All organisations compete on the basis of service. In today‘s highly competitive world, organisations need to compete to retain their customers and to offer good customer service that will give them a competitive advantage. In the South African pharmaceutical market, the introduction of the Single Exit Price (SEP) and generic substitution have led to the price of equivalent medicines no longer being the differentiating factor in a customer deciding which manufacturer‘s product to purchase. The availability of generic medicines at the pharmacy or hospital has become the differentiating factor. Two types of customers exist in any organisation, namely, external customers and internal customers. Much has been written about the external customer, but less about the internal customer. Many managers do not perceive internal customer service as a priority. Any organisation attempting to deliver quality service to their external customers must begin by serving the needs of their internal customers. Internal service quality is characterised by the attitudes that people have towards one another and in the way that employees serve one another inside the organisation. By improving customer service, the organisation can improve its profitability, sustainability and customer retention. The aim of this study was to determine whether the levels of internal customer service between the three sections of Aspen Pharmacare are optimal. Determining the current performance levels between the staff of the sections will assist in highlighting the areas that require attention. The three sections of Aspen Pharmacare that are internal customers of one another and have been used in the study are: - production; - demand planning; and - distribution. The results of the study show that all three sections rate three service quality dimensions (communication, tangibles and reliability) as important. The results were used to develop an internal customer service model for Aspen Pharmacare.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:nmmu/vital:8625 |
| Date | January 2010 |
| Creators | Rothner, Donne |
| Publisher | Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Faculty of Business and Economic Sciences |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis, Masters, MBA |
| Format | xii, 131 pages, pdf |
| Rights | Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University |
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