Overview of Bupa
Bupa is a healthcare company which specializes in providing health insurances to the people from the diverse parts of the world (Bupa 2018). As a matter of fact the company is operational in 190 countries of the world and caters to the interests of more than 32 million people (Bupa 2018).
Australia has a stable federal governmental system and it is seen that the country as is not redolent with various kinds of political turmoil (Rubin, Aas and Stead 2015). Furthermore, the government of the nation itself takes active initiatives to promote health consciousness among the people. It is considered to be one of the main reasons for the success attained by the companies like Medibank, Australian Unity in Australia (MacGregor, Doyle and McEachern 2015).
The nation holds the 2nd position in terms of the private individual wealth possessed by its citizens while being one of the richest mixed economies of the world (Australia.gov.au 2018). This is important since the wealth which the people have actually encourages them to invest in various kinds of health insurances. Thus, the company can take advantage of this particular factor for the process of their business.
The Australians are very conscious about their health needs and generally like to have insurances for almost everything they have (MacGregor, Doyle and McEachern 2015). This actually acts as an opportunity for the company under discussion since the company can take the help of this particular social trend of the people for the process of their business.
Australia is a fairly technologically advanced nation and it is seen that the technological advancements are being used by the health care organizations to provide better quality treatment facilities to the individuals (Howes 2013). This encourages the companies like Medibank, Australian Unity and others to undertake R&D activities (Howes 2013). Thus, the company under discussion here can take the help of this particular opportunity for the process of their business in Australia.
The Australian corporate business law is one of the best ones of the world and the national government encourages the various organizations to expand the scope of their business so that the nation can benefit from them (Clarke, Tamaschke and Liesch 2013). This acts as an opportunity for the company under discussion here since it can utilize this particular factor for the process of their business.
Australia is an active supporter of the various environmental regulations of the United Nations and has a set of its own Environmental Legislations which requires the business enterprises of the nation to control the amount of pollution that they are causing to the environment in a significant manner (Australia.gov.au 2018). The company under discussion here thus will have to take these factors into effective consideration.
The suppliers of the concerned health care service providers are the various hospitals and the health care centers through which the customers can avail the treatment facilities in case of medical emergencies (Rubin, Aas and Stead 2015). Furthermore, there are various insurance providers in Australia like Medibank, Australian Unity and others. Thus, it can be said that because of the large number of companies that are operational in the same sector the suppliers have a high bargaining power.
Business Environment in Australia
The buying power of the customers is high because of the large number of companies which are offering almost similar kinds of services to them. In addition to this, most of the people get their medical insurance from the national and their workplace itself and thus the scope for the private insurance providers is very less (Rao, Tilt and Lester 2012).
The new entrants in the health care insurance industry pose a relatively lesser amount of threat to the already established ones. One reason for this is that fact that these organizations have already monopolized the industry to a large extent.
The large number of options that are available to the customers on the score of the numerous health care insurance companies which provide almost the same kind of facilities to them has significantly enhanced the threat that companies faced from substitution (Rao, Tilt and Lester 2012). Thus the threat of substitution is high for the company.
The rivalry within the industry is very high on the score of the large number of competitors with which the companies have to deal with. In addition to this, the innovative ideas used by these companies for the process of their business have also contributed significantly to the same.
Probiotec is a pharmaceutical company headquartered in Melbourne and is reputed for helping out the patients with high quality medicines and related ingredients (Assiminos 2018).
One of the major requirements of the various business enterprises is a stable political environment wherein they can conduct their business in a peaceful manner (Rubin, Aas and Stead 2015). It is precisely here that the stable nature of the Australian government comes into play since the concerned company can utilize it as an opportunity for the process of their business. The companies like Abbott Australasia Pty Ltd, Altana Pharma Pty Ltd and others have capitalized on this particular factor to gain success (Assiminos 2018).
It is significant to note that if the individual per capita income of the citizens of any nation is high then it acts as a benefit for the organizations operating in that particular nation since the chances become high that the customers will opt for the services or the products offered by them (Rao, Tilt and Lester 2012). In this particular context the high per capita income held by the citizens of Australia actually acts a benefit for the concerned company.
