Annual report 2018

8 | Galenica annual report 2018 Outlook We want to continue to develop along the three axes of expansion, innovation and efficiency in 2019. In the Retail Business sector, we will strengthen our pharmacy network further. Customers are advised in-store, and we also want to promote this competence in future. It also includes the further development of the online shops and Click & Collect. It is important to be in tune with customers both offline and online today. Doing so enables us to serve customers where it is most convenient for them. In Products & Brands, we want to maintain our leading position in the Swiss consumer healthcare market and further develop the portfolio through innova­ tions and new product representations. Early in 2019 we launched our new own skincare brand Dermafora ® and took over distribution of both Vicks ® , the well-known brand for cold, flu and cough medications, and Metamucil ® . In the Services Business sector, the new enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution is being implemented at Alloga, with the aim of further standardising processes and improving efficiency. In addition, Medifilm will introduce the new generation of blistering machines in 2019 and will be able to double output. Change to the Corporate Executive Committee As part of early succession planning, the Galenica Group Board of Directors appointed Thomas Szuran as the new Head Products & Brands Business sector and a member of the Corporate Executive Committee. Thomas Szuran took up his new role on 14 January 2019. The change of name from Vifor Consumer Health­ care to Verfora as of 1 June 2018 went success­ fully, and the new brand immediately met with a positive response on the market. With its logo featuring a dynamic “V”, the new brand presence of Verfora sends out a positive signal for the spe­ cialist retail trade and forms an umbrella for the comprehensive brand portfolio of the Products & Brands Business sector. Galenica is committed to protection against coun­ terfeit drugs. As part of a joint project with Galexis, Alloga has integrated the new EU legis­ lation to combat counterfeit drugs, the Falsified Medicines Directive (FMD), into its internal quality management and IT systems. You can find more information on this in the feature on page 32. Efficiency through standardised, end-to-end processes We are continually working throughout the Group on simplifying and standardising routine pro­ cesses. The Retail Business sector launched a project in 2018 to improve process management and better match staff resources in pharmacies to the relevant customer traffic. With targeted measures such as the Generics Check, our pharmacies have increased the generics substitution rate from 68% to 70% and thereby contributed to reducing healthcare costs evolution. Galenicare and HCI Solutions have together fur­ ther developed the e-mediplan module for the new Amavita app; this is a digitised medication plan for patients who depend on several medica­ tions at once. Sun Store and Coop Vitality will also offer the module in their apps in 2019. In addition, Galenicare and Verfora worked together closely and successfully on the launch of many new products and on the expansion of partner­ ships with companies such as Spagyros. And finally, 2018 saw the elaboration of a new, uniform pension fund solution for all Galenica Group employees, which was introduced in January 2019. Foreword “It is important to be in tune with customers both offline and online today. Doing so enables us to serve customers where it is most convenient for them.” Galenica