Successful succession in a family-run medical shop
We helped prepare a plan to hand over the company to the founder's daughter, maintaining supply stability and customer relations.
Mr. Marek had been running Medi-Pomoc for 11 years and wanted to retire. His biggest fear was that his daughter, Joanna, would drown in paperwork and formalities with the National Health Fund (NFZ). We helped them organize the company so that the change of leadership took place without stress or loss of customers.
The challenge
All key contacts for 14 wholesalers and the cooperation rules for 83 regular patients were kept in Mr. Marek's head. The shop worked well, but only under his constant presence. Every holiday taken by the owner meant chaos in orders.
An additional problem was the settlements with the fund, which took up to 19 hours a month. Ms. Joanna, although she knew the industry, was terrified by the prospect of documentation errors that could result in penalties. The company had no written procedures, which blocked the efficient transfer of responsibility.
Our approach
Our team spent 47 days at the company's headquarters in Radom, observing daily processes. We didn't do grand presentations; instead, we sat down with the employees at their desks. We documented step-by-step what the receipt of goods and handling of a funding application look like.
We organized 4 meetings with a lawyer to prepare succession documents protecting the family's assets. We focused on Joanna taking over duties gradually. First, we handed over contact with suppliers, and only after 3 months, full control over finances. This allowed us to avoid mistakes resulting from haste.
The solution
We created a simple 24-page operating manual. It contains clear instructions for system failures or unusual questions from patients. We also implemented a simple inventory control sheet that automatically calculates when to order new orthoses and diapers.
We sorted out legal issues and access to 3 company bank accounts. Thanks to this, on the day of Mr. Marek's official retirement, Joanna already had full knowledge of what was happening in every corner of the company. We eliminated unnecessary bureaucracy, cutting the reporting time to the NFZ by more than half.
Results
The Medi-Pomoc shop passed into the hands of the new owner without a single day of downtime in service. The entire process took less than a year and allowed the founder to hand over the reins peacefully.
Timeline
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March 2023Process audit and documentation of owner's duties
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May 2023Preparation of legal documentation and succession plan
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August 2023Training the successor in handling NFZ settlements
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December 2023Official handover of management and retirement of the founder
"To be honest, I was afraid my daughter would quit after a month because of all the paperwork. Knowledge Capital showed us that the business can operate without me watching every detail."