The proactive nature of the Australia regarding their health acts as a benefit for the organization (MacGregor, Doyle and McEachern 2015). In this regard, the high quality of medicines and related ingredients offered by them actually becomes a boon for them since they utilize this for the process of their business.
The concerned company needs to take the help of innovative technologies for the process of the manufacture of the high quality of medicines and related ingredients offered by them (Assiminos 2018). It is here that the technological advancement of the nation comes into play. Thus, the technological landscape of the nation, acts as an opportunity for the concerned company which they can utilize for the process of their business.
Customer and Supplier Relationships
The nation of Australia has several legislation regarding the quality of the medicines that are being provided to the patients, the ingredients with which they are being produced and others (Wilden et al. 2013). The pharmaceutical company under discussion here is required to follow them for the process of the manufacture of the products offered by them to the patients.
The national government of Australia strictly prohibits the use of animals for the testing of medicines. In addition to this, as per the terms of the Paris Agreement of 2016 the organizations of the nation are required to reduce the amount of pollution cause by them by almost 2% (Unfccc.int 2018). Therefore, the company under discussion here will have to follow these stipulations for the process of their business in Australia.
The company under discussion here makes the use of multiple suppliers for the procurement of the raw materials (Assiminos 2018). This helps them to reduce the supplier’s bargaining power in a significant manner. In addition to this, they also manufacture some of the materials needed for the manufacture of the medicines offered to the patients themselves (Assiminos 2018).
The patients have diverse medicines available to them on the score of the numerous pharmaceutical companies like Abbott Australasia Pty Ltd, Altana Pharma Pty Ltd and others that are operational in Australia (Assiminos 2018). In addition to this, the advanced treatment facilities available to the patients have also got improved. Thus, it can be said that the buyer’s bargaining power is very high which is adversely affecting the prospects of the concerned company.
There are many pharmaceutical companies operational in the nation of Australia and they offer almost similar kind of medicines to the patients. In addition to this, the cost of switching from one company to another is very nominal. Thus, it can be said that the concerned company faces a high substitution threat.
The threat from new entrants is very nominal since the concerned company has already established its relationship with the majority of the health care professionals and the organizations (Wilden et al. 2013). This factor considerably reduces the threat from the new entrants.
The concerned company is one of the major ones of Australia yet it faces a significant amount of threat from companies like Abbott Australasia Pty Ltd, Altana Pharma Pty Ltd and others (Assiminos 2018). The effective medicines offered by these companies have intensified the rivalry within the industry.
References
Assiminos, D. 2018. Probiotec Limited | Distributor & Manufacturer of Quality Pharmaceuticals. [online] Probiotec Limited. Available at: https://www.probiotec.com.au/ [Accessed 20 Aug. 2018].
Australia.gov.au. 2018. australia.gov.au. [online] Available at: https://www.australia.gov.au/ [Accessed 20 Aug. 2018].
Bupa – an international healthcare company. 2018. Bupa Welcome. [online] Available at: https://www.bupa.com/ [Accessed 20 Aug. 2018].
Clarke, J.E., Tamaschke, R. and Liesch, P.W., 2013. International experience in international business research: A conceptualization and exploration of key themes. International Journal of Management Reviews, 15(3), pp.265-279.
Howes, M., 2013. Politics and the Environment: Risk and the Role of Government and Industry. Routledge.
Kathy Rao, K., Tilt, C.A. and Lester, L.H., 2012. Corporate governance and environmental reporting: an Australian study. Corporate Governance: The international journal of business in society, 12(2), pp.143-163.
MacGregor, S., Doyle, T. and McEachern, D., 2015. Environment and politics. Routledge.
Rubin, T.H., Aas, T.H. and Stead, A., 2015. Knowledge flow in technological business incubators: evidence from Australia and Israel. Technovation, 41, pp.11-24.
Unfccc.int. 2018. The Paris Agreement | UNFCCC. [online] Available at: https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/the-paris-agreement/the-paris-agreement [Accessed 20 Aug. 2018].
Wilden, R., Gudergan, S.P., Nielsen, B.B. and Lings, I., 2013. Dynamic capabilities and performance: strategy, structure and environment. Long Range Planning, 46(1-2), pp.72-96.