Medicine Dispenser Business Plan

Sunapto will manufacture and market an automated pill dispensing unit, the MedCabinet and a companion monitoring service to fill the medication compliance problem in the United States. The elderly often have multiple disease states and/or chronic conditions and consume an average of four to five prescription drugs and two over-the-counter drugs per day. Nearly 67% of all elderly patients fail to follow important dosage instructions for their medications. The risk of hospitalization due to adverse medication outcomes in elderly patients is almost 6 times greater than that for the general population.  

Sunapto’s mission is to provide people the opportunity to live better and healthier lives though the use of technology. They will provide medical systems for the home that will use patentable technology to ensure safety, ease of use and a continuous partnership with healthcare providers. Their target market is the 65 and over age group. Thirty-five million Americans are in this group and the group is growing at 1% per year. They intend to grow the business and to establish their brand as a product leader and innovator in home healthcare devices.

Sunapto’s marketing strategy will follow from industry/trade and physician/pharmacist awareness campaigns to specific executions directed at specific customer segments. Sunapto’s initial sales strategy is to sell the MedCabinet directly to consumers. The MedCabinet is projected to sell for $700 and will provide medication users with the right pill at the right time.

Sunapto faces competition in the medication compliance market from reminder devices, automated medication dispensers and compliance services. The closest competitor to be considered is a similar product in the automated medication dispenser and compliance service market. Its weaknesses are its cost, limited dosing events and its weak marketing and distribution channels. This makes it vulnerable to a new, improved entry.

Sunapto is in the pre-start-up stage. Sunapto will be formed as a start-up LLC in MidWest, USA. The management team has experience in growth-oriented technology, business unit development, finance, and team leadership and development. Having witnessed the problems of medication compliance in their families, the management team is committed to being part of the solution that addresses the compliance issue that plagues the elderly. Sunapto is looking to add sales, marketing and medical device product development experience to its management team.

The MedCabinet is in the concept development stage. Sunapto anticipates having a working prototype five months after plan initiation and for sales to begin 12 months after plan initiation. Initial sales projections are 11,077 units during Year 2 and 13,419 units during Year 3.

Sunapto needs substantial investment to bring the MedCabinet to market. They anticipate two rounds of financing. The founders have pledged personal financial contribution for Round 1. Sunapto is seeking additional outside investors before launching the company. These funds will be used for management team gaps, prototype development and initial product marketing expenses. They anticipate Round 1 outside investors to realize a healthy return per annum over three years. Round 2 funding will be needed during the seventh month of operations. Round 2 funds will be used for management team gaps, prototype to product development, product marketing and for their contract manufacturing production expenses. Sunapto anticipates Round 2 outside investors to realize a respectable return per annum over three years.

1.1 Mission

Sunapto is a home healthcare technology company dedicated to enhancing peoples’ lives by bringing healthcare home. Sunapto provides home medical systems. These systems use technology to ensure safety, ease of use, an independent lifestyle and a continuous partnership with healthcare providers. Sunapto intends to seek a fair, yet aggressive profit, which will allow the company to be financially healthy for the long term as well as provide compensation to both owners and investors for their money and risk. They intend to grow the business and to establish their brand as a product leader and innovator in home healthcare devices. They intend to finance continued growth through a combination of equity investment and internally generated cash flow. Sunapto will continue to develop new product extensions once their marketing platform is established. Sunapto will maintain a strong and cohesive work environment with a shared ethos and a passion to grow with the intensity that only comes from belief.

1.2 Keys to Success

The keys to success for Sunapto are:

• Product Quality: A safe, reliable, easy to use product consisting of a well engineered design, quality workmanship, easy to follow programming, accurate dispensing and uncomplicated use.
• Marketing: Once a quality product is available, the success of Sunapto rests in the marketing venue. The MedCabinet is a new product and consumers must be educated to gain market penetration in a market comprised of people that often have a harder time accepting new technology.
• Partnerships: Sunapto is a management/marketing/technology company, not a manufacturing company. They will rely on partners to produce and deliver the product. The establishment and maintenance of partnerships will be crucial.
• Philosophy: Sunapto is in business to earn a higher than normal return for its business partners. In order to achieve this they will take a balanced approach in guiding the company. Sunapto will not be driven blindly from the financial perspective, but will be guided by four perspectives: Financial, Customer, Internal Process, and Learning & Growth.

1.3 Objectives

1. Increase sales to more than 24,000 MedCabinet units by Year 3.
2. Seven percent of units subscribed to monitoring and notification service by Year 3.