Great Companies: How did you get your idea or concept for the business?
Subir Batra: I have been in the healthcare industry for about 10 years, running a successful healthcare product manufacturing company. While working on the sales and distribution side of the business, I realized that there were a lot of issues faced by both the end customers (hospitals, doctors) and intermediaries (distributors, dealers):
On top of the list were the three items that form the bedrock of out brand value
1.Price Transparency - different customers were paying hugely varying prices for the same product from the same company
2.Reliability - the supply chain was extremely unreliable, and despite a lot of time and effort being spent by customers and distributors in supply follow-ups, goods were being delayed way beyond schedules
3.Quality Assurance - Other than a few big companies, the industry is filled with a large number of small and mid-sized manufacturers who are forced to compete on price as they do not have the marketing wherewithal to promote their product basis quality or establish a strong brand. So the end customers had no option but to go for the safety of the established companies when looking for quality products, even if that meant paying more
This is where we sensed an opportunity to make a difference in the industry by creating a layer between the manufacturers and hospitals that
1.Guaranteed quality of all products that we offer - if a doctor or hospital buys from Docuses, they do not need to worry about quality irrespective of whether they have heard of the brand or not
2.Ensures timely deliveries - Docuses is building predictability in the supply chain by removing uncertainty and inefficiencies
3.Ensures rice transparency - Docuses ensures the doctor or hospital gets the right products at the best prices without the friction of unnecessary bargaining
The end goal is to reduce the cost of healthcare by ensuring quality products reach doctors, hospitals and patients at the lowest cost
Great Companies: What are the various services provided by Docuses Healthcare India Pvt Ltd
Subir Batra: Docuses Healthcare is a Hospital Procurement Organization, and we have received multiple awards for our innovative business models
For Hospitals and Nursing Homes, we provide the following services
1.Basic Procurement - We offer a wide range of products used by hospitals, backed by our assurance of quality at very competitive and transparent prices
2.Product Selection - We have a team of medical experts and product managers who assist hospitals select the right medical products for every procedure, keeping in mind various factors like costs, criticality and patient considerations
3.Price Benchmarking - We use our extensive procurement experience to help hospitals benchmark their product purchase costs against industry
4.Purchase Audit - We analyze the hospital's data to reveal how much can be saved by managing purchase costs, and better forecasting and inventory/order management
5.Smart Sourcing - We work closely with the purchase department of hospitals to get right products and negotiate the best deals with new and existing suppliers
6.Inventory Management - We use proprietary scientific algorithms to help hospitals determine the minimum inventory they need to keep for each product while avoiding stockouts, thus releasing precious funds for critical expenses or investments
Great Companies: What makes Docuses Healthcare India Pvt Ltd different from hundreds of other similar service providers?
Subir Batra: Docuses is one of the very few organized Hospital Procurement Organizations in the country, with a comprehensive offering of products and solutions. We have both offline and online sales modules that cater to the requirements of every player in the healthcare supply chain, from the largest hospitals to the smallest of doctors.
Our various solutions complement each other and provide us with a unique understanding of the dynamics of the healthcare distribution industry, which we utilize to further fine-tune our services on an ongoing basis.
Our partnership based approach to customer management also brings about a higher level of trust and openness with our customers, leading to more closer and more long lasting relationships
Great Companies: What were the struggles and challenges you faced and how did you overcome them?
Subir Batra: Our biggest challenge was that when we started the company, Covid had just hit the world and it was impossible for us to meet doctors and hospital management who are our primary customers. Only a small number of medical products were in demand - those related to Covid treatment - and supply for those was also very constrained. Without established supplier relationships or existing supply streams, it was extremely difficult for us to establish a consistent and predictable business.
Although the first year was difficult, we managed to overcome the difficulty through the persistence and tenacity of our team. We also managed to get a few big clients, giving us enough sales to tide over those times.
Great Companies: How do you plan to grow in the future? What does 5 years down the line Docuses Healthcare India Pvt Ltd?
Subir Batra: The future is extremely bright, and this is a very exciting time to be in the healthcare industry. Covid has changed everything, from the hospitals are run, use of technology, treatment protocols, and cost management. Procurement management is a big part of this change, and hospitals are actively looking for ways to cut costs and improve efficiencies.
In addition to this, smaller hospitals and nursing homes have also realized that they have to manage their costs and operations much better to compete with the bigger hospitals, and they too are looking at partners who can help them do this.
We see ourselves as India's most trusted Healthcare Procurement Organization in the near future, contributing actively to the Government of India's objective of making healthcare in the country more affordable and accessible to all citizens.
Great Companies: If you had one piece of advice to someone just starting out, what would it be?
Subir Batra: I would say that entrepreneurship is filled with challenges and pitfalls, but with persistence and intelligence these can be overcome - it is not easy, but if you have a reasonable understanding of your customer and their needs, you can build the right solutions to build the road towards success.
Website : https://docuses.com/ | https://www.docuses.in/