| dc.description.abstract | The development of Information Technology (IT) is one of the contributing factors for the fast growth of human knowledge and global economy. IT has been applied widely in diverse fields, including business management and different human activities. The use of IT is found in many modern medical services, ranging from routine medical affairs administration to medical quality and safety control. In this case study, a system developed by a company in manufacturing and sales of Chinese medicines is investigated. In order to increase the efficiency of its logistics system, the company uses barcode IT on its pharmaceutical products to facilitate identification, warehousing and logistics operations. The company develops the Electric Barcode Check System on the basis of their experiences and customer’s requirements for the purposes of increasing pharmaceutical quality, creating additional values for customers and maintaining customer’s loyalty.
Because the number of the frequently used Chinese medicine items are more than 500, and some of their names, appearances or natures may be similar, making mistakes in the pharmaceutical operations is likely, which, in turn, may risk the patient’s life, leading to heavy burdens for the medical personnel. Therefore, the Electric Barcode Check System is used to scan the barcodes on the labels affixed on the pharmaceutical products to ensure correct operations. A digital scale is used and connected to the system to measure the weights of pharmaceutical products. The system can also perform inventory control to assist the management of core operations of Chinese medicine drugstores. However, does the Electric Barcode Check System satisfy the requirements of the customers? Are the value of the system and the required costs for its installation and operation acceptable? The system has not been well accepted after its launch. Then, is there any perceptual gap between the company investigated and its customers? In order to know whether the system creates added values for the customers, a series of researches are conducted on the basis of theories related to customer values, and the value chain connecting the system engineers, salesmen and customers is investigated. The purpose of the case study is to verify the added values created by the system and identify the perceptual gap between the company investigated and their customers for the value of the system, so to provide recommendation for optimizing the system.
The pharmaceutical safety is one of the major concerns for health authorities and medical sectors. It is found the customers will increase their reliance on the Electric Barcode Check System after a period of adaption. The company in the case study should find out the obstacles for their sales of the system, such as the prices and after services. The marketing strategy should be flexible, making good use of IT on the customer services to create additional values and competition advantages for the customers for win-win results.
Keywords: Barcode; Customer Value; Electric Barcode Check System; Value Chain.
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