Pharmaceutical Company Report

In certain community pharmacies, the sale of drugs and their dispensation does not always follow a strict approach as required by the rules and regulations of the pharmaceutical industry. This is probably because the laws that govern pharmaceutical practices have not been fully implemented in certain areas ("Six Tech Trends That Will Shape the Pharmaceutical Industry in 2013", 2018). However, in the hospital and medical institutions, pharmacies follow a more controlled approach to selling and dispensing the drugs. The pharmacists in these institutions have regulations and guidelines to follow. There is a need to have a system that can help manage such practices and ensure that proper pharmaceutical services are offered to the communities ("Recent Technology Advances Transforming Pharmaceutical Drug Discovery and Development", 2018).

This company produces active pharmaceutical ingredients (powder). The produced substances are sold to companies that manufacture medicines (pills) that we see everywhere in pharmacies (Mancuso & Grenada, 2011). Our main manufacturing product is called “Doxycycline”, it is an antibiotic that is used mostly to treat infections caused by bacteria. In the year 2014, there was an outbreak in West Africa which recorded a total of 28,616 cases and 11,310 deaths caused by the deadly disease known as Ebola. Unfortunately, at this day there still has no actual cure for it, however, the use of certain antibiotics against this disease has given patients some salvation by relieving their pain (Mancuso & Grenada, 2011). The management, therefore, saw it necessary that the pharmaceutical company adopts a new system that will help them increase productivity as well as diversifying their approaches in providing medical services across the globe.

Objectives The main objectives of this report are: • Discuss the role of the strategic manager in the planning and implementation of the SAP system. • Internalise the role of information processing in the company. • Understand the system requirements and prerequisites of the project implementation phase. • Study the structure of the information used by the company to make decisions and long-term objectives. The personnel interviewed included the respective managers, the supply department and the strategic and planning manager. Additionally, the survey of the pharmaceutical company was used to get first-hand information and a general overview of the pharmaceutical company. The main aim of the survey was to understand the general working of the pharmaceutical company and to access the structure of the staff members.

This was important as it allows the project to include the different modules that are necessary for the different departments in the pharmaceutical company. Moreover, internet research was another methodology used. This is necessary as it allows the development team to include all the requirements and specification of every stakeholder. • Description and analysis of the problem: This involves understanding the current system and studying its weaknesses. From the analysis, the development team together with the stakeholders can work towards arriving at a solution to the existing problem. It is the most important phase in project development as it forms the basis of the design and implementation. • Requirements analysis: The development team has to identify the conditions that have to be met within the environment.

During the survey and interviews done, several strengths of the pharmaceutical company were identified. They included: • The pharmaceutical company has a professional human resource that is dedicated to serving the needy in the society. The staff is comprised of a highly trained pharmacist and lab technicians that collectively work towards achieving the company's objectives. • The company too is well equipped with state of art machines and laboratories where the manufacturing takes place. This allows the company to efficiently produce quality pharmaceutical agents that give them an edge over the rest of the competition in the market. • The company’s products, even though quality, occasionally have extreme prices that may scare away potential buyers. From the survey and the analysis of the pharmaceutical company's operations, it was evident that the greatest weakness is the current system used to run the operations of the company.

It is a manual system that is generally slow, is over-reliant on paperwork and prone to human errors (Atwood, 2015). The SAP system to be implemented has to, therefore, take these weaknesses into consideration. In terms of their pricing, the company could maybe set their prices after assessing the market forces of demand and supply to avoid scaring away potential market. This is classified as a high competitive force. • Buyers' bargaining power: Hospitals and other medical institutions usually buy pharmaceutical ingredients in bulk. This forces the pharmaceutical companies to reduce their prices. • Suppliers bargaining power: The quantity of products sold by the suppliers determines their bargaining power. • The closeness of substitute products: The pharmaceutical company is quite distant from the closest pharmaceutical company that produces substitute powder and hence they have less competition for their market.

The manager stated that the pharmaceutical company produces specifically antibiotics product that also combats diseases (Háda et al. The demand for the product was high. Throughout the unfortunate event caused by Ebola, pharmaceutical companies around the world have to demand constant supplies for this antibiotic and which the company was one of the targets resulting in increasing of a great amount of sales orders. In order to increase productivity, management proposed a diversity of approaches and one of the most effective actions was to introduce SAP system for the purpose of managing all the product stocks and sales order (Háda et al. Moreover, the manager explained that the SAP system is intended to increase productivity and maximise on the profits.

This was to help the implementation team meet the specific requirements of each of the stakeholder. Summary of findings After the interview, the data collected was analysed and used to generate useful information that would help the implementation team during the entire planning and implementation phase. From the interview, it was evident that the current system used by the company is less effective and slows down the entire production process. The system is manual and prone to many errors due to reliance on human accuracy. The strategic manager revealed that the SAP system would be implemented using a waterfall model because: • It is easy to understand due to its simplicity • Easy to manage the development process since phases are completed simultaneously without one overlapping the other.

