Dental21 - eLearning Project

1. 1. The Enterprise
1.1. Introduction of the Business
eLearning has a significant future – also in Dental Health
Continuous Education, supported by the Internet, has arrived for Dental Health. It is called
eLearning and opens new possibilities to dental professionals, their staff, and the dental
industry.
DENTAL21, the eLearning portal, provides an outstanding environment for its target group.
It offers continuous education and information in a virtual university setting called DENTAL21
Academy. Additionally, it provides a virtual community, B2B interaction, and cooperatives that
benefit members and participants.
World-recognized lecturers and the industry bring innovations and know-how to the homes of
health care professionals in dentistry. Information brokers provide up-to-date subjects and
daily news. The administration of the portal manages, hosts, and moderates on-line
communication (Chats/Forums) for all members of DENTAL21.
To provide a high quality eLearning program, DENTAL21 consists of a high tech dental clinic
and an Internet broadcasting center. They are responsible for the technology, administration,
portal, and content management. All events are planned, produced, and offered by
cooperation partners worldwide.
1.2. Name of the Enterprise
The enterprise carries the name DENTAL21 – Dental Excellence for the 21st Century.
1.3. Branch
DENTAL21’s main markets are eLearning and dental health.
1.4. Sight/Area
The founder of DENTAL21, Dr. Degeratu, chooses Dubai as the home of the enterprise. This
has personal and strategic reasons. During the last years, he has established good contacts
in Dubai with people in politics and business.
UAE is currently pushing its economy by supporting business start-ups in the technology field
and provides a very good infrastructure for DENTAL21.
As DENTAL21 is based in Dubai, it profits from Dubai Internet City (DIC). This organization is
a technology park attracting IT businesses from all over the world with technology and
infrastructure. DIC offers a quick and easy procedure to find a company. It is in their own
interest to support these businesses. Additionally, venture capital and government funding is
made available to promising enterprises.
Limited regulation of human resources offers freedom in personnel management. Tax laws
for companies are also very attractive in Dubai.
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2. As a virtual enterprise DENTAL21 is not dependent on a specific place to be close to its
customers. The expertise in the area of medicine and technology comes from all over the
world and is to be transferred to UAE.
1.5. Date for Start of Business
DENTAL21 starts its business July 1st, 2011 or after financing.
1.6. Legal Form
The company chooses a corporation to enable different investors to participate in this venture
and to make possible additional investment in the stages of building DENTAL21.
1.7. Organizational Structure
DENTAL21 has a streamlined organization and cooperates with experts in the different areas
of the venture.
During the start-up period the following positions are occupied by an interim management and
successively replaced by full time employees:
♦ Executive Director
♦ Medical Director/Art Director
♦ Financial Director
♦ Accounting
♦ Marketing Director
♦ Customer Service Director
♦ Production Director/Art Director
♦ Sales Force Director/Executive Advisor
During this process an organization develops into an adequate and healthy structure and
benefits from the expertise of its interim management.
2. Personal Data
2.1. Personal Data of the Founder
Dr. Adrian Degeratu DDS – Karlsruhe/Germany
Dr. Adrian Degeratu is the founder and major stockholder of DENTAL21 AG and studied
Medicine and Dentistry in Romania and Germany. He received his doctorate in 1990 in
Bucharest, Romania and in 1991 Karlsruhe, Germany. For 19 years he has owned his own
dental clinic in a partnership named Dres. Degeratu in Sinsheim, Germany. The clinic’s
specializations in dentistry are Surgery, Implantology, Periodontics, Restorative Dentistry and
Aesthetic dental health. He is a long-term member of all major dentist’s associations.
Dr. Degeratu is 54 years old, divorced and has 1 daughter. Many members of his family are
medical doctors and dentists worldwide. He is a global thinker and supports freedom as much
as a truly free economy.
Ten years ago, Dr. Degeratu started the development of his own Internet portal DENTAL21
AG that has its main focus on eLearning.
