Business Analysis of Galenica Management AG

Galenica Management AG is one of the retail business divisions of the Galenica Group which famous as the biggest pharmacy network in Switzerland. It contains around 500 of its own joint venture, in addition to some independent associate pharmacies, which serves for more than 90,000 customers in every single day. Galenica has turned out to become the furthermost essential formation in the pharmacy market of Swiss within the last few years. The company has gained the benefits of sturdy partnerships and also supporting the interests of the market industry throughout the forward-looking business models. Furthermore, Galenica has been continuously expanding its top position in the Swiss pharmacy market industry.

            The pharmacy networks of Galenica consists Amanita and Sun Store, which are the two popular pharmacy chains in Switzerland. In addition to this, the company has also operated as the Coop Vitality pharmacies, which is a joint venture with the Coop. Moreover, Galenica as well has become the pharmacy network of Win concept, its independent business partner, which operates under the brand of Feelgood. Furthermore, Galenica is a well-known retail business segment which covers up another different segment with Disservice, which provides its service of direct mail prescription drugs throughout the medication, and also monitoring the patients care at home (galenicare.com).

This paper covers a business analysis of Galenica, its size and structure, its legal form and property, its organizational chart, its interest groups and their expectations, its business strategy, its business operations, its market positioning, its developments, as well as its standards and quality management.

Interest Groups and their Expectations of Business Analysis of Galenica Management AG

            Galenica will hold its Annual General Meeting at six months before the end of financial year. On the other hand, some extraordinary general meetings will be held as frequent as necessary, depends on the decision made on the Board of Directors, or the Annual General Meeting, to meet the request from the auditors, or else the written request which comes from the shareholders who represents on not less than 7% of the share wealth encountered within the profitable register. Every single share will be recorded as a share along with voting rights inside the register of shareholders that grants the holder to an exclusive vote at the Annual General Meeting of Galenica. In addition to this, the entire shareholders of Galenica are granted as well with dividends, besides than have further rights pursuant to the Swiss Code of Obligations.

            A listed shareholder might be symbolized at the Annual General Meeting with a purpose to give a written supremacy of attorney by another different delegation or else the independent body to whom the instructions might specified whether in writing otherwise electronically. In addition to this, Galenicare has never established any rules that move away from the legal provisions relating to the presence of the Annual General Meeting. Moreover, a shareholder or a receiver with the voting rights would be able to register for shares, whereas, at the time it is included to shares that have already registered as voting shares with the name of purchaser, then it would not exceed 5% of the entire voting shares (galenica.com).

Charter / Philosophy / Strategy of Business Analysis of Galenica Management AG

Galenica has been performing a greatly active and competitive environment in its business operations. In a rapidly evolving healthcare market place of Switzerland, Galenica aims to frame out the future for its business actively. In order to achieve this, Galenica has been focusing on the improvement, promotion, and also management of sturdy pharmacy networks. Furthermore, the company has vastly turned out as the furthermost essential business partners for lots of the players in the healthcare market industry (galenicare.com).

History, size and structure of the company of Business Analysis of Galenica Management AG

            Galenica was founded in 1927 as the main purchasing unit designed for a group of 12 Swiss pharmacists. The original name of the company was Collaboration Pharmaceutique S.A. The company rapidly developed a sturdy catalog with an extensive range of items from and throughout Switzerland, in addition to the international suppliers. In 1932, Galenica has growth and extend strongly further than its original market place which led the company to shift its headquarters to Bern, and implement a new name, Galenica AG. The company has endured to add its range of products, and at the same time, Galenica also building innovative services for its pharmacist’s clients. By 1938, the company has encountered the field of health information with providing scientific documentation services to all of its customers. In 1957, the targeted acquisition along with the affiliate’s creation let Galenica to diversify into certain new areas. The company later on has also extended its expansion to cosmetic section. The company continued its lively business activities with converting into a holding company and also created its first public offer of participation shares. Yet, the shares are still exclusively acquired by the Swiss pharmacists.

            In the year of 1995, Galenica started to access a strategic business partnership together with Alliance Boots, which is the British-Swiss health group. This business partner took over about 25% shares of Galenica. Later on, in 2000, the creators of GaleniCare placed down its first cornerstone intended for the pharma chain. Then, in 2001, the entire business activities of the company within the information field processing were transmitted to a fresh founded company. In the starting of 2008, the acquisition process of the Canadian pharmaceutical company Aspreva Pharmaceuticals constructed the universally active, incorporated, and fully specialized named Vifor Pharma.

