Private Parenteral Nutrition business in Riyadh (Essay Sample)

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Marketing Report Phase 1 (Situation Analysis)
Competitor Analysis
Competitor analysis is an important activity in business management. Competitor analysis helps a business in establishing a position where it can maximize its values that distinguish it from others. In this case, the private Parenteral Nutrition business is expected to provide exceptionally good services to clients (Porter 48). This is a new business idea. It is the first Parenteral Nutrition private business in Saudi Arabia. The first business is expected to be established in Riyadh. The only competitors that the private business may have are the hospitals providing the same services. If hospitals decide to find other means of getting the service, the business may not have clients to serve. The business owner intends to convince pharmacies and hospitals to be their supplier of Parenteral Nutrition service products.
Market Analysis
Market analysis provides information about the opportunities and attractiveness of the business. If there are so many competitors, the business may not have enough shares in the market to achieve its goals. It may also mean developing strategies that will enable it achieve a competitive advantage in order to survive. This can be achieved by analysing market trends, segments, and market size and growth. In this case, it has been established that a private business offering Parenteral Nutrition is almost like a monopoly in Saudi Arabia and in Middle East. It only means that the market is unexploited. The reason why this market will be a big opportunity to the business is because of the current trend of Parenteral Nutrition private businesses in other countries and regions. According to Pradesh, parenteral nutrition is one of the fastest growing markets. This is attributed to the increased occurrence of diseases that need parenteral nutrition support. It is also attributed to the rise in the elderly population.
Reports indicate that Saudi Arabia is among the countries with increased occurrence of chronic diseases. Mokdad, Memis et al. and Alsayarri and Shabeen (240), all show proof of high chronic disease incidences. Memis et al. also indicate that another health problem in Saudi Arabia is the increased mortality rates due to preterm birth complications.
Empirical study on the Saudi Arabian population demographics indicates that the elderly population will increase to 18.4% in 2050. The current population decreased to 3.0% to 2010 (Memis et al.; ESCWA). Another source of information for the market of parenteral nutrition is the use of such support among neonates. In Saudi Arabia, preterm births constitute 12% of all pregnancies. Preterm births are also the second leading cause of infant death (Al-Modeer, Hassanien and Jabloun 54). These data shows that the market for parenteral nutrition is big and is expected to go up. These notwithstanding, as part of the global Parenteral Nutrition market, there are established reports on the increasing trends of HIV/AIDS, Gastro Intestinal disorders including short bowel syndrome, ischemic bowel disease, pseudo obstruction and Crohn’s disease in Saudi Arabia. This rising trend is a potential market structure in favour of the Parenteral Nutrition.
Saudi Arabia has a total number of 415 hospitals. There as 249 MOH hospitals, 129 private sector hospitals and 39 other government hospitals (KSA Ministry of Health Portal; Balkhair 14). The number of pharmacies in Saudi Arabia is also high. According to Sayel, pharmacies had increased from 6200 to 12000 in 2013. This high number of pharmacies is a likely indication of the Saudi Arabian nationals’ appreciation of the private sector clinical and pharmaceutical services. In essence, it provides clear ground for the prospective growth of my private business.
Customer Analysis
Customer analysis describes customers’ needs, preferences, behaviours, and how the proposed business will satisfy them. In this business project proposal, my target market is the health institutions within Saudi Arabia. Through the rising number of the medical facilities, I would establish linkages with the facilities as part of my marketing strategy in penetrating the market. Apparently, none of the medical facilities currently offers the Parenteral Nutrition services; thus, I would have an upper hand in providing a supplementary product through these health institutions. Parenteral nutrition is always given to patients with Mesenteric Ischaemia, High output GI fistula, short bowel syndrome, and premature babies, or babies with extremely low birth weight, among so many other conditions. Mostly, it is prescribed in conditions where the patients are unable to eat on their own or through internal means (Nijssen & Frambach 2001). Through the discovery of the mandatory need for parenteral nutrition services in every hospital that deals with paediatric intensive care units, neonates’ intensive care units, and medical surgical intensive care unit, the demand for this private service will automatically be substantial. Patients in these hospital departments will also form a viable market for the parenteral nutrition services.
SWOT Analysis
Strength
In this respect, through a market research for my project, I established various factors that would influence the growth of the business in Saudi Arabia. In my SWOT analysis I can reflect a prospective future for my business considering the more strength and potential that the business has in the region. The most significant strength that the business boasts is that it is a fresh project in an unexploited market. There is an already established market in Riyadh, and the business has a chance to expand to other areas in Saudi Arabia. It is a novel idea in the nation and this can also be its source of strength. Strength the owner’s knowledge and experience in dealing with Parenteral nutrition. Through my experience working in one of the hospitals, I have developed connections with patients as well as other service providers giving me an upper hand. Handling clients in critical conditions, most of them have developed trust in my services and therefore would appreciate my products as well. In addition, the influence I have gathered as the Medication Safety and Clinical Pharmacy Support Services acting leader, a TPN pharmacy manager, and an Enteral and parenteral nutrition task force co-manager would make it for me to market my product through the market easily.
Weaknesses
Despite the significant potential that I have in establishing the business, there is a lot of uncertainty considering the risks that will be involved, the cooperation of the customers, and the availability of skilled workers, among many more. The targeted hospitals may still not have the facilities that can support PN. It may be difficult to convince other pharmacies and hospitals to put up these facilities. The business is also expensive. To ensure high quality service, I must have a quality assurance department, highly skilled pharmacists in the area of parenteral nutrition, equipment and supplies, and a specialized room with all relevant equipments as well as the capability to control particulate contamination. In essence, I have not been able to establish the availability of the required personnel in this region. There is also the problem of creating awareness in hospitals about the existence of the business. It will require more capital to advertise and make consumers aware of its services.

Opportunities
There is an opportunity for expansion nationwide and regionally. This is because this market remains unexploited. Considering high risks of death associated with parenteral nutrition, my business has the advantage of providing high quality services and fast growth. It has the potential to attract more customers. One of the features of the customers is that they aim at the patient's survival. Anything that might complicate the current patient's critical condition will not be welcomed by family members of the patient, the hospital staff and the government. It is for this reason that the proposed business may have more clients. Take an example of patients dying from contaminated PN. Another example is a mis-prescription case where a baby died because a Parenteral Nutrition bag contained insulin instead of heparin. This business was proposed recognizing these problems associated with PN. This explains the focus on only qualified staff only, and the need for a quality assurance department.
Threats
Threats include well-established international companies such as Baxter that are currently dominating the world market. With their resources, these companies have the capacity, experience, resources and expertise of faster establishment as soon as they identify this untapped potential market. In Saudi Arabia, it is only in the hospitals that parenteral nutrition services are offered.
Another source of threat is the Saudi Arabian government. Currently, there are only a few hospitals providing the service. Parenteral nutrition is a delicate therapy that may cause life threatening conditions if not appropriately managed. If any mistake occurs in labelling, method of prescription, delivery, and compounding, then the patient risks getting associated complications. Because of these life threatening situations, the government may impose strict regulations on any private business. This is an uncertain factor in Saudi Arabia considering that there is no such private business already available. Strict regulations can affect the achievement of targeted goals.
Marketing Report Phase 2 (Objectives and Strategy Development)
Marketing Objectives
In my study of the Saudi Arabian Market for perenteral nutrition I have established that my new business has potential high risk and requires strategic planning and smart execution of the plans. My specif...