come.back to in months and years, with a lot of awesome feedback to mark today!
Next few days, we will announce the list of the inaugural cohort of The PLSP. We will also share via email your log in details if selected, your schedule so you can mark your electronic diaries, and then some guidelines for the first of the five pillars to kick in.
Look out for a group being set up on Telegram for announcements. You will be asked to join via a link.
Finally, gear up and set your social media handles ready. It’s going to get very busy very soon.
Happy Easter from all of us at Advantage Health Africa, (Project Managers) and the Assessment Team of The PLSP.
Abimbola
Project Director
The PLSP
Entrepreneurship Defined: What It Means to Be an Entrepreneur
Most simply defined, an entrepreneur is a person who identifies a need and starts a business to fill that void. But this basic definition provides little insight into the specific character traits and attributes that make a person thrive as an entrepreneur.
Before quitting your day job to pursue that idea that’s been brewing in the back of your mind, consider if you have the necessary constitution to make it as an entrepreneur. Here’s what 20 company founders and business leaders told Business News Daily about what they think makes a truly successful entrepreneur.
1. “Entrepreneurship is at the core of the American dream. It’s about blazing new trails, about believing in yourself, your mission and inspiring others to join you in the journey. What sets [entrepreneurs] apart is the will, courage and sometimes recklessness to actually do it.” – Derek Hutson, CEO ofDatical
2. “Entrepreneurship is the persistent progression towards an innovative solution to a key problem. It’s the constant hunger for making things betterand the idea that you are never satisfied with how things are.” – Debbie Roxarzade, founder and CEO of Rachel’s Kitchen
3. “At its core, [entrepreneurship] is a mindset – a way of thinking and acting. It is about imagining new ways to solve problems and create value. Fundamentally, entrepreneurship is about … the ability to recognize [and] methodically analyze [an] opportunity, and ultimately, to capture [its] value.” – Bruce Bachenheimer, clinical professor of management and executive director of the Entrepreneurship Lab at Pace University
4. “It is important to balance strong vision with a willingness to embrace change. The ability to listen, whether it be to the opinions of customers or employees, is also integral to success. While … you must have the confidence to make your own choices, it is still incredibly important not to become detached from the people whose needs you are trying to meet. – Tirath Kamdar, founder and CEO of TrueFacet
5. “Being an entrepreneur is like heading out into uncharted territory. It’s rarely obvious what to do next, and you have to rely on yourself a lot when you run into problems. There are many days when you feel like things will never work out and you’re operating at a loss for endless months. You have to be able to stomach the roller coaster of emotions that comes with striking out on your own.” – Amanda Austin, founder and president of Little Shop of Miniatures
6. “To be a successful entrepreneur you must have a passion for learning – from customers, employees and even competitors.” – James Bedal, CEO ofBare Metal Standard
7. “To me, entrepreneurship means being able to take action and having the courage to commit and persevere through all of the challenges and failures. It is a struggle that an entrepreneur is willing to battle. It is using past experiences and intelligence to make smart decisions. Entrepreneurs are able to transform their vision into a business. I believe this process is at the core of any true entrepreneur.” – MJ Pedone, founder and CEO of Indra Public Relations
8. “Being a successful entrepreneur requires a great deal of resourcefulness, because as an entrepreneur, you often run into dead ends throughout the course of your career. You need to be able to bounce back from losses if you want to be successful. There will be much more disappointment than progress when you first start off, and you need to have a short memory in order to put the past behind you quickly. It’s imperative to stay optimistic when bad things happen.” – Vip Sandhir, founder and CEO of HighGround
9. “Entrepreneurship is the ability to recognize the bigger picture, find where there’s an opportunity to make someone’s life better, design hypotheses around these opportunities, and continually test your assumptions. It’s experimentation: Some experiments will work; many others will fail. It is not big exits, huge net worth or living a life of glamour. It’s hard work and persistence to leave the world a better place once your time here is done.” – Konrad Billetz, co-founder and co-CEO of Offset Solar
