A new column by marketing whiz Walter Vieira
Just at the beginning of the 'Corvid era,' Moneylife reported that the brihanMumbai municipal corporation (BMC) was going to buy a large quantity of face masks at a price over 10 times the market price for the same masks. And this was supposed to be against a tender that had been floated by the BMC! Moneylife urged the BMC commissioner to cancel this decision and this was done. A lot of money was saved!
It was the same with the purchase of personal protective equipment (PPE) clothing for hospital staff, and was even worse with hospital beds for COVID+ patients who needed to be admitted.
My friend got his brother admitted into a private hospital in Chembur at a cost of Rs35,000 per day – and this was done as a favour! The regular price at COVID rates would have been Rs50,000. But my friend was a friend of an influential doctor at the hospital.
All this got me thinking about my days at Glaxo Labs in the 1960s. The managing director was Joe Kidd. He had been in India on an earlier stint, as a medical representative (MR)– and returned many years later as a director and rose to be managing director.
Those were the days when British doctors were generally seen only by British medical reps. When he went round as an MR, he would call on the government medical stores, and Anil (name changed) was an assistant store-keeper. They would discuss needs and Anil placed orders, but nearly always hinted that he could do with some facilitation. Mr Kidd never obliged. But he did go out of his way to give Anil a nice Christmas gift every year. To Mr Kidd’s mind – it was a gift, not a bribe.
After Mr Kidd came back as director many years later, he was surprised to see Anil at Glaxo as a purchase manager. Anil had been recruited when Mr Kidd was away. Anil seemed well suited for the job by the personnel department, with his experience in purchases /medicines. On one occasion, it was decided that I accompany Anil to Tirunelvelli to purchase senna leaf for our new product Glaxenna, so that I could (as a trainee) study the buying process. I was surprised one morning to be called by Mr Kidd to his office. Mr Kidd said he was glad I was going on this mission. I should study the process well—and added subtly “also make sure that Anil does not make too much on the deal.”
It was a nice, soft hint—neatly delivered. It made me think.
Mr Kidd did not want to sack Anil. He did not want to use his earlier knowledge of their interactions. He did not want to burn up a career, especially since now, just now, he had no proof of any wrongdoing. He wanted to be noble, fair and in some ways kind, to Anil – while at the same time taking care of the company’s interests as a matter of ethics.
This was also the time when Glaxo baby food was in short supply. It was the most popular product of Glaxo at that time. There were long Qs at the Worli office, of people wanting to buy a few tins. They had to prove that they had a baby at home – and they got an amount based on a stipulated quota. And Mr Kidd ensured that every stockist of Glaxo got a monthly allocation as a percentage of the previous six months’ average sales. No exceptions were made. And anyone caught selling at a higher than the fixed price was immediately struck off the rolls of approved stockists. Hardly anyone dared to cheat, they knew there was a heavy price to be paid – and they would lose long-term profits for short-term gains. A company like Glaxo would brook no nonsense. A matter of ethics.
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A few years later, Glaxo introduced a ready combination injection of Vitamins B1 and Vitamin B12- Macraberin. It saved doctors a lot of time and effort in combining the two, when this was required, which was often enough. Sales kept climbing every month, till in just two years the product was among the top-10 in the company’s list. Then, this instant big seller had problems.
There were a few reports of deaths due to the injection, which was due to an allergy to Vit B. It could have happened with any brand of the vitamin. The number of complaints must have been less than a hundred in a year. It was just an infinitesimal percentage of the total sales volume of the product. But Mr Kidd would not listen to such wisdom or agree to such reasoning. Glaxo would lose a large volume of profit from discontinuing the product, but Mr Kidd felt it was alright. Even saving a few lives, was worth it.
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The product was discontinued. Glaxo sales and profits dipped for a while. But Mr Kidd carried the flag “The right thing to do.” And he taught all of us a lesson. That logical conclusions are not enough.
Business must be run by a combination of mind and heart. The secret of the ‘good old days’. It is now coming back – with Philip Kotler’s recent loud call to industry – Marketing must serve all stakeholders, not just the customer, as was earlier believed. A matter of ethics.
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Walter Vieira is a Certified Management Consultant; and a Fellow of the Institute of Management Consultants of India (FIMC). He has written 11 books – some of them best sellers – translated into Chinese and Indonesian and 3 books in collaboration with Prof. C. Northcote Parkinson of Parkinson’s Law fame. Mr Vieira has straddled the space between business and academia – and shares his vast experience with students and peers, to help make this a better world!)
"You can feed a fire all the wood that you want, a fire's appetite will never be satiated."
Persons of the calibre of Joe Kidd are few and far between.