            In August 2014, Galenica was split up into the Vifor Pharma and also Galenica Sante divisions. Along with this situation, the long-term goals were also split into two independent and registered companies. Ultimately, in April 7, 2017, Galenica has been registered on the list of Swiss stock exchange as an independent business. Up till 2018, the number of employees who work in Galenica is 6,580 employees. Meanwhile, the revenue gained by the company at 2018 was CHF 3,165 million. Overall, Galenica is a corporation that doing the business activities in certain fields such as Pharmacies, Pharmacy Network, Drugstores, Pharmacists, Pharmaceutical Assistants, Health & Beauty, Healthcare Market, Pharma Care, and Careproduct (galenica.com).

Operation / Process of Business Analysis of Galenica Management AG

To get the further detail, the business structure of Galenica can be seen from the figure below.

Figure 1 Business Structure of Galenica

Source: (galenica.com)

Legal Form

Compliance and Code of Conduct

            A dedication to be obedience with the law, the compliance, as well as performing the business activities with integrity have been the most fundamental parts of the corporate culture for the Galenica Group. In addition to this, those fundamental parts also have been considered as a consistent performance of the company which always put a big focus of its corporate governance. The company places together a certain considerable value to do its business activities in a manner that highlighting appropriate ethic, and also in accordance with the legal requirements for the business itself. The compliance efforts which have been presented by Galenica are grounded on three main pillars which are prevention, detection, and also reaction. For this reason, the company has been conducting numbers of compliance training sessions which included the training on competition law at the level of Corporate Executive Committee on the company. The significant of recent data protection regulations was identified by Galenica as an external audit. What's more, the company has always been empowering a zero-tolerance method to any type of bribery and corruption on the portion of its employees, business partners, suppliers, or further ambassadors of third parties. The Code of Conduct of the Galenica Group includes the complete main principles in accordance with bribery, corruption, gifts, as well as any kinds of invitations meant for all of the employees.

            In addition to this, Galenica also requests to all of its suppliers to take part the efforts made by the company, with a purpose to achieve the sustainable development, and thus, the company has issued a Supplier Code of Conduct to support it. In fact, in the year of 2018, there were two e-learning training sessions performed with a topic the Code of Conduct and the protection of personal honesty.

Organizational Chart of Business Analysis of Galenica Management AG

The organizational chart of Galenica can be seen as the figure below:

Figure 2 Organizational chart of Galenica

Source: (galenica.com)

Financial Condition of Galenica

Consolidated statement of financial position of GalenicaSource: (galenica.com)

Other income

Source: (galenica.com)

Source: (galenica.com)

Personnel Costs

Source: (galenica.com)

Source: (galenica.com)

Source: (galenica.com)

Other Operating Costs

Source: (galenica.com)

Positioning on the market and Economic influence

As we can see from the business structure on Figure 1 above, Galenica has devided its business operations into three sectors which are retail, products & brands, as well as services. The strategy of these three business sectors are explained as below (galenica.com).

Retail

            The Retail sector in Galenica provides an exclusive range of both products and services in Switzerland’s biggest network of domestic established pharmacies, and also online. In the context of local pharmacy, trust, advice, along with a competence are the priorities which supported by the capability to look forward for new trends and innovations. The retail sector systematically uses prospective synergies towards both efficiency and quality. The company believes that, by doing this, the company will able to create the added value for the customers, the business partners, and the company itself (galenica.com).

            To achieve the main goals, the Retail sector in Galenica has made its strategic priorities such as mentioned below:

·         Gives a huge focus on the customer service by some new services, customized offerings, innovative own brands along with a persuasive presence for the entire formats of pharmacy

·         Creates a flexible and lean organization by taking a benefit of synergies in procurement, the management of product range, and also the entire services meant for compensating the ongoing prices reductions authorized by the legal authorities

·         Promotes both organic and also inorganic development  by extending the network thru the acquisition of both own and independent pharmacy business partners.

Products & Brands

            The Products & Brands sector has been considered as the fundamental driver of growth for Galenica. The reason is due to the Products & Brands sector develops and distributes both own and partners’ customer brands and products meant for all of the retail specialist trades which located in Switzerland. This is assisted with a different sales group which consist expert people in purchasing, sales promotion, customer advice, along with highly qualified professionals who perform the training sessions in customer-specific (galenica.com).

The strategic priorities made for the Products & Brands sector of Galenica are as follow:

·         Maintain the leadership of the top Over the Counter or OTC classes by giving a big focus for the products of coughs, pain, cold, rhinitis, supplements, minerals, and also wound treatment

·         Consolidate and other development share of the customer healthcare market industry of pharmacies, as well as drugstores whole across Switzerland, and also shaping up the strong business partnerships along with added-value services

·         Extend the branded business to enter the new zones, besides than developing some related capabilities.

