At a Crossroads: The Strategic Dilemma at PENPOL Case Solution And Analysis, HBR Case Study Solution & Analysis of Harvard Case Studies

Vasudev Nair, CEO of PENPOL, a medical devices company in India, was facing a fiscal catastrophe. With debt building and cash flow becoming increasingly difficult, he needed to make some choices regarding the future of the business. Incorporated under the leadership of Nair in 1987, PENPOL initiated with the debut of its advanced blood bag product as a producer of hematology products. The blood bag business was extending with all the introduction of variant kinds of bags and blood bags equipment. In 1993 the firm entered the urology business together with the introduction of pee bags and within four years the urology line was expanded to include stone direction apparatus, leg bags and foley catheters. Increase in the urology company was met with small success however, and by 1998 PENPOL had left all but the urine bag product line.

The unsuccessful launches resulted in enormous inventories of unsold goods and problems getting payment from stockists (providers) that led to the firm's building debt and cash issues. Additionally, the pee bag, the Urology Division's main product, faced intensified price competition. Vasudev Nair had to stop the bleeding. A number of choices were contemplated by him. Should he sell or divest the Urology Division as a way to bring in funds to shore up the blood tote business? Given that a competitor had expressed interest in the business, he contemplated creating a joint venture with all the adversary.

PUBLICATION DATE: June 13, 2014 PRODUCT #: NA0294-HCB-ENG

This is just an excerpt. This case is about STRATEGY & EXECUTION