Roche Diabetes Care | My Assignment Tutor

Xiaowen (Debbie) Feng 26 September 2020 0Business Report:Roche Diabetes Care – AccuChekAuthor: Xiaowen (Debbie) FengXiaowen (Debbie) Feng 26 September 2020 1Table of Content1 Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 21.1 Overview of Roche………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 21.2 Overview of Roche Diabetes Care…………………………………………………………………………………………………. 32 Customer services…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 32.1 Roche customer segment……………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 32.2 Determination of customer needs………………………………………………………………………………………………… 32.3 Promotional strategies………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 42.4 Keeping promotional strategies up to date……………………………………………………………………………………. 42.5 Matching products to customer……………………………………………………………………………………………………. 62.6 Areas not met by product……………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 72.7 Competing alternative products……………………………………………………………………………………………………. 83 Consumer Rights……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 84 Recommendations………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 94.1 Helping customer to choose products………………………………………………………………………………………….. 94.2 Ensuring product referrals are relevant and matching to customer needs…………………………………….94.3 Maintaining ongoing pipeline of referrals……………………………………………………………………………………. 94.4 Maintaining customer records…………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 104.5 Report distribution and feedback………………………………………………………………………………………………… 105 Bibliography………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 11Xiaowen (Debbie) Feng 26 September 2020 21 Introduction1.1 Overview of RocheFigure 1 Distribution of Roche employees worldwide (1)F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG, a Swiss-based healthcare company with an international presence, is the biggestinvestor in pharmaceutical R&D globally (2). Hoffmann-La Roche encompasses three categories: Diagnostics,Pharmaceuticals and Roche Diabetes Care (2).Roche commits not only to solutions that are required at present. Harbouring a vision and mission to anticipateand provide what could transform and improve patients’ lives in the future, Roche takes courage and pride inputting this vision into action via collaboration, efficiency, diversity, and innovation, to develop solutions for thefuture (3).Xiaowen (Debbie) Feng 26 September 2020 31.2 Overview of Roche Diabetes CareLeading worldwide in integrated diabetes management, Roche Diabetes Care provides optimal support andsustainable care structures to people with diabetes, as well as those at risk, by working closely with healthcareproviders and caregivers (4).Using the brand Accu-Chek as a platform, Roche Diabetes Care contributes by providing all-round solutions inglucose levels monitoring, insulin deliverance and relevant health parameters tracking (4). One of their bloodglucose meters is Accu-Chek Guide, an innovative product that allows wireless connection as well asaccompanying vial that is spill resistant (5). That way, in the event of accidental dropping of the blood strip vial,the strips would not be wasted.2 Customer services2.1 Roche customer segmentA google search was performed using keywords ‘customer segment of Roche’, ‘roche customer segment’, ‘rochetargeted market’, and ‘roche business model’. In a nutshell, instead of retail customers, Roche primarily focuseson two major customer segments (6):• Healthcare organisations – eg: pharmacies, hospitals, clinics (6).• Laboratories – eg: clinical laboratories, hospital laboratories (6).Roche also receives income from royalties via licencing of its technology and products to other biomedicalcompanies, although this would only contribute to less than 5% of Roche’s total revenue (6).2.2 Determination of customer needsCompeting in the current commercial climate is not an easy feat given the presence of not just the sheernumbers of competing companies, but also the increasing ease for customers to search and compare similarproducts online. To survive these hurdles, Roche has implemented several strategies to capture the availablemarket.Roche’s sales and marketing team plays a pivotal role in this endeavour. Aside from providing comprehensiveconsultation and illustrating the various advantages of Roche’s products to the customers, they also:• Conduct market and needs assessments (7)• Develop strategic price concepts (7)• Perform market analysis and identifying emerging trends (7)Roche’s customer service team is the other important component in helping Roche to identify customers’ needs.As the old marketing rule goes, “it is approximately 10 