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3. 2.2. Interim Management Team
In order to found the company Dental 21 AG, an Interim Management Team is to be
contracted until qualified staff is in place.
The responsibility of the temporary staff is to build the organization according to the Business
Plan. This job includes all strategic and operational measurements until filled with staff.
Full-time staff is to be recruited within the first part of developing the company and unfold its
dynamic in the process. The Interim Management Team insures that the mission and
philosophy of the organization is carried out and passed down to cooperation partners and
further employees.
3. Product/Services
3.1. Introduction of the Products/Services
DENTAL21 is an international Internet portal for dentists and their related professionals and
assistants.
It is divided into three areas Academy, Community and B2B Shop. This combination offers a
complete service to dental health professionals regarding education in new innovations of the
dental health industry and putting this into practice. Communication and the exchange of
information benefit the participants as well as the industry. The B2B area of the portal enables
the participant to buy products and services introduced conveniently via the Internet.
Continuous education programs are also provided and supervised by the board of experts.
DENTAL21
Portal Dental 21
B2B Dental
Community
Academy
Plattform of
Dental M
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4. The highly qualified teams and cooperation partners guarantee the expected quality and the
responsibility for the knowledge that is mediated. World-recognized dentists comprise the
board of experts who offer their knowledge as lecturers. Instead of as it has been when a
lecturer had to appear physically at seminars, workshops, and conferences, he now
distributes his knowledge to an enormous audience via the Internet. With such technology,
knowledge transfer is made possible which compares similarly in image and tone to personal
tutoring. Because the professional accompaniment of the film team guarantees the production
of materials of highest picture quality, the close-up demonstrations bring the participant right
to the site of the event. The member, that is the participant of DENTAL21, has the advantage
himself to share in international information exchange and receives the pleasure of having
him self educated inexpensively by the best of their specialties. Additionally, his plans for
continuous education are managed and revised in a personal calendar. In this way, individual
learning plans can be constructed and appropriately planned which include live events, on-
demand productions, as well as DVD courses.
For example, the community reports about a new treatment method for periodontitis.
Simultaneously, it informs about an event on this topic for which the reader can register
himself. After successfully registering and paying the course fee, the customer receives a
password which logs him into the event. The lecturer is a world-recognized dentist who
demonstrates the application of a new product on a patient and comments live. Via a forum,
questions can be asked. The participant can at the close of the seminar in the DENTAL21
B2B area inform himself about the price and means of delivery for the product and, perhaps,
order it.
3.1.1. DENTAL21 Academy
DENTAL21 Academy is the main construct of the DENTAL21 portal. It is the first virtual
education and conference center for the dental community and provides its services in
a virtual university setting.
DENTAL21’s goal is to provide information and seminars with state-of-the-art technology and
methods in dental health and aesthetics.
The team consists of world-recognized dentists, professional film producers, experienced
project managers, portal administrators, eLearning content specialists, and editors. The portal
offers , in a virtual university setting, continuous education programs, seminars, conferences
and symposiums. Place of production for medical material is to be a High Tech Clinic based
in Dubai. The world’s best dentists demonstrate the state-of-the-art in modern dentistry.
DENTAL21 holds 49% of the clinic’s shares.
The following graph shows the components of Dental21’s eLearning structure:
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5. Components of Dental21’s
eLearning in Dentistry
Dental21 Portal
Academy
Collaboration
Competency
Assessment
Testing &
Content
Skills &
eLearning Management
eLearning Management
The eLearning Management is the foundation of all components. It ties all solutions of
eLearning together.
DENTAL21 provides tools to integrate the process of scheduling, delivering, and measuring
the success of one’s curriculum. This section provides a central location to manage all
varieties of training as well as learners and reports.
Collaboration:
One of the true advantages of the Web lies in its ability to create collaborative learning
communities that introduce real time human interaction.
Real-time collaboration technology offers many deployment opportunities beyond traditional
instructor-lead training. Cost efficiency and convenience provided by eLearning motivates
organizations to use the Internet as a delivery system for education.
