THYROCARE: DISRUPTING THE INDIAN MEDICAL DIAGNOSTIC INDUSTRY

GROUP 3, SECTION A
Balachandran S, P42118 | Edla Rachana, P42017 | Pragathi R M, P42138 | Gokul Mepprethu,
P42125 | Gokul K G, P42184 | Chidhvilas M, P4013
What is the competitive landscape of the diagnostic industry in 2017 and what was the
positioning of the players?
The competitive landscape in the Diagnostic industry can be analyzed using the Porter’s Five
forces model.
Competition in the industry
Unorganized players 85 percent
Organized sector 8 percent
Hospital chains 7 percent
 The organized sector had five major players Thyrocare, Dr. Lal PathLabs, SRL
Diagnostics, Metropolis and Medall. The major players are SRL diagnostics with 2.5%
and Dr. Lal PathLabs with 2.4% and Thyrocare has only 0.8% market share.
 Except Thyrocare all the organized players offered 3500 plus test and operated more than
150 laboratories with more than 3,000 employees. While Thyrocare offered only 200
tests in the Bio chemistry segment and operated only 7 laboratories with 850 employees.
 Thyrocare also offered double the commission to its agents and partners.
The competition is high
Potential of new entrants into the industry
The barriers to entry included Accreditation requirements, accessibility to doctors, and the
need for large amounts of financing. There are more that 100,000 regional players in the
industry and 90% of the industry comprises of unorganized players.
Thus the potential of new entrants in the industry is high.
Power of suppliers
Vendors providing testing equipment and reagents formed the supply side. The suppliers had
power in terms of costing based on reagent volume. The power of the suppliers is low-
medium in the Industry.
Power of customers
Customers did not have much choice when it came to the pricing set by each diagnostic
laboratory. Due to emerging competition in certain segments of the diagnostic industry, the
power of customers can be said to be from low-medium.
Threat of substitute products
The substitute products were point-of-care and self-test kits for home use by patients.
Forming a small part of the diagnostic industry. The threat of substitutes is low.
Competitive positioning:
Thyrocare positioned itself as a Cost leader in the industry specifically in the Biochemistry
diagnosis in the Preventive and disorder segments.
Other major players have positioned based on the category by providing full package of
services to hospitals and major stand-alone chains.