times as expensive to acquire a new customer as it is toretain an existing one” (8). Roche maintains a focus on the provision of excellent customer service to ensure thecustomers have an enjoyable moment (9). Aside from maintaining good relationship with the customers,Xiaowen (Debbie) Feng 26 September 2020 4Roche’s customer service team also focuses on attending to various customers’ inquiries, problems, and needs(8).2.3 Promotional strategiesThere are various promotional strategies deployed by Roche to attract new customer as well as to retain itscurrent customers. Aside from marketing perks such as cashback system, Roche provides regular training toclient organisations, such as pharmacy salespeople, to ensure that they remain up to date with productinformation, thus able to effectively explain and promote products to end customers. Furthermore, Rocheutilises unique partnerships to further promote its products:• Partnering with various client organisations, including local authorities/government, to attend tovarious healthcare challenges (1). This allows Roche to better understand the specific needs of itsclients, and promote products that would best suit the scenarios.• Working closely with decision-makers to optimize cost adjustments to products, ensuring they areaffordable on a long-term basis (1). This allows Roche to price its products strategically, andtherefore able to not only attract new customers, but also to retain existing customers.• Collaborate with other businesses (eg: Senseonics) to combine their respective expertise toproduce better products (1). This allows Roche’s products to stand out amongst the competition,and makes it easier for customers to prefer Roche’s products over its competitors.2.4 Keeping promotional strategies up to dateBy creating products which involve an open ecosystem, as seen with their range of personalised diabetesmanagement solutions, Roche is able to receive ongoing feedback, and based on latest inputs from bothcollaborators and clients, continuously upgrade and improve its products to best attend to its customers’ needs(1).On the other hand, prior to rolling out new products, Roche would often trial them in pilot markets, therebyallowing local market feedback and fine-tuning, to better ensure that its products would be well received. Forexample, feedback received from the launch of AccuChek Solo micropump in pilot markets resulted in improvedacceptance of its integrated diabetes management solutions, including MySugr (10).Furthermore, Roche has included, within its workforce, employees that reflect their customer group, to helpobtain relevant insights to create products that would better suit customer needs, as illustrated by the followingemployee transcript.Xiaowen (Debbie) Feng 26 September 2020 5The steadily increasing sales figures, as depicted from the diagrams below, is a reflection that the steps thatRoche has deployed to ensure that its strategies remain up to date and relevant to clients’ needs is working.Figure 2 Transcript from an employee of My Sugr (one of the Roche’s diabeticcare software), who is also a diabetic (10)Figure 3 Roche diabetes care regional sales 2019 (11)Figure 4 Roche diabetes care regional sales 2018 (12)Xiaowen (Debbie) Feng 26 September 2020 62.5 Matching products to customerAlthough Roche diabetes care has a plethora of products to cater to various customer groups, Roche has takena step further on the basis that all individuals are different to move towards personalised healthcare, with anaim to provide tailored solutions to different individuals (14).Figure 5 Roche diabetes care range of products (13)Figure 6 Roche personalised healthcare (14)Xiaowen (Debbie) Feng 26 September 2020 7Given diabetes is a complex medical condition, an individually focussed approach would mean that diabetesrelated complications would occur later compared to the traditional generalised approach. Roche approachedthis in the form of an integrated Personalised Diabetes Management(iPDM) (1).In addition, with the increasing utility of electronic devices and increased access to high speed internetworldwide, Roche has also invested in electronic solutions to cater to the tech-savvy customer groups. Oneexample would be the release of Accu-Chek Smart Pix Online to replace its older Smart Pix, which offers a moreseamless solution with online connectivity (1).2.6 Areas not met by productRoche has a range of products in its portfolio, from those that contain high end features to those that wouldonly have the core features. It is of note however that their higher end products are usually more expensive andtend to be made with more premium materials, however they are not as affordable. By taking into considerationspending