DENTAL21 not only offers its own productions in education but also sells seminars or
workshops produced by other companies, such as manufacturers of dental products.
DENTAL21 sees that a virtual collaboration between participants is the most important
element of successfully implementing online education.
Content:
Content providers are the source of learning content, which comes primarily from their
courses. These courses cover many areas in dentistry produced by the dental industry. In the
future, each content provider, e.g. different manufacturers of dental products, is to have its
own portfolio of courses and workshops – perhaps, even in other languages.
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6. This content is included in the academy of DENTAL21. As a full range of eLearning in
dentistry is incorporated, learners can take courses and interact with live trainers and
lecturers, as well as learning material for more focused learning.
DENTAL21 uses eLearning systems to create timely relevant and personal learning
experience that increases productivity and quality in dental health.
Make or buy decisions of DENTAL21 are made according to set standards of quality.
Testing and Assessment
Competency Assessment is a critical component of a complete eLearning solution. It provides
the pieces needed to accurately evaluate an individual’s competency.
Dental 21 provides testing and assessment for various courses, seminars, and workshops.
Participants show their successful participation with a “Certificate of Accomplishment”.
Through this, all educators also receive powerful information to improve their assessment,
training, and survey options.
Skills and Competency
The purpose of this section is to validate one’s on-the-job experience.
DENTAL21 implements a system that provides information on how to plan an individual
continuous education program, provide a skill gap analysis, or provide learning events to fill
those gaps.
All Productions Meet the Following Criteria:
Requirements for DENTAL21’s eLearning Products:
♦ Use state-of-the-art technology
♦ Provide easy to understand content in the courses
♦ Provide active participation for the member
♦ Use effective teaching methods for internet events
♦ Provide interaction with other participants and the lecturer
♦ Offer easy to use tools
♦ Offer multiple languages (English, German, Spanish, Arabic)
♦ Provide high flexibility in activities because of freedom from government organizations
and funding.
♦ Use mobile film teams to produce material in high tech clinics, studios, or in conducting
live events
As a virtual academy, the learned materials can be tested using examinations with clear
behavioral objectives, such as multiple choice quizzes. Feedback and discussions are
provided to all participants.
An intelligent database establishes knowledge management that continuously grows with the
input provided by all events and communication.
DENTAL21 Academy is the first virtual seminar and continuous education center for dentists
and their associated professional staff.
The goal of DENTAL 21 is to offer information and teaching events for state-of-the-art
technology and methods in dentistry and dental aesthetics.
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7. The team consists of world-recognized dentists, professional film producers, experienced
project leaders, a portal administrator and editors. They offer continuous education seminars,
conferences, and symposiums, which match the following conditions:
♦ Utilizes state-of-the-art technology
♦ Presents easily understood course contents
♦ Involves the participant actively in the functions
♦ Utilizes effective teaching methods for Internet events
♦ Provides interaction with the lecturer and with other participants
♦ Integrates a simple manipulation of its tools
Content of the eLearning Offer
DENTAL21 offers incomparable seminars, workshops, symposiums, conferences, and
colloquiums. The conferences are revised yearly and designed to meet the desires of the
customer.
Regular surveys provide an insight into the needs and expectations of dentists, dental
technicians, and employees of clinics and laboratories.
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8. The following illustration shows the main areas of consideration.
Subjects:
Aesthetic Dentistry
Periodontics
Target Group: Events: Implantology
Orthodontics
Dentists Seminars Dental Prosthetics
Dental Materials
Dental Technicians Symposiums Preventive
Dentistry/Nutrition
Dental Hygienists Workshops Dental Hygine
Dental Laboratory
Clinic Personnel Conferences Endodontics
Medicine relevant to
Laboratory Personnel Lectures dentistry
Restorative dentistry
Colloquiums Pedodontics
Dental Surgery
Clinic Management
HighTech for Clinics
Events Team
Recognized lecturers are the key personnel at events. They give their know-how to the
seminar participant and inform about innovative products, such as therapeutic and treatment
possibilities, in cooperation with the industry.
