Participant's Kit

LEADERSHIP PIPELINE BUILDER

CONFIDENTIAL

The content of this report contains sensitive information. It has been entrusted to you and should be kept in a secure location and viewed only by authorized personnel. Please do not write anything on this paper. All materials shall be collected after the assessment.

Participant Brief

The exercise is set in the context of Yagoona Pharmaceuticals Philippines (YPP). Through the assessment day you will play a specific role within the Yagoona Pharmaceuticals Philippines context and this will be highlighted for you within each exercise. You will be provided with detailed documentation on the context and issues that you need to address for each exercise. The different exercises will be presented below:

  • Board Presentation
  • Subordinate Exercise 

You will be provided with relevant background documentation for each exercise. Please note the following:

  1. Last year is 20YY-1
  2. Next year is 20YY+1
  3. The date for the exercise is: September 1
  4. In terms of your own background, you should assume that you are a newly hired Area Sales Manager for Yagoona Pharmaceuticals Philippines.

Note on the assessment process

Throughout the assessment process an assessor will observe you and take detailed notes. Do not let the note taking distract you. After the exercise, you will be rated against the relevant behavioral indicators for each competency. You are advised to get into the role of the individual you are playing. When you are expected to engage as a team, you need to interact with others involved in the exercise.

You will not be assessed during the breaks.

Instructions

Recommended Preparation Time (in total): 2 ½ hours

Please read the instructions on this page.

This document contains a series of notes, emails, memos and web page print outs all describing a pharmaceutical company, Yagoona Pharmaceuticals Philippines (YPP), which is in one of the prime business districts in Metro Manila. 

YPP is a fictitious company but is based on realistic data pulled together from other current or historical pharmaceutical companies. For the entire activity, you are to assume the role of a recently appointed Area Sales Manager with over 15+ years of working experience in various pharmaceutical companies. It is your Day 90 in your new role and in the process of learning about the company and defining your course of actions.

Your predecessor has left the organization for reasons unknown and is not available to you as a resource for further discussion. Your Business Unit Director had to make an unexpected trip back to the US following a family bereavement and is also unavailable for discussion this week.

You are given documents on your desk marked for your attention. These appear in a variety of formats including emails, letters, and reports, just as you would use in an office environment. Some of these items may appear to describe isolated issues, while others link to one or more of the other items. You need to review each item and provide an action. Prepare your high-level business presentation in PowerPoint format.

You have 2 ½ hours to read and work on the information being asked. You are strongly advised to spend the first 5-10 minutes reviewing the documents before considering actions pertaining to each item.   

Please note that throughout this case study, you will be presented with ambiguous, missing and even possibly contradictory information. Unlike real life events, you will not have much opportunity to collect further information or validate what you have. 

You must make reasonable assumptions and state what these are; it is important that we understand your thinking and reasoning. You are free to defer some decisions if you think that it is inappropriate to act on what you have. However, these materials have been designed on the basis that you will have enough information to progress with at least 80% of the issues. If you defer too much, too few of the issues will have been actioned; this judgment is yours to make.

For the purpose of this exercise, below is your schedule for the day:

The exercise begins on the next page.

Meeting with JB Salvador

Due to local economic difficulties and controversies, this year’s projections predict a significant drop in profits from YPP flagship drug – BoxTrol®. The revenue of YPP has relied on this product for many years. The company is now deliberating longer-term prospects of the organization.

Your Business Unit Director has asked you to review some key issues that your area is facing and put forward recommendations for progressing them. As a Sales Manager, your task is to come up with ideas for the strategic direction of the organization, which could be implemented over the next 1-2 years. Your analysis should at least include the following: 

  • Identify potential market opportunities and threats analysis
  • Competitor activities and pricing
  • Market shifts and sales trends/forecast
  • Feedback from customers
  • People development plans

Your objective to achieve by the end of the preparation time is to share your research and findings about the recent challenges of YPP and propose recommendations to solve them. You are invited to think creatively about this task; please collect as much data as the time allows. Discuss possible issues and concerns that may arise, and identify areas and ways to improve the performance of YPP. 

You will see in your timetable that you are scheduled to meet with some internal stakeholders. In addition, like a regular day, there will be some ‘crisis’ situations needing your immediate attention. The information in this pack is relevant as background information for all your meetings and activities, as well as briefing you on what is expected for your presentation. You have separate specific task instructions for each of the other exercises.