10. “[Entrepreneurs] have to be people-oriented. Your business will die without a good team to back you up. Study management techniques, learn from great leaders, review where you’re succeeding and failing so you can help others improve. An entrepreneur has to be able to build a team that cares about their work, and to do that you have to care about how you create your team.” – Jonathan Barnett, founder and CEO of Oxi Fresh Carpet Cleaning
11. “To be a successful entrepreneur you need perseverance. Most successful business people or entrepreneurs have never given up on their idea. When challenges arise, they have found innovative ways of overcoming them. You must be able to adapt to changing economic conditions, and innovate and embrace technological advances to keep your customers engaged. These things take determination and a strong focus on the end goal.” – Stacey Kehoe, founder of Brandlective Communications
12. “Entrepreneurship is the mindset that allows you to see opportunity everywhere. It could be a business idea, but it could also be seeing the possibilities in the people that can help you grow that business. This ability to see many options in every situation is critically important; there will be unending challenges that will test your hustle.” – Preeti Sriratana, co-founder and COO of Sweeten
13. “Successful entrepreneurs … have the guts to take a calculated risk and the tenacity and persistence to keep going even when there are bumps in the road.” – Eileen Huntington, co-founder and CEO of Huntington Learning Center
14. “Successful entrepreneurs look past [the] ‘quick buck’ and instead look at the bigger picture to ensure that each action made is going toward the overall goal of the business or concept, whether or not that means getting something in return at that moment.” – Allen Dikker, founder and CEO of Potatopia
15. “Being an entrepreneur is ingrained in one’s identity. [It] is the culmination of a certain set of characteristics: determination, creativity, the capacity to risk, leadership and enthusiasm.” – Eric Lupton, president of Life Saver Pool Fence Systems
16. “Entrepreneurship is an unavoidable life calling pursued by those who are fortunate enough to take chances. [They are] optimistic enough to believe in themselves, aware enough to see problems around them, stubborn enough to keep going, and bold enough to act again and again. Entrepreneurship is not something you do because you have an idea. It’s about having the creativity to question, the strength to believe and the courage to move.” – Jordan Fliegel, co-CEO of DRAFT
17. “An entrepreneur must be able to accept failure. Everyone thinks they can accept failure until they come face to face with failing at a major thing that they have put their everything into. To be a successful entrepreneur, you have to be someone who is able to risk failure at the deepest personal levels.” – Steven Benson, founder and CEO of Badger Maps
18. “The journey of entrepreneurship is a lifestyle for many of us; we are wired this way and have no choice. We are driven by an innate need to create, build and grow. You must have an underlying positivity that enables you to see beyond the day-to-day challenges and roadblocks, always moving forward. You must also be a master plate juggler, able to switch between thinking, genres and activities moment to moment.” – Justine Smith, founder and CEO of Kids Go Co.
19. “Entrepreneurship is seeing an opportunity and gathering the resources to turn a possibility into a reality. It represents the freedom to envision something new and to make it happen. It includes risk, but it also includes the reward of creating a legacy.” – Maia Haag, co-founder and president of I See Me! Personalized Books and Gifts
20. “One must possess grit. The stakes tend to be high, the bumps in the road frequent. Remaining focused, regardless of the obstacles, is paramount. That said, being an entrepreneur means being in full control of your destiny. If that’s important to you, then all of the challenges associated with striking out on one’s own are but a small price to pay.” – Mike Malone, founder of Livestock Framing
Additional reporting by Nicole Fallon. Quotes have been edited for brevity and clarity. Some source interviews were conducted for a previous version of this article.
Read MoreTHE NIGERIAN YOUTH AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP
My son is now an ‘entrepreneur.’
That’s what you’re called when
you don’t have a job.
-Ted Turner (founder of CNN)-
The concept of entrepreneurship (as distinct from other forms of labour) was first established in the 1700s, and the meaning has evolved ever since. There are many descriptions of the entrepreneur, but the one we find most appropriate for our circumstances is from business expert, Peter Drucker (1909-2005): “The entrepreneur always searches for CHANGE, responds to it, and exploits it as an opportunity.”