DENTAL21 believes that many lecturers are eager to get on the eLearning express because
of the following reason: No matter how good they are, they can only teach so many students
in person. eLearning lifts these temporal and spatial barriers.
During the first phase of founding DENTAL21, events are to be presented which are planned
and financed in cooperation with the industry. It allows the presentation of products and the
demonstration of new methodologies and techniques that improve the quality of treatment.
One after the other, seminars and workshops are to be integrated that are able to build
progressively from continuous education to, finally, a specialty certification.
The industry has an interest in effectively presenting its products that require explanation.
This can be realized by an eLearning program rather than in other mass media. Immediately,
the manufacturer of dental medicine products can feature a product with a profoundly
lucrative marketing strategy by this method. DENTAL21 AG is a partner with the industry in
this connection.
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9. 3.1.2. Community
The DENTAL21 Community is partly attached to the virtual university and offers the member
a great deal of performance.
Content
♦ The Magazine: News from the world about business, politics, and culture.
♦ The Journal: Information about events, scientific topics, and R&D.
♦ The Spectrum: A medium between industry and dental medicine.
♦ The Profiler: Portraits of noted lecturers and researchers.
Chats and Forum
Free and moderated Chats make possible the international exchange between dentists and
dental specialists. These chats or forums can be switched from public to private discussion so
that only the dentists and specialists can participate.
Hotline
The hotline provides the member or seminar participant technical support for the efficient use
of his computer, technical installations (camera, microphone), software and the portal.
Member Administration
It operates here in the usual administration and information management for the members of
DENTAL21.
Administration of DENTAL21
The Administration acts as a university registrar but can be compared to a student council.
The Administration cares for seminar participants by giving them recommendations about
growth and continuous education, bundles continuous education packets, or displays
certificates. It takes over the seminar accounting, registration approval, and customer service.
3.1.3. DENTAL21 B2B
This area is to be taken over in all probability by a cooperation partner and financed with
outside money that concerns DENTAL21 AG only on the edges.
Basically, it can be said that at this point a bridge is built which, likewise, is to be a provider of
content for the continuous education area.
3.2. Advantage of the Product/Services
As a unique eLearning portal for dentists, DENTAL21 offers continuous education possibilities
that come to the home of the participant.
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10. DENTAL 21 is an excellent alternative in every area where the dentist himself has a serious
interest in continuous education rather than looking to merely amuse himself at a pleasant
event to personally talk with his colleagues.
Dentists in the immediate future are called upon to improve their education constantly. This
requirement will soon be the standard throughout Germany. Other countries already have a
continuous education requirement or will follow the example.
General Benefits
♦ Information always current and new – all about dental medicine
♦ Time saving and optimal use of free time
♦ High quality live events and productions with close-up demonstrations
♦ Forums and moderation offer active participation in seminars
♦ World-renowned lectures explain their knowledge to a broader audience
♦ Support for individually tailored continuous education
♦ Support for dentists in other countries who need to reach parity in dental medicine
♦ Dentists in private practice can provide continuous education for their specialized
personnel inexpensively and at convenient time
Benefits to the Customer
♦ No visits to congresses and meetings, no travel costs
♦ Education on-demand
♦ Support of lifelong learning
♦ No participation restrictions for members of the industry
♦ No participation restrictions for participants
♦ Low cost participation
♦ Support of individual continuous education
♦ Support for dentists in developing countries
Benefit to the Industry
♦ Uses an elegant form of product placement
♦ Places advertisements on the web pages of the portal
♦ Benefits from ideal PR potential
♦ Supports worldwide eLearning
♦ Transfers know-how into developing countries
♦ Actively supports continuous education in dental health worldwide
♦ Profits from the exchange of information between research & development and clinic
routines
3.3. Life Cycle of Product/Services
The portal itself is on the pulse of time through its contact with industry and through current
seminars. The life cycle itself is defined in the largest part by the state-of-the-art seminar
offers. The board of experts assures that this innovative orientation is guaranteed.