Company Background

Yagoona Pharmaceutical Philippines (YPP) was established in 1991 by Doctor Elvis Wynyard and Doctor Irene Pastor, who have more than 20 years of experience in organic chemistry.

YPP is the alliance distributor of Global Star Pharmaceuticals (GSP) in the Philippines. GSP is a global healthcare company with more than 60 years of leadership and innovative drugs in diabetes care. GSP emphasizes on R&D and is dedicated to technology development of pharmaceutical intermediates, process optimization and industrialization. Over 72% of sales are from markets outside the US. Manufacturing is across 5 locations, including plants in the US, China, Brazil, Mexico and Israel.

Global Star Pharmaceutical’s R&D center in the US, about 1,200 sqm, is equipped with advanced devices. The manufacturing site has an area of about 40,000 sqm and more than 40,000 employees globally. The facility runs based on ISO9001, as well as the latest quality management system. Key products include diabetes care medications and devices. GSP is also involved with hemostasis management, growth hormone therapy and hormone replacement therapy.

For the last 10 years, YPP has been recognized as one of the top players in the Philippines in the importation and distribution of high quality diabetes care products. The company flourished and became one of the most reputable companies in the area. It could penetrate the private clinics, government health centers, private hospitals, and regional health offices of the Department of Health.

YPP is a dynamic company, and through the leadership of Mr. Chris Ibanez, will continuously import, distribute and market select pharmaceutical products with efficient service to guarantee clients’ satisfaction and the community they serve. YPP has around 150 employees that all share a passion about changing diabetes, changing haemophilia and other chronic diseases.

MISSION

To deliver quality, cost-effective medicines to our customers through our people, technology and innovation.

VISION

To be the trusted partner in providing quality healthcare and excellent service to our clients.

CORE VALUES

Responsibility

A commitment to sustainability and to acting in an environmentally friendly way

Continuous Improvement 

 A commitment to innovation and excellence

Integrity

A commitment to doing good for the whole

Teamwork

A commitment to mutual success

Your Role

Your name is Ricky Bautista and you joined YPP as the Sales Manager. 

After finishing your 1-year MBA programme at INSEAD, you have been working as a Sales Manager at another pharmaceutical company before joining YPP. 

You have a strong scientific selling experience with a good track record in capturing opportunities to expand your business reach. You are a highly skilled leader with good interpersonal skills and enjoy working with various personalities. You like to challenge your team beyond the status quo. While your interpersonal skills are one of your key strengths, you also like working with numbers and data. 

Because of your strong performance in your previous company, the Business Unit Director has hired you as the new Sales Manager to lead the struggling team in the Poblacion region. You will manage a group of District Managers and help in improving the district’s performance in a difficult economic climate.

Although your Business Unit Director, JB Salvador, made it clear that he will be too busy to offer much day-to-day support, you do have his authority to take whatever decisions you feel are necessary. 

The Poblacion region has had difficulty finding a suitable person to fill this position since the previous job incumbent went on a long-term sick-leave (due to stress) last June. This situation has left several outstanding issues, some more urgent than others. Your director has asked for regular updates, so you are advised not to defer any important issues. 

Today is Monday, the 1st of September – your 3rd month as Poblacion’s Sales Manager. 

About the Region

The job as Sales Manager is in one of the prime cities in the Philippines, where YPP has more than 20 years of presence. With a strong support of GSP Global, it has established a strong foothold as market leader in diabetes care, haemophilia and growth hormone disorder. 

The Philippines has the fifth highest proportion of diabetics among emerging nations, a report in 2015 by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) revealed. YPP holds a broad product portfolio within diabetes and an exciting pipeline resulting from continuous investments in Research and Development globally to bring innovation to the market.

