Acerca de sectores estáveis e demasiado homogéneos na oferta (parte III)

Parte I e parte II.
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Outro sector do mercado interno onde se pode aplicar a reflexão da Parte I é o da farmácia comunitária.
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Primeiro, por causa de acções de formação sobre o balanced scorecard que realizei em 2005 e 2006 para a Ordem dos Farmacêuticos e, por causa de alguns trabalhos de consultoria com empresas farmacêuticas em 2003 e 2007, escrevi algumas reflexões sobre o sector em postais como estes:

• Um caminho para a farmácia do futuro (2008) (BTW, 2008, antes da troika, do MoU, dos PEC, da austeridade... quem tem olhos que veja e não se porte como os "lesados" do BES)
• A farmácia do futuro (parte II) (2010)
• A farmácia do futuro (parte III) (2011)
• A farmácia do futuro (parte IV) (2011) 
• Mais subsídios para a reflexão sobre a farmácia do futuro (2013) 

Segundo, voltemos à citação da parte I:

"what steps to take when looking for a new way to compete in a relatively stable and homogeneous industry
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When you are in an industry where the firms are more homogeneous than the customers,"

Actualmente, porque ando a facilitar o desenvolvimento de um balanced scorecard para uma farmácia comunitária, acabo por, nas pesquisas na internet, encontrar textos muito interessantes, por exemplo "Designing Pharmaceutical Services Using the Multilevel Service Design Methodology" (tese de mestrado na FEUP). A página começa assim:

"The pharmacy sector has led a rather static business model for the last decades, highly depending on the sale of pharmaceutical drugs to ensure its economic viability. In Portugal, such business model was threatened with the decrease in the sale margins of pharmaceutical drugs. The decline in margins’ values which were implemented since 2010 triggered the average revenue from the Portuguese pharmacy sector to be negative for both 2011 and 2012."

Claro que este "decline in margins" obrigou a actuação, uns seguiram o caminho mais fácil, o instinto, o preço, o desconto, o "Grab & Go". Outros, o caminho menos percorrido, o do valor (volto à tese de mestrado):

"In order to face the loss of profitability and the low integration in the healthcare system, the pharmacy sector as a whole was forced to change customers’ perception of pharmaceutical services and how these can deliver tangible value to clients. Pharmacists are diversifying the settings in which they practice by expanding and upgrading their business operations while evolving towards providing services beyond the dispensing of medicines. In fact pharmacies are now differentiating in number, level, type and quality of services they provide, developing service offerings aiming at increasing their customer satisfaction.
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a new paradigm is emerging within the definition of pharmaceutical services which can be defined as “an action or set of actions undertaken in or organized by a pharmacy, delivered by a pharmacist or other health practitioner, who applies their specialized health knowledge personally or via an intermediary, with a patient/client, population or other health professional, to optimize the process of care, with the aim to improve health outcomes and the value of healthcare”" 

 O interessante é estar a abordar o desafio recorrendo à service-dominant logic, e ao poder da interacção, para co-criar valor, bem na linha de Gronroos, por exemplo:

E, depois, perceber que os especialistas do sector e eu andamos sintonizados. Em "Are YOU a “value-driven” pharmacy?":

"Pharmacy is the fastest growing occupation in Canada, he added. “This is a problem in an industry with an internal focus on costs savings and cost containment, where the only differentiation between pharmacies is based on price and product offerings,” he said.
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With value-driven pharmacy, however, the focus is from the customer’s perspective and pharmacy is seen as a consultative service.
In order to facilitate the shift to value driven pharmacy, a longitudinal focus is required. This involves focusing on the customer/ patient, seeing health not products, assessing what needs the pharmacist is satisfying per patient, and determining what the pharmacist’s job is actually doing for the customer. “Pharmacy should be practiced as a specialized service. This is where the focus has to change,”"

 Momentos de mudança exigem reflexão estratégica e escolhas!
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Continua.