In actuality, DENTAL21 remains always fresh and current because the topics in research and
continuous education are continually revised.
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11. 3.4. Status of Development and Planning
After the financing of the project, the founding and construction of the organization begins.
The Interim Management as general contractor, is to professionally supervise the setup.
Around this time, a survey of dentists out of various lands takes place to establish their
schooling needs and desired topics and to establish how they envision eLearning meeting
these needs. According to the results, the board of experts plans and confirms the agenda of
events for the first 12 months.
The administrator for the portal software (at this time, an application from BlackBoard is being
considered) is commissioned to build the portal in detail and to train the employees of
DENTAL21 in its individual functions.
The setup of the portal succeeds in phases that are matched with PR measures to generate
traffic at the earliest possible time on the portal. The site visitor is to be informed and
interested with a full-launch countdown.
The preparation of the portal runs between 6 –18 months (rough estimate).
4. The Market
4.1. Description of the Present Situation
4.1.1. Market of Dentistry
Potential Participants
The market of DENTAL21 consists of dentists, dental technicians, and dental clinic and lab
personnel worldwide. This market contains about at least 1.6 Million medical people in Europe
and the USA.
About 362,000 people are part of the dental health market in Germany according to the
Deutsche Ärzteblatt 95, Heft 7, 13. Feb.1998. According to the Verband der deutschen
Dentalindustrie (Association of the German Dental Industry), about 77,000 employees work in
8,400 dental labs.
Potential Revenues
German dental clinics have an average of 5 people on their staff. (Deutsche Ärzteblatt 95,
Heft 7, 13. Feb.1998). The following extrapolation reveals the potential market for DENTAL21.
Considering 350,000 dental clinics in Europe about 1.75 Million employees would be part of
the dental health segment and, therefore, potential customers for DENTAL21.
The dental community in Germany produced about 35 Billion-DM in revenues in 1996.
Considering 1% of revenues being applied to continuous education DENTAL21 has a market
volume of 35 Million-DM in Germany. In the USA, the average net income of solo, full-time,
private dental specialists amounted to DM 447,546.00 ($ 203,430). There are 156,500
dentists in the USA.
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12. Sinking profits forces German clinics to change and find better ways to provide services and
bring more efficiency into their clinics. (Deutsche Ärzteblatt 95, Heft 7, 13. Feb.1998).
Mainstream in Dental Health
In March 2001, the Journal of Dentistry reported in the Internet portal of the World Health
Organization the necessity of matching continuous education programs in dental health with
the changing health problems and technological innovations – and this with increased speed
and flexibility.
DENTAL21 focuses on working with the dental industry and profits from their interest
in introducing new innovations to the market quickly. This strategy pushes and
stimulates the development of DENTAL21 and promises support of the industry.
This strategy clearly differentiates DENTAL21 from its competitors. It supports the
organization’s innovative technologies. World-recognized dentists introduce and demonstrate
these innovations via the Internet and modern, multimedia technology. In this regard, not only
the medical community benefits, but the patient has quicker access to better care.
At the moment, dental medicine is changing. This change can be strongly noticed in areas
like dental hygiene and dental aesthetics.
The ADEA (USA) confirms that preventive dental medicine will find its way to general
medicine. Dental Health now incorporates a scientific recognition, as the recent Surgeon
General report Oral Health in America states, that “the mouth is the mirror of health and
disease” that can help diagnose disorders such as diabetes, leukemia, heart disease or
anemia. Dental health, in short, is integral to overall health. (Dental Education and Oral
Health, published by ADEA in March 2001)
4.1.2. Market of eLearning and Continuous Education
The Freier Verband Deutscher Zahnärzte e.V. (Free Association of German Dentists)
revealed in a personal interview in March 2001 that on average a dentist spends 5 days and
400.00 DM per day on seminars. The Kassenärzliche Bundesvereinigung has verified the
statement above.