Assumptions on the current situation

  1. Innovative pharmaceutical companies will continue to face a challenging business environment in the Philippines. Many concerns limiting the sales of patented drugs in the country remain unaddressed, including the low levels of intellectual property protection. Furthermore, pricing pressures on innovative drugs continue to intensify as the government seeks to expand universal healthcare coverage while reducing government debt.
  2. Although an increasing disease burden coupled with prevailing high pharmaceutical prices are providing necessary investment incentives for the healthcare market in the Philippines, limited access to healthcare facilities and governmental cuts could yet impede further growth in the future.
  3. High spending to overcome basic economic concerns such as poverty have left the Philippines’ government with insufficient funds to finance the development of healthcare infrastructure in the Philippines.
  4. A preoccupation with generic drugs and low investment in research and development means that domestic pharmaceutical companies are at a distinct advantage when competing against imports from multinationals.
  5. While the time taken to evaluate new and generic drug approval is shorter than in developed countries, the application submission procedure is rigorous. Extra documentation is required, as mandated in the Philippines. This makes it more difficult for new products to enter the area and will subsequently hinder any further market growth over the forecast period.

Your Position

The role of the Sales Manager is to plan, organize, direct, control and lead the sales and business activities with the main goal of achieving overall sales and marketing objectives through efficient, effective, and profitable operations while adhering to the company standards. 

Your primary responsibility will be to lead, coach, and work alongside the field force to achieve overall sales ambitions and build a team with continuous strong capabilities fitted to the market challenges. 

Moreover, you will work closely with your Business Unit head to set sales strategy and direction for the Diabetes business, participate in the development of a portfolio strategy, and execute a sales and operations plan based on market dynamics, new and emerging channels, cost and pricing. 

You will collaborate closely with stakeholders in Medical, Marketing, District Managers, Sales Representatives, Supply Chain, Corporate and Key accounts to identify business opportunities, strategize, plan launches, implement plans and contribute significantly towards business performance and improving patients’ lives in the Philippines.

Profit and Loss Statement

 

Dec ’18

Dec ’17

Dec ’16

   

in Billion

Net Sales

21,100.60 

25,320.14 

41,150.56 

Other Income

765.98 

236.61 

43.36 

Total Income

21,866.58 

25,556.75 

41,193.92 

    

Expenditure

   

Employee Cost

3,740.71 

2,340.87 

3,160.56 

Selling and Admin Expenses

15,420.07 

14,060.14 

16,430.11 

Miscellaneous Expenses

310.92 

5,230.85 

6,950.56 

Total Expenses

19,471.70 

21,631.86 

26,541.23 

    

Profit before depreciation, interest, and taxes

2,394.88 

3,924.89 

14,652.69 

Interest

0.44 

0.44 

0.43 

Profit before depreciation, taxes

2,394.44 

3,924.45 

14,652.26 

Depreciation

690.47 

850.82 

750.72 

Other Written Off

–   

–   

–   

Profit Before Tax

1,703.97 

3,073.63 

13,901.54 

Tax

500.51 

1,460.48 

280.34 

Reported Net Profit

1,203.46 

1,613.15 

13,621.20 

INFLATION RATE IN THE PHILIPPINES

EAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC ECONOMIC FORECASTS

(Real GDP growth at market prices in percent and current account balance in percent of GDP, unless indicated otherwise)

HISTORICAL PHILIPPINE PESO RATES AND USD

Competitor Information

Product List

YPP has successfully marketed many products in light customers’ requirements. The main product – BoxTrol – is widely acknowledged by doctors and patients with diabetes type 1 and 2. 

These highlights do not include all the information needed to use the product. Full prescribing information is not included in this case. Moreover, other products associated with GSP and YPP are also not included. 

 

PRODUCT NAME

THERAPY AREA

DOSAGE FORMS AND STRENGTHS

BOXTROL®

Diabetes

1.2mg | 1.8mg

MYCOLATE®

Diabetes

100 U/mL, 
200 U/mL

BENZACOL®

Diabetes

100 Units/mL

ACEBOTEROL®

Diabetes

70% insulin suspension and 30% insulin injection

RANIDINE®

Diabetes

6 mg/mL solution in a pre-filled, multi-dose pen that delivers doses of 0.6 mg, 1.2 mg, or 1.8 mg (3)

Item 1

Verbally communicated by your Business Unit Director before he went on leave

Distribution Incident in 20YY-1

Distribution in the pharmaceutical system ensures drugs are allocated, transported and stored appropriately at all points where they are to be dispensed. 

In the South region, inventory records of public hospitals showed that stocks of BoxTrol™ and other products were intentionally oversupplied because government contacts received commissions for their orders. On the other hand, the North region is in shortage of the products they have requested. 

