Research and increasing the competitiveness of pharmaceutical companies under the conditions of development cooperation between Ukraine and Canada
Students Name: Kordiuk Khrystyna Yuriivna
Qualification Level: magister
Speciality: International Business
Institute: Institute of Economics and Management
Mode of Study: full
Academic Year: 2024-2025 н.р.
Language of Defence: англійська
Abstract: Competitiveness is defined as a key factor in assessing progress. The World Economic Forum outlines the significance of competitiveness as a combination of institutions, policies, and factors that determine the level of productivity [1]. In other words, competitiveness is the ability of a particular product, item, or entity to compete in the market. Taking a pharmacy as an example, this means that a certain pharmacy will be more attractive to consumers than another. Customers choose a company based on elements of competitiveness. These include brand trust, service level, quality, price (the lower the price, the more attractive the item becomes), accessibility, innovation, and others. Since this topic is quite important, there are numerous articles where authors describe possible ways to enhance competitive advantages in the pharmaceutical sector. Looking at the pharmaceutical production market, one can imagine that by 2050, there will be a continued merger of large companies, leading to the creation of entirely new corporations with much stronger research bases [2]. The subject of the research is the LLC “Dekada-2000”. The main activity of the company is the retail trade of pharmaceutical products. The firm is actively developing, so it, like others, needs to improve its service delivery processes to compete in the Ukrainian market. Cooperation between Ukraine and Canada in this field can provide numerous options, such as: improving employee qualifications abroad, exchanging experiences, and importing pharmaceutical products to enhance product diversity. The focus of the research is to find a comprehensive measure to enhance the competitiveness of the Ukrainian pharmaceutical company. The primary goal of this master’s thesis is to study and understand how the domestic pharmaceutical market operates, its characteristics, evaluate regulatory documents, assess international economic relations between Ukraine and Canada, and analyze the increase in return on equity at the enterprise. Regarding the countries under study, Canada has an exceptionally well-developed pharmaceutical industry, one of the best in the world. The country is home to many well-known companies in this sector, with the most prominent among them being Johnson & Johnson, Teva Canada, Sanofi, Pfizer, Novartis AG, Roche, Bristol Myers Squibb, and others [3]. Pharmaceutical sales in Canada account for 2.1% of the global market, making Canada the 9th largest market in the world. Since 2015, the cumulative annual growth rate has remained positive at 5.1% [4]. In Ukraine, the pharmaceutical industry is much less developed, and the pace of development is very slow, which is related to a lack of resources and outdated technologies. The import of pharmaceutical products exceeds exports; for example, in 2021, imports from Canada amounted to $19 059.1 thousand, while exports were only $97.1 thousand [5]. Such figures indicate a drain of foreign currency from the country, which is not a very positive outcome, as the funds from exports could be used for the development of this sector. Considering the industry, the company’s collaboration with enterprises in Canada could help enhance its competitiveness in the market. Several possible ways to enhance the company’s competitive advantages have been considered. The main strategies include lowering prices and increasing product variety, ensuring the uniqueness of the products offered in the market, and improving the quality of employee service. Additionally, signing agreements with Canadian pharmaceutical manufacturers could be a viable solution, as it would allow for an expanded range of products on the shelves of pharmacies in Ukraine. Furthermore, a wide selection leads to a variety of products across different price categories, which should help attract customers. LLC “Dekada-2000”. a company that does not engage in the production of pharmaceutical products but only in their sales at the “Pulse” pharmacies, decided to adopt an innovative solution to increase its competitiveness in the market, namely to automate the process of processing and analyzing the company’s website. The software was purchased from a Canadian developer for 600 million UAH. The application is called “Tracker-Pulse”. This program is linked to the existing product website. It automatically counts the number of visits to a specific product, calculates the time customers spend viewing the product on the page, and tracks the number of purchases of a particular item. Based on the results, the program highlights products that are in demand and those that require additional advertising or further promotion. Additionally, the application generates reports for the company that help reduce costs and expenses related to production. As a result, there was an increase in net profit, which allowed for a 2.1% rise in return on equity. Keywords – pharmaceutical industry, competitiveness, international cooperation, software, automation. References. Gholamhossein Mehralian, Hosein Shabaninejad, 2014. The Importance of Competitiveness in New Internationalized and Competitive Environment of Pharmaceutical Industry, Iranian Journal of Pharmaceutical Research, [online], pp.351–352. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4157010/# [Accessed 10 December 2024]. Janine Marie Morgall, Anna Birna Almarsdottir, 2022. No struggle, no strength: how pharmacists lost their monopoly, Journal of Social Science & Medicine, [online], pp. 1247–1258. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0277953698004249 [Accessed 10 December 2024]. Insights10, 2024. Canada Pharmaceutical Market Analysis, [online]. Available at: https://www.insights10.com/report/canada-pharmaceutical-market-analysis/ [Accessed 10 December 2024]. Government of Canada, 2024. Pharmaceutical industry profile, [online]. Available at: https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/canadian-life-science-industries/en/biopharmaceuticals-and-pharmaceuticals/pharmaceutical-industry-profile [Accessed 10 December 2024]. The World Bank Group, 2024. Imports of goods and services (current US$) - Ukraine, Canada, [online]. Available at: https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NE.IMP.GNFS.CD?locations=UA-CA [Accessed 10 December 2024].