個案總覽

This case describes a typical situation faced by any firm engaged in marketing a commodity. Laxmi Proteins processed and sold pigeon pea, called toor or tur in Hindi. The processed grain was known as toor dal and was an important source of protein in the predominantly vegetarian diet of Indians. With the ongoing economic boom and subsequent increase in household income, it was expected that expenditures on more wholesome diets would increase and with it the intake of pulses such as toor dal. Laxmi Proteins was on the verge of inaugurating a new processing plant that would double its capacity. The managing director was concerned about the effectiveness of the current marketing strategy to sell additional produce and asked the marketing directors to review the company’s marketing efforts and come up with alternatives.

This case describes a unique insurance scheme in India called Krupa Arogya Suraksha, promoted by the Shree Krishna Arogya Trust. The product was designed with the aim of extending basic health coverage to the “base-of-the-pyramid” population at an affordable premium. The services were provided by Shree Krishna Hospital, of which the Trust was an associate. The Trust and the hospital were looking at a win-win situation: in providing modern health services to a larger, lower-income group, the facilities of the hospital would be better utilized. In the five years since the scheme’s creation, membership had increased threefold to 43,000. These members accounted for 13 per cent of patients treated by the hospital. Thus, the dual objectives of extending affordable health care to the lower-income segment and increased utilization of the hospital facilities had been achieved, to some extent. However, the Trust was unable to meet the cost of the health care offered under the scheme from the premiums collected and was dependent on donors to cover the difference. The Trust’s management was concerned about the sustainability of such an arrangement and was looking for ways to make the scheme pay for itself.

The case describes a unique insurance scheme called Krupa Arogya Suraksha, promoted by the Shree Krishna Arogya Trust (Trust). The product was designed with the aim of extending basic health coverage to the "base-of-the-pyramid" (BoP) population at an affordable premium. The services were provided by Shree Krishna Hospital, of which the Trust was an associate. The Trust was looking at a win-win situation: in providing modern health services to a larger, lower-income group, the facilities and infrastructure of the hospital would be better utilized. In the five years since its creation, membership in the scheme had increased threefold to 43,000. These members/consumers accounted for 13 per cent of patients treated by the hospital. Thus, the twin objectives of extending affordable healthcare to the lower-income segment and increased utilization of the facilities at the hospital were achieved to some extent. However, the Trust was not able to meet the cost of the health care offered under the scheme from the premiums collected and was dependent on donors to absorb the shortfall. The Trust's management was concerned about the sustainability of such an arrangement and was looking for ways to make the scheme pay for itself.