Your Medical Representative, Bobbie Yulo, for the South region is one of your key medical representatives in the group. He has been with the company for more than 10 years and has gained a lot of key accounts in the region. In fact, he is being eyed as a possible Area Sales Manager because of his performance. However, problems in distribution of products in his area were reported last year. Rumors have it that Bobbie was involved in the South region incident. Today, HR has informed you that one of his colleagues came forward to report the rumors spreading in his territory saying that he received a portion of the commissions from his government contacts.

Item 2

INTERNAL EMAIL

From: JB Salvador, Business Unit Director

Sent: June 3, 20YY

To: [You]

CC: Mia Lim

Subject: Welcome!

 

Hi Ricky,

Welcome to YPP! It’s great to have you on-board. Sorry I can’t be there to greet you – I know that you are a competent leader (with strong scientific selling experience) and that you’ll be a great addition to the team. 

As you know our top priority is to improve the North Luzon region performance. I trust that you will be able to meet with your team for monthly group meetings – an open forum for them to discuss business improvements. 

There are a few other points that I tell all new joiners to remember, regardless of their experience to date: 

  • Finance is closely monitoring our transactions and making sure we are following our budget 
  • We must not miss any sales opportunities. We are in an economic downturn so I know it is tough, but we must meet our targets. 
  • We all need to promote our company values. Ensuring that the highest levels of customer service are delivered in all operations. 
  • We must keep business expenses to a minimum! I know our clients are used to huge discounts. Watch out for this!
  • We are a team. As individuals, we all bring a range of different skills to YPP, and I’d like you to focus on building a team and developing our talented district managers

We can catch up once you’ve settled in – I know that there’s a lot on your plate right now. 

 

Regards,

JB

Item 3

INTERNAL EMAIL

From: Dorothy Pastor, Finance

Status: Urgent, CONFIDENTIAL

Sent: [Today] 1:35 PM

To: [You]

CC: 

Subject: Product Launch

 

Hi Ricky,

I regret to inform you that we will not allow your team’s request of P2.65M for the upcoming product launch and road show next quarter. As you know, the previous ASM and his team (now your team) incurred losses from their last product launch and failed to close from their client list (haven’t seen any ROI yet). 

Please propose another option.

 

Dorothy

Item 4

INTERNAL EMAIL

From: Mia Lim, HR Director

Status: Urgent, CONFIDENTIAL

Sent: [Today] 2:17 PM

To: [You]

CC: 

Subject: HR Issues

 

Hi Ricky,

The following concerns were brought to my attention regarding your team in the recent months.

  • Midyear Performance Appraisals have been delayed by a month.  These were supposed to have been submitted 1st week of July to make way for your one-on-ones with your District managers. 
  • Bobbie Yulo, one of our most tenured med reps, is a consistent performer, delivering his targets through solid relationships with key accounts. However, initial feedback from colleagues is that he is involved in the South incident. He has not attended any of our training programs and annual physical examination as well. 
  • Your team scorecard has been declining for the past four quarters. 

Your attention regarding the above matters will be appreciated.  We are counting on your support in realizing this.

 

Thanks,

Mia

Item 5

INTERNAL EMAIL

From: Bobbie Yulo, Medical Representative

Status: Urgent

Sent: [Today] 10:17 AM

To: [You]

CC: 

Subject: PCS meeting at 2PM today

 

Hi Ricky,

I will have a meeting today with Dr. Mike Constantine, the Chief Scientific and Medical Officer of Personal Health Care Hospital, at 2PM. He is ready to endorse our product to his medical team – renowned physician, educator, researcher… a major influencer in the diabetes industry!

It seems that he is also looking at our close competitor, Sultana. I learned from a reliable contact that Sultana offered a really good price of 45% less versus our BoxTrol! Additionally, their payment terms are longer at 120 days compared to us at 45. We normally extend discounts to our key leads but not this much. I’ve wanted to close this account since February. 

Can you help me? 

 

Awaiting your reply,

Bobbie

Item 6

EXTERNAL EMAIL

From: Dr. Mike Constantine, Chief Scientific and Medical Officer of Personal Health Care Hospital

Status: Urgent

Sent: [Today] 1:17 PM

To: [You]

CC: 

Subject: Personal Health Care Hospital Partnership with YPP

 

Hi Ricky, 

 

First, let me introduce our company. Personal Health Care Hospital is one of the largest hospitals in the Philippines operating over 3 major sites in the metro and more than 2,000 bed capacity per site, not to count our hospital, clinics and pharmacy affiliates all over the country. Having been in the business in the last 50 years, I believe we have established a very good image to all our customers and stakeholders. 

