Q. What should be the CVS Pharmacy’s marketing mix adaptation to enter the UK?

Ans: With more than 9,600 sites around the country, CVS Pharmacy is the largest retail pharmacy in
America. Customers have had access to the goods and services they require from CVS/pharmacy for
more than 50 years, helping them maintain their road to improved health. To simplify, reduce cost, and
increase accessibility to healthcare, CVS Pharmacy offers unique community solutions. Their pharmacy
care teams offer dependable guidance and assistance to help their patients get and stay healthy at
their more than 9,900 pharmacy locations, including those within Target and Schnucks grocery stores.

The pharmaceutical industry in the UK plays a crucial role in the country's economy and is a key global
hub for the manufacturing of pharmaceuticals.

Six subcategories can be used to separate the overall CVS environment. Demographics is the first group.
Along with the pharmacy sector, CVS provides services to a variety of populations. They provide services
to both low- and high-income categories of individuals. They aim to serve all demographics with
affordable convenience stores and pharmaceutical services. The socio-cultural component of the whole
environment refers to American culture and way of life. The majority of American industries strive to
make things more convenient, and the sector as a whole excels at this.

Due to the clear government regulation of pharmacy services, CVS and the industry are aware of the
potential legal repercussions of inappropriate use or distribution of prescription drugs. From a
technological standpoint, the pharmacy sector is just beginning to use the internet for retail and
prescriptions. The industry will benefit from even quicker prescription refills thanks to this technology,
which will also increase overall retail sales. Like every business in the present weak economy, the
pharmaceutical sector has had ups and downs. Overall, it has been consistent over the past year, but is
somewhat down from five years ago, with 2009 being the worst year. The industry will likely experience
a gradual improvement as the economy begins to progressively improve. The industry's worldwide
perspective is the final consideration.

PBM services and top-notch customer service are CVS' most significant competitive advantages. What
CVS refers to as the Minute Clinic is a collection of PBM services. These clinics, which have locations in
500 stores spread over 25 states and are open seven days a week, "are the US leader in retail-based
health clinics, and (are) the largest employer of nurse practitioners and pharmacists."

By establishing a presence in Europe, CVS pharmacy may improve their market share. Because they
would be able to access new markets in new nations, their market share would significantly grow.
France, Germany, Spain, Italy, and the U.K. could all be reached by CVS. The pricing structure of
pharmacy items in Europe is comparable to the price structure in the United States, making it possible
for CVS to grow internationally without having to drastically cut expenses.

The best proof that a brand's claim is true is in its products and services. Beyond only selling goods and
filling prescriptions, CVS is extending its range of services. It is concentrated on telemedicine, delivery,
scaling up parking lot virus testing among first responders from 100/110 per day to 500 test per day
(beta testing currently in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts), filling prescriptions earlier for those with chronic
health issues so that these customers do not experience disruptions, and offering a wider range of
medical services. CVS is giving local store inventory priority for regions of the nation where there is a
significant effect.
Most PBMs generate revenue by saving their clients’ money. This is evident in CVS' pharmaceutical
segment strategy, which aims to assist clients in more effectively managing healthcare expenses.
Offering alternatives to the pricey brand name pharmaceuticals that doctors frequently prescribe is the
greatest method to help patients manage healthcare expenditures, i.e., lower prices.

It is evident that utilizing or dispensing generic medicines is advantageous to CVS as well as its clients.
The absurdity of the situation is that 30% of CVS consumers still opt to buy the priciest name-brand
medications. Even if around 70% of the medications that CVS now dispenses are generic brands, it might
still be done better. Because brand-name pharmaceuticals have lower profit margins than generic drugs,
CVS should consider every purchase of a branded drug to be a loss. They would have made more money
if they had been able to sell the same consumer the drug's generic equivalent.

In this instance, the organization's general strategy and aggressive growth methods and tactics work
together to bring value to customers and financial success to the company. To sustain CVS's cost-based
competitive advantages, the system and organizational architecture calls for close coordination between
the company's revenue models, organizational development, business plans, business strategies, and
strategic plans.

References:

https://www.cvshealth.com/our-services/pharmacy-services/retail-pharmacy

https://globalambition.ie/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Enterprise-Ireland-Report-UK-
Pharmaceutical-Manufacturing-Sector-Overview.pdf

https://www.rancord.org/cvs-business-model-generic-competitive-intensive-growth-strategies

https://www.forbes.com/sites/larrylight/2020/04/02/the-8-ps-of-the-cvs-plan-to-win/?
sh=4ec493182026