Techniques in strategic planning allow an organisation to identify and study its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats in relation to their field of operation. The main aim of information gathering is to identify the objectives of the company’s venture and to study both the internal and external environments that affect the firm (Mancuso & Grenada, 2011). The strengths and weaknesses of the company are as a result of its internal factors whereas the threats and opportunities are affected by the external environmental factors. After studying the different environments, the company’s management can then use the information to make appropriate decisions that will impact the operations of the company. The information also allowed the management to identify the threats that the company is potentially facing.

They also provide the company’s management with sufficient information useful in decision making and setting both short-term and long-term objectives. The IT systems certainly affect the company's growth and profitability. If well utilised, IT systems should help the company to expand its market and open up a new business venture. For effective implementation of the new SAP system, several components of the IT systems are required. These components will play different roles in the development process. Batch management: This module will be tasked with managing the stock in store as well as those ordered from the suppliers. The module will also generate reports used by the management to make appropriate decisions. Inventory management: This module will monitor the non-capitalised products and the stock items.

It is responsible for tracking products from the supplier to the company and later to the point of sale. To better understand these modules, below are sample screenshots of the SAP system. Therefore, factors such as increased revenue, effective customer service, quicker access to information and raw materials, are considered (Mancuso & Grenada, 2011). For instance, the SAP system can improve customer services by incorporating a feedback module on the website. This module will allow customers to give feedback and opinions concerning different aspects of the product. This will help the company better understand the market and the specific needs of the customers. Moreover, to assess the business value of IT solutions, it is imperative to calculate the Return On Investment (ROI) ("Return on investment falls for the pharmaceutical industry", 2017).

The framework adopted by this method takes into account the value of a current project or that which is in motion or the “value left behind” (Yapar & Inal, 2013). The value is then obtained as a function of the project’s scope and its ability to generate profit making opportunities. The main aspects used to asses the results of a project implementation are: The initial project cost: Here the cost of delivering the project is calculated as a function of the budget of the entire project. It represents the amount of money used in to implement the project (Yapar & Inal, 2013). The schedule opportunity cost is calculated as: Opportunity cost= Monthly Net Benefit X Period of the Schedule (months) The Enterprise Value: We use an OI perspective to determine the implementation outcome at the initial project level.

Scenario: User Registration/Login The following was the user story: As a user in the system, I want to be able to view the batch management site So that I may check available stock and also order more if the stock is completed. The acceptance criteria would be: Given the user accesses the login page When the user inputs correct details in the login page Then the software will open the batch page 7. Important management aspirations of information management Information management is a concept that incorporates aspects from different fields and thus organizations have to adequately train their staff on the essentials of information management and why it is critical to the organization ("Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry warns against Brexit", 2016).

Moreover, these firms need to formulate and adopt cybersecurity policies that will protect their information on the internet space. After choosing a specific policy and information management technique, it is imperative that they use a well-formulated strategy that they will use to implement the policy (Atwood, 2015). It is therefore upon the company’s management to compare and contrast the various types of security frameworks and pick the better option. The choice should be based on various factors that include; viability of the framework, implementation cost, support and maintenance costs, the effectiveness of the framework and adaptability of the company's business activities to the implemented framework. There are several reasons as to why the pharmaceutical company should abide by regulations set. One benefit is that the company will enhance its cybersecurity policy.

The regulation emphasizes the need for firms to prioritise clients' privacy and information management ("How the pharmaceutical industry is contributing to antimicrobial resistance", 2015). Technology officers are tasked with the responsibility of ensuring that all components of the IT infrastructure are properly functioning. They are also to offer support to other departments within the organisation. • Data governance: Analyses the integrity of the system data with an aim of ensuring data accuracy and accountability. It also covers database management, where data is stored for the purpose of analysis, report generation, and decision making. • Information security: Ensures that the stored information is well protected from any forms of cyber-attacks and unauthorised access. Such systems include SAP systems that incorporate different modules with distinct functionalities.

These modules work together to improve the productivity of the pharmaceutical company. They increase the processing speed which in turn leads to increased sales. A more productive pharmaceutical company means more sick people are attended to. It is therefore imperative that these pharmaceutical companies adopt more efficient management systems that will help them improve their productivity. Self-evaluation 3 While documenting the report, I used as many resources as I could get, to ensure I meet the set objectives of the report. This expanded my knowledge in the field of research and analysis. I was able to differentiate between data analysis and manipulation and their significance in research. I also learnt the importance of teamwork in achieving goals and objectives. This report gave me an in depth understanding of the practical corporate world and the market structure.

My best work is found in the summary of findings and the description of IT strategic system section. I attribute this to the many resources I used to arrive at conclusions. Appendix Bibliography Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry warns against Brexit. The Pharmaceutical Journal. doi: 10. 1211/pj. 20068073 Háda, V. , Bagdi, A. , Bihari, Z. , Timári, S. Hauppauge, N. Y. : Nova Science. Pharmaceutical Expert Advisory Panel says Brexit negotiations must protect the UK pharmaceutical industry. The Pharmaceutical Journal. html Return on investment falls for the pharmaceutical industry. The Pharmaceutical Journal. doi: 10. 1211/pj. 20202146 Six Tech Trends That Will Shape the Pharmaceutical Industry in 2013. He then outlined the main operations of the company, including its main product which is Doxycycline. He also outlined the company’s main objectives which he divided into two categories, long-term and short-term goals.