trends in different regions of the world, Roche can tailor its marketing strategies to promote theappropriate products to the local demographics.Nonetheless, with the advancement of mobile phone technologies, Roche has introduced innovative solutionsto bridge the gap between price and features. For example, by taking a picture with a smartphone, Roche’s AccuChek SugarView 2.0 can display blood glucose range without the need of a physical meter (1). It is of notehowever, this solution may not be well received by the older generation, which are generally less tech-savvycompared to the younger generation.Figure 7 Integrated Personalised Diabetes Management (iPDM) (1)Xiaowen (Debbie) Feng 26 September 2020 82.7 Competing alternative products ProductAdvantageDisadvantageFreeStyle Libre Sensor• Eliminates need to performneedle prick every time bloodglucose is measured.• Fast scan time (1 second)• Accurate results• Expensive• This system measuresinterstitial glucose ratherthan the conventionalblood glucose – there istechnically aphysiological lagbetween the twoparameters (15).Contour Next One• SmartLIGHT target rangeindicator allows instantnotification (16).• Second-Chance®samplingallowing re-testing to reducestrip wastage (16).• Accurate results.• Requires needle prickeverytime blood glucosemeasurement isrequired.Nova Max Plus• The same device can be used tomeasure both blood glucoseand blood ketone usingcorresponding test strips (17).• Only tiny blood sample isrequired to run test (17).• Testing lancets are thinnest onthe market (17).• Accurate results.• Requires needle prickeverytime blood glucosemeasurement isrequired. 3 Consumer RightsWith regards to faulty products and/or unsatisfactory services, the consumers are protected by the AustralianConsumer Law. Under the law, if customers received a product “that fails to meet one or more of the consumerguarantees, they are entitled to a remedy – either a repair, replacement or refund and compensation for anyconsequential loss – depending on the circumstances” (18).Where minor problem is found with the product, the seller can opt to replace, repair or refund (18). However,if the repair takes too long, and the customer is unhappy with it, the customer can choose to have the problemfixed by a repairer of his/her preference, and request reasonable payment from the seller (18). Otherwise, thecustomer can reject the good and request for a full refund or replacement (18).There are circumstances where the problem is classified as a major problem, such as:• Unsafe product (18).• Significant variation between received product and advertised product description (18).Xiaowen (Debbie) Feng 26 September 2020 9• The product received is unable to perform described or intended function and cannot be rectifiedwithin a timely period (18).• Product received has fault that if known, would have prevented the customer from buying it (18).When a major problem is encountered, the client can opt to either reject it and request for a full refund orreplacement (18). Otherwise, the customer can also choose to keep the product and ask for compensation toaccount for the reduced value of the product received (18).4 Recommendations4.1 Helping customer to choose productsAlthough Roche has a plethora of products, different products may be better suited to different customer types,depending on how much they are willing to spend and what features they need the most from the product thatthey are interested in. However, it would be a more satisfying process for the clients if the Roche takes aproactive approach to guide them match their needs with the most appropriate product. There are several waysthat this could be achieved.Firstly, one could build an online selection tool on their website to identify the most appropriate product tomatch customer’s needs, such as price limits, Bluetooth connectivity, spill-proof vial etc. Furthermore, one couldbuild a product ranking chart on their website, with options such as ‘most popular’, ‘from lowest price’, or ‘fromnewest’, to help customers shortlist available products that would best fit their preferences. Also, using a virtualassistant on the website, the company can obtain personalised customer needs and preferences to offerappropriate product suggestions.4.2 Ensuring product referrals are relevant and matching to customer needsThere are several ways that can be introduced to ensure that product referrals are relevant and matching tocustomers’ needs. Firstly, a flowchart can be made to guide customer’s queries in a systematic fashion. To makethis more user-friendly, this can be done in consultation with expert groups, and training can be performed toall customer service personnel so that they are well versed with