As there are 62,024 practicing dentists in Germany the market volume for dentists only in
Germany amounts to 124 Million-DM.
Manufacturers of dental equipment see seminars as a valuable marketing instrument
(Degussa Dental, Friadent GmbH, Vita-Zahnfabrik GmbH & Co.KG). Degussa offers seminars
for 10 or 100 participants as well as large congresses. All seminars consist of technical know-
how and product related know-how. All events are planned to break even with cost involved
by participation fees. Friadent is unable to break even and uses 20% of its marketing budget
to finance continuous education.
According to Training magazine, nearly two-thirds of all corporate training expenses involve
accommodations and travel in getting to and from a training site. Although classroom learning
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13. still commands almost 90 percent of the corporate training market, this is changing rapidly.
According to GartnerGroup, in the health industry, eLearning represents 10% of the market in
2000 and is projected to be 15 % in 2001. Within the education industry, eLearning will win
30% of the market in 2001.
The total corporate-training market is $66 billion and will continue to increase. Web-based
training will increase from $2 billion today to $11.5 billion in 2003. This shows a strong trend
pushing for eLearning in all areas of continuous education and corporate training (Upside
Magazine 12/00)
4.2. Description of the Future Situation (Development)
4.2.1. Dentistry
In the future dentists in Germany will have to prove their continuous education
accomplishments. At the same time, the German health care system causes shrinking
revenues. More cost effective education programs will satisfy the upcoming need for:
♦ Continuous education
♦ Education on demand
♦ Reduction of training costs
♦ Reduction of invested time
Additionally, German dentists find themselves more frequently exploring new areas of dental
health and dental aesthetics that are introduced by the USA’s dental market. This market is
lucrative and in some categories detached from the German health care system. This rather
open market for services provides new income possibilities to the German dentist suffering
from revenue limitation caused by the national health plan.
Although US dentists do not suffer from reduction of income and are able to spend higher
amounts for continuous education and travel, dental health responsibility shifts into the area
of general practitioners. These must be trained for their new fields of service. Rigorous
competition motivates US dentists to not only provide themselves with continuous education
but also to continuously qualify their staff in new fields of service and in how services are
being provided. At the same time, efficiency plays a major role in the decision made for
education programs for employees.
4.2.2. eLearning
Many new companies in the eLearning market show a promising future in all areas of
education. DigitalThink, SABA and SkillSoft have hit it big in recent IPOs. (Upside Magazine,
12/00). These companies and many more provide support to education providers in
eLearning or offer Internet seminars and workshops themselves with great success.
There are many good reasons why eLearning has a great future in the world. And the
pioneers in this market are proving at this time that:
♦ Demand for eLearning is increasing
♦ Technology enables eLearning companies already to provide high quality services
♦ Technology is improving its abilities to make data transfer and mainstreaming faster and
better
♦ Internet users are increasing worldwide
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14. 4.3. Structure of market and competitors
At this point there is no known competitor in eLearning for the dental market. Many
companies are in the field of eLearning and can be used as references and corporate
partners to build and manage DENTAL21.
DENTAL21 has identified one slightly similar, developing business that functions on a
different level. Government funding and various associations support it. This organization is
rather inflexible and unable to use the industry as a supporting body.
Different from the competition
DENTAL21 benefits from cooperating with the industry and is flexible and customer oriented
due to its structure and lean management.
DENTAL21 focuses on the dental industry and profits from their motivation to introduce
innovations to the market quickly. This strategy promises to push DENTAL21’s development
and supports its business because of a vested interest on both sides.
According to current information, DENTAL21 differs from its potential competitors in the
following points:
♦ Availability of multiple languages (German, English, Spanish, Arabic, French)
♦ High flexibility in its operation (free from Government support and financial aid)
♦ A core competence is the support of dental health in Arabic countries via Internet, smart
down loads and DVDs. Underdeveloped countries benefit from access to education and
knowledge transfer .
♦ Synergy: knowledge in research and development in western countries is transferred to
Arabic countries and their neighbors.