While I know you are barely a quarter in YPP, I feel I need to call your attention to a major concern, which has not been addressed by the previous Area Sales Manager. Last February, he and his Medical Rep (Bobbie) visited my office, offering a 30% discount on all products that we will get from YPP. The payment terms are also flexible at 90 days, and we will get rebate in cost if we pay in less than 90 days. They assured me that the offer is valid until I can finish my research about your products. They even offered a learning session for my medical team – but this did not push through. 

Last May 25, I have tried reaching Bobbie if we can push through with his offer. However, he said that the offer had already expired. Since then I had no visits or calls from Bobbie until late last week. He informed me that he would like to offer me a new package. I am now doubtful if YPP is taking this contract negotiation seriously. This is certainly not the kind of partnership we expect from YPP – one day you are very eager and then the next day you are out! I am sure Chris will be disappointed if he hears this. 

I will expect a reply from your team by the end of this week, otherwise I have no other recourse but to check other pharmaceutical partners. 

 

Regards,

Dr. Mike

Chief Scientific and Medical Officer

Item 7

INTERNAL EMAIL

From: Chris, Country Manager

Status: Urgent

Sent: [Today] 10:17 AM

To: [You]

CC: 

Subject: Supply chain management upgrade

 

Ricky,

We have an urgent deadline to meet on the proposed supply chain management upgrade. First phase capital investment decisions will be made at the end of next week and JB and I must agree in the next 48 hours whether we wish to pursue this or any other capital investment for YPP. I understand that JB is out of contact – we will put him in copy, but you and I must reach an independent decision. Please give me your views on the summary below, today if you can.

Supply chain management issues – quick summary

  1. Lack of coordination between our team including reps, DMs, storage facility, supply chain etc. 
  2. Accurate information across the entire chain at any point and at any location
  3. Instant access to real-time updates and alerts if issues are detected

According to our reports, lack of coordination in our team is a root cause issue whose existence aggravates nearly every other issue directly or indirectly. A question to consider, do we look to upgrade our operations so we can see improvements in our performance? Will it make quality/economic sense to do this?

I know you have very limited time and data to base your recommendations on, but, we need to focus on our most likely option and prepare the case for this. Please let me have your thoughts on these questions and your recommendation and rationale for strategic development/CAPEX by close of business today.

Chris

Item 8

INTERNAL EMAIL

From: Zach, Supply Chain Director

Status: Urgent

Sent: [Today] 7:45AM

To: [You]

CC: 

Subject: Drug shortages due to Hurricane Blanca

 

Ricky, 

 

Fyi. 

 

Nearly 30% of drugs manufactured in Brazil have been put on hold due to Hurricane Blanca. Those included are our critically important products like diabetes and growth hormone disorder. Only a small fraction of the power to the island has been restored, suggesting many drugs may not be fully available in the next quarter. It’s unclear when they are going to be able to bring production up to full capacity.

 

While I am still coordinating with our partners at GSP, please draft a plan on how to communicate this with your team and external stakeholders. 

 

Zach

Item 9

INTERNAL EMAIL

From: Jamie, District Manager

Status: Urgent

Sent: [Today] 5:45PM

To: [You]

CC: 

Subject: Customer complaints 

 

Dear Ricky,

 

We are receiving high complaints from our clients mainly influenced by the controversies in the past for our BoxTrol drug. I’ve included a newsclip below for your reference. Nothing has been proved yet but if this continues, I am afraid GSP will pull it out from us if we can’t perform.

With this, I am asking for your advice regarding my proposal to launch a learning session for our key partners and new market. We can invite doctors who can speak on behalf of us or maybe invite our GSP partners to send one of their product managers to be our keynote speaker? What do you think? This can set their eyes to us again. 

We just need a financial stretch to make this happen, Ricky. I know finance is a bit strict about this and is continuously monitoring all our expenses! But I am positive we can double our figures and catch up with our targets this year. 

I hope you can see the great advantage this can give us if we pursue this. 

Right now I am collaborating with the rest of the team on how to split the task so we can minimize some cost. 

 

 

Jamie