Services

            As a big company that famous as a leading business partner of all the members in the healthcare market place in Switzerland, the Services sector offers its support with incorporated logistics together with IT solutions from an exclusive source. Throughout its exclusive knowledge and experience, the Services sector of Galenica consolidates its leading market position, as well as cost leadership with the help of its best-quality services and various innovative offerings (galenica.com).

In order to achieve the main goals, the Services sector in Galenica has made its strategic priorities such as mentioned below:

·         Strengthens the customer competitiveness with presenting high-quality of services along with the innovative and tailored offerings

·         Packs the whole competences as both pre-wholesaler and also wholesaler for the suppliers and customers

·         Enhances the efficiency by doing the efforts to optimize the processes

·         Improves the trend-setting of e-health offerings which conducted in the Swiss healthcare market industry

·         Promote the development organically together with the extension of the customers portfolio throughout both pharmacies and physicians, as well as by carry on a service of direct deliveries come from the manufacturer

Market positioning of Business Analysis of Galenica Management AG

            The Galenica Group has been consolidating net sales by  to CHF 3,359.4 million in the year of 2013, within a market place setting that characterized by strong competition and constant strain on prices which occurred in a variety of markets. The entire business sectors have created excellent development on significant ventures (viforpharma.com). In addition to this, Galenica has been considered as a diversified set lively all the way through the healthcare market industry which, along with other things, expansions, produces and markets pharmaceutical products, runs pharmacies, offers logistical as well as database services and also sets up networks. The Galenica Group seems really enjoy its leading position within its entire business sectors. In fact, as part of its business strategy to set up its presence in the main European market industries, Galenica will obtain  of Sweden's Renapharma, which is their Nordic business partner located in Uppsala. Renapharma has a specialization in the context of medicines sales for iron shortage therapy. The company also has ranked as a leading market place in Scandinavia for a few years (lifepr.de). 

Into the middle of the first decade of the 2000s, Galenica has bolstered its distribution business operations as well in preparation procedures intended for the subsequent stage within the company's improvement. In the year of 2005, Galenica also has agreed to reorganize its pre-wholesaling business partnership with Alliance UniChem. As part of the contract, Galenica has transferred its share of the Alloga pre-wholesaling unit's global business operations to Alliance UniChem. In replace, Galenica has gained full control of the Allogra business operations inside of Switzerland.

Galenica also has moved to coagulate its retail network. In fact, in the year of 2005, the company has made a decision to merge its two retail networks, which are GaleniCare and Victoria, into a single, nationwide operating brand, named with Amavita. Established in September of the same year, the revolution was for the most part accomplished by the conclusion of 2005. Galenica, at that moment, also started to seek for the next target on behalf of its distribution network's development. As a consequence, by 2006, the company had acquired about  stake within Unione Farmaceutica Distribuzione (UFD); in September of the same year, and the company has also agreed to move up its stake in UFD up to 7t. In this technique, Galenica has established itself as the top leading pharmaceuticals distribution company in complete three Swiss-language regions (encyclopedia.com).

Key Strengths and Developments of Business Analysis of Galenica Management AG

Sustainability is an essential part of Galenica corporate management, which grounded on the principle that both practical and responsible activities will able to contribute substantially to the company’s long-term achievement in addition to have an optimistic and positive influence on the company, from both internally and externally. This assurance is represented within the three main sustainability management standards which created by the Galenica Group. Along with the support of the Corporate Executive Committee, the company creates a fundamental part of the Group’s corporate culture which mentioned as below:

·         Constant enhance of stakeholder value all the way through the sustainable practices;

·         Back-up of staff to perform their duty in a responsible and entrepreneurial way;

·         Enlarge the competence of resource management, for the most part in energy employment.

These main and essential goals make possible for Galenica to augment its competence along with its capability intended for innovation, and for that reason, its competitiveness presented by motivating and inspiring the employees’ awareness. On a regular basis, continuing switch over with a variety of stakeholders also supports the company to maintain the Group’s strong status. Furthermore, the Galenica Group has been always updating its entire stakeholders in relation to its sustainability strategy and business activities on a twelve-monthly basis in the structure of a Sustainability Report (galenica.com).

The Company Perspective of Business Analysis of Galenica Management AG

The Galenica group has been following a policy of sustainable expansion and, as a consequence, the company able to create long-term advantages intended for the patients, its business partners, its shareholders, as well as its staff. With a huge support of its far-sightedness, the board of directors, in addition to the corporate executive committee, the company has been success and able to anticipate the trends in the pharmacy market industry, mull over up the chances along with risks, and also steer up the complete group towards a successful prospect in the future (encyclopedia.com).