Thus, every change (whether generally perceived as change for the better, or change for the worse) is an opportunity to the entrepreneur. As the British wartime leader, Winston Churchill, once said: “Never let a good crisis go to waste.”
An entrepreneur is that man or woman who actualizes his or her innate potentials to develop a character that is not dependent but independent. The entrepreneur undertakes a voyage of creating value by pulling together a unique package of resources to exploit opportunities. He or she has the capacity and capability to build something from practically nothing.
Innovation is the principal tool of entrepreneurship. Innovation and entrepreneurship both demand creativity. Creativity is a process by which a symbolic domain in the culture is changed. New songs, new ideas, new machines, new products, new methods are what creativity is all about. Creativity is the ability to make or otherwise bring into existence something new, whether a new solution to a problem, a new method or device, or a new artistic object or form. Creativity is the act of seeing the things that everyone sees, but making connections that no one else has made. Creativity entails moving from the known to the unknown – to a new and better reality.
The entrepreneur is a risk-taker (albeit measured risks), a man or woman who bears the burden of uncertainty, strikes out on his or her own, and through natural wits, devotion to duty and singleness of purpose, somehow creates a business and industrial activity where none exited before. Creative entrepreneurs possess high levels of energy and great degrees of perseverance and dedication, which combined with a willingness to take moderate, calculated risks, enable them to transform what began as a very simple idea or hobby into something concrete (and profitable).
The ENTREPRENEUR therefore includes any person who establishes and manages a business enterprise. This is the man or woman who owns a bookshop, restaurant, bakery, fashion centre, boutique, tailoring outfit, beauty centre, barber’s saloon, home catering outfit, business centre, shoemaker shop, car washing centre, photographer’s shop. Others include dry-cleaning, video centre, tele-centres, wholesale trade, retailing, coffee and teashop, hotel, production of bottled and table water, yoghurt, nail lacquers, fruit juice, etc. and businesses that may not as yet exist. These are all businesses, and each has a unique contribution to make in the development of the economy and society.
Entrepreneurship is what enables a small business to grow into world dominance. Think Microsoft: founded in 1975 by two young men, Bill Gates and
Paul Allen, operating from the garage of one of their parents. Today, Microsoft has a total equity of US$80 billion and 118,584 employees. Think Apple: founded in 1976 by three young men, Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne, also operating from the garage of one of their parents. Today, Apple has a total equity of US$119.4 billion and 115,000 employees. Think Google: founded in 1998 by two young PhD students, Larry Page and Sergey Brin. Today, Google has a total equity of US$104.5 billion and 59,976 employees. Think Facebook: founded in 2004 by five young men, Mark Zuckerberg, Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Moskovitz and Chris Hughes. Today, Facebook has a total equity of US$36.1 billion, 11,996 employees and 1.44 billion active users (a fifth of the planet’s population). Think The Beatles: formed in 1960 by four young men from Liverpool, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr.
The Beatles are the best selling band in history, with sales of over 1 billion units.
Think big; dream bigger!
Entrepreneurship means much more than starting a new business. It encompasses the whole process whereby individuals become aware of the opportunities that exist to empower themselves, develop ideas, and take personal responsibility and initiative. In a broader sense, entrepreneurship helps young men and women develop new skills and experiences that can be applied to many other challenges in life. Entrepreneurship is therefore a key priority area with the potential to stimulate job and wealth creation in an innovative and independent way.
The Nigerian youth can and should be a game-changer in the growth of the nation’s economy, wealth and job creation in a sustainable manner.
Going forward, it is to help foster the growth of entrepreneurship in the Nigerian
Youth, and thus contribute our quota to the development of the nation’s economy to the benefit of all, that this website, Nigeria Heartbeat (nigeriaheartbeat.com), will be posting a series of downloadable lectures on entrepreneurship and business in Nigeria, covering a wide variety of topics. The youth and the youngat-heart are encouraged to avail themselves of the opportunity of these lectures, which are offered at no cost to the user.
We wish you beneficial experiences.
Research by: Dr. Peter Agbugui
Edited by: Ian G. Udoh
for nigeriaheartbeat.com
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