the flowchart. Secondly, having several separatehelpline call numbers for different customer groups could help ensure the referral process is smoother andfaster. Furthermore, end of call customer surveys, as well as employee survey can be used to record helpfulsuggestions to improve existing systems.4.3 Maintaining ongoing pipeline of referralsA successful company should be up to date with customer requests, preferences, and suggestions from varioussources to improve existing systems and customer experiences. Externally, regular scheduled meet-ups withpharmacies and doctor groups would help understand feedback/complaints that they may have heard from thecustomers. Internally, direct customer feedback from end of call surveys, as well as regular employee feedbackXiaowen (Debbie) Feng 26 September 2020 10can be conducted. From these feedback, Roche can continuously update and improve, to maintain an ongoingpipeline of referrals.4.4 Maintaining customer recordsCustomer records and customer interaction histories are sensitive information and careful measures must bedeployed to ensure that they are securely kept. Firstly, a unique log file can be created for each customer to notonly limit access and maintain information confidentiality, but also allows continuity of service so that customersdo not have to describe their issues repeatedly if they have to make multiple calls regarding the same issue.Secondly, all information can be kept in a single highly encrypted server, limiting access of data to only therelevant employees. Also, cryptographic protocols such as Transport Layer Security (TLS) can be applied towebsite and company email accounts to increase communications security and privacy.In addition, regular meetings regarding customer information security and data-keeping can be organised toensure ongoing review of existing practice and make amendments based on latest recommendations.4.5 Report distribution and feedbackIf I am a Roche employee, I would distribute this report to customer service, IT, sales and marketing, as well asResearch and Development (R&D) departments.For customer service personnel, this report allows them to be better equipped with various product informationso that they can better provide information to the customers, and help them with customer queries in asystematic manner.For IT personnel, this report not only provides information on existing data security infrastructure, but alsocustomer feedback on website user friendliness, so that they not only have better understanding of existingsystems, but also be able to provide helpful suggestions on areas that can be further optimised.For sales and marketing personnel, this report provides them insights on current sales figures and trends, as wellas information on alternative products from rival companies. These would allow them to better plan futuremarketing strategies to achieve better sales results.For R&D personnel, based on customer feedback, they can better understand user preferences and makenecessary amendments to future models to create better products that would capture a larger client market.In addition, distribution of the report to the above-mentioned departments allows for mutual benefit. Feedbackand additional information obtained from the various departments will not only verify the accuracy of the reportfindings, but also fill any information gaps insufficiently covered within the report.Xiaowen (Debbie) Feng 26 September 2020 115 Bibliography1. Roche Annual Report 2019, viewed 26th Sep 2020,a70e-7266a363f856/en/ar19e.pdf>.2. John,M 2017, Roche touts Swiss-led R&D unit after years in Genentech’s shadow, viewed 26th Sep 2020,.3. Roche 2020, Our Purpose, viewed 26th Sep 2020, .4. Roche 2020, Roche Diabetes Care, viewed 26th Sep 2020, .5. Accu-Chek 2020, Blood Glucose Meters, viewed 26th Sep 2020, .6. Roche 2020, Careers at Roche, viewed 26th Sep 2020, .7. Roche 2020, Sales and Marketing, viewed 26th Sep 2020, .8. Roche 2020, Customer Service, viewed 26th Sep 2020, .9. Roche 2020, Service, viewed 26th Sep 2020, .10. Roche Annual Report 2018, viewed 26th Sep 2020,9cac-34097db9d3ec/en/ar18e.pdf>.11. Roche Finance Report 2019, viewed 26th Sep 2020,b98a-f6b62809221d/en/fb19e.pdf>.12. Roche Finance Report 2018, viewed 26th Sep 2020,4b17-a29b-246ac7e617d5/en/fb18e.pdf>.13. Roche Diagnostics Business Insights 2014, viewed 26th Sep 2020,.14. Roche Personalised Healthcare 2011, viewed 26th Sep 2020,.15. Abbott 2020, FreeStyle Libre Sensor, viewed 26th Sep 2020,.16. Ascensia 2020, Contour Next One, viewed 26th Sep2020,.17. Nova Diabetes Care 2015, Nova Max Plus, viewed 26th Sep 2020,.Xiaowen (Debbie) Feng 26 September 2020 1218. ACCC 2020, Consumers’ rights and obligations, viewed 26th Sep2020,.