Case Study Analysis: Sanofi-Aventis and the Prayas Initiative

This case study examines Sanofi-Aventis's Prayas initiative in India, focusing on their strategy to provide affordable healthcare to the bottom of the pyramid (BoP) consumers. The company analyzed market data, understood consumer needs through doctor visits, and carefully managed its brand partnerships to penetrate the market. Faced with increasing competition, Sanofi-Aventis outsourced an external sales force, providing them with superior training and increased salaries to maintain a competitive advantage. The analysis highlights the importance of understanding market needs, strategic branding, and adapting to competitive pressures in emerging markets. The case study emphasizes the need for sustainable competitive advantages through innovation and open-mindedness to generate new ideas. The solution analyzes key decisions, challenges, and outcomes, offering valuable insights into business strategy and market penetration in the pharmaceutical industry.

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Sanofi-Aventis saw the capacity to adopt various innovative business ideas and models
that would help the business come up with a unique value proposition. In this, the company’s
primary objective was to find ways in which it could provide access to affordable drugs as well
as make profits from the bottom of the pyramid (BoP) consumers (Palan et al., 2011, pg. 8). The
same prominent ideas adopted by Sanofi-Aventis can also be applicable to other business
enterprises.
To begin with, Sanofi-Aventis had to analyze executive reports and market data related to
BOP markets before launching their operations. Most companies entering a new market may
always make the mistake of introducing their products or ideas before understanding who their
real consumers are (Drucker, P., 2014, pg. 25). Since Sanofi-Aventis was targeting the BOP
markets, the company sought out to understand the market needs. For instance, Sanofi-Aventis
visited most doctors in rural areas as a way of determining what was needed to ensure they
penetrate this market effectively. This idea can be emulated by business enterprises in
understanding customer needs, preferences and tastes. Besides, the enterprises can therefore
determine what products to present to the market and prices to set for the products.
Secondly, in order to ensure the Prayas initiative was a success, Sanofi-Aventis had to be
careful with the branding of its product portfolio. Before deciding to establish their presence in
BOP markets, Sanofi-Aventis was a main player in Tier 1 markets; hence, the company’s
presence in the BOP markets would be negligible (Palan et al., 2011, pg.11). In order to achieve
market penetration, Sanofi-Aventis partnered with one of its business units since it was a valued
brand and popular in the BOP markets. Brand relationships are crucial since they increase the
value of a business as well as give employees the motivation and direction to be more effective
(Oh et al., 2018, pg. 232). Business enterprises can adopt this idea in launching new products in

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new markets. By understanding who to partner with, the enterprises can increase the chances of
success in new markets.
Lastly, due to the increased interest of the BOP markets by other pharmaceutical
companies, the competition grew fierce. With more companies adopting similar initiatives such
as the Prayas initiative, Sanofi-Aventis was at the brink of losing its market share. The other
companies also began offering lucrative deals to every mentor of Prayas (Palan et al., 2011,
pg.14). The major challenge for the company was making Prayas advantage sustainable, respond
to the competition, and add more mentors and mentees. Even though the company leveraged on
the medical educational approach, they had to do something else in order to increase their
competitive advantage.
Therefore, the company decided to outsource an external sales force where they provided
them with superior training and also increased their salaries. With the training and increase in
salary, the sales team became more competent. Achieving a sustainable competitive advantage is
crucial to the performance of any business enterprise. For instance, business enterprises can
leverage on new competitive advantages that offer them a larger market share than competitors
(Ahmad, Bosua, and Scheepers, 2014, pg. 31). In addition, being more open-minded can ensure
new ideas are generated hence staying ahead of the competition.

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References
Ahmad, A., Bosua, R. and Scheepers, R., 2014. Protecting organizational competitive advantage:
A knowledge leakage perspective. Computers & Security, 42, pp.27-39.
Drucker, P., 2014. Innovation and entrepreneurship. Routledge. pp. 23-67.
Oh, H., Prado, P.H.M., Korelo, J.C. and Frizzo, F., 2019. The effect of brand authenticity on
consumer–brand relationships. Journal of Product & Brand Management, 28(2), pp.231241.
Palan, H., Jaiswal, A.K., Singh, J. and Sharma, G., 2011. Prayas by sanofi-aventis in India:
Making healthcare accessible to the bottom of the pyramid. Indian Institute of Management,
Ahmedabad. pp. 3-15.