♦ Mobile film teams produce events in high tech clinics or studios with world-recognized
dentists and dental technicians and introduce new treatment, craft and technology to its
participants.
Unique Standpoint Compared to Traditional Education Programs
DENTAL21 has success in its business because of the technology used, the international
target group, and its locus in Dubai. Its unique standpoint benefits customers as follows:
♦ No visits to congresses
♦ No additional travel expenses
♦ Education-on-demand
♦ Support of lifelong learning
♦ No limits for the content and content participants
♦ No limits for attendees
♦ Cost reduced participation
♦ Support of individual continuous education
♦ Support of members of the dental health community in underdeveloped countries
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15. Board of Experts
World-recognized dentists demonstrate and communicate their knowledge and experience via
live or produced seminars, workshops and conferences. These experts form the Board of
Experts. Its responsibility is to maintain high quality in education and the presentation of
innovation, to support accreditation and certification programs, and to enhance the
mainstream of DENTAL21’s philosophy and strategies.
DENTAL21 offers shares of the company to secure the commitment of these experts.
DENTAL21 Foundation
In phase III of the business development, DENTAL21 creates a foundation to support
members of the dental health community in developing countries. In this way they benefit
from knowledge transfer and continuous education programs. They are able to pass this
knowledge down to their patients and continuously improve health worldwide.
DENTAL21 supports the foundation by donating a specific percentage of its profits. The
industry and other organizations are encouraged to follow this example and build a foundation
with a large fund to support its mission.
Knowledge Management
Within DENTAL21, a great volume of knowledge and experience is exchanged among
lecturers, participants, industry, research and development, visitors and technical experts.
This knowledge should not be lost. Knowledge management makes experience, knowledge,
and understanding transparent and capable of being provided to people or organizations who
are interested on demand. The software catalogs knowledge and manages and forwards it
intelligently.
4.4. Goals and Strategy of Enterprise
DENTAL21 plans to be the number one eLearning Portal for dentists worldwide. This goal is
to be reached by the following strategies:
♦ Supporting the industry to introduce innovations to the market quickly
♦ Offering high quality education programs from the industry to the dentists
♦ Enabling members of the dental industry to benefit from affordable continuous education
programs.
♦ Supporting the medical community in underdeveloped areas of the world to participate in
continuous education programs.
Phase of Finance and Company Development:
DENTAL21 plans to cooperate with Dental M (Platform for Dental Health and Commerce),
Quintessence Verlag (Publisher) and Beta Verlag (Publisher). This means that Dental M and
DENTAL21 exchange shares. Additionally, DENTAL21 buys into both publishers.
DENTAL21 is seeking a total of $ 5 Million. The break even point is reached in 2013, 2 ½
years after founding. $ 17 Million in revenues are estimated in 2013. In 2016, Dental21
reaches revenues of $ 63.6 Million.
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16. The founding of DENTAL21 is split in three phases to ensure reasonable and healthy growth.
The different phases are described below:
Phases Measurements Investments
needed in $
I Phase: Start up:
• Founding of the Company
Cooperatives:
Manifest Cooperatives
• Dental M 1.000.000 $
• Quintessence Verlag 500.000 $
• Beta Verlag 500.000 $
Operation and Development:
Basis Germany 500.000 $
Basis Dubai 500.000 $
Basis USA 1.000.000 $
• Implementing of necessary technology 1.000.000 $
• Developing a platform to build the organization, the
academy, and the content for eLearning
• Investing in a building and equipment
• Developing the organizational structure
• Developing the DENTAL21 Community
• Developing the Academy/Industry – Innovative Education
II Phase Development of Continuous Education:
Producing continuous education programs
Developing an accreditation and certification program
Expanding the DENTAL21 Community
Developing a Knowledge Management System
III Phase Founding of DENTAL21 Foundation
Developing the a scholarship program
5. Marketing/Sales
5.1. Customers/Target Group
Many countries in the world have published information about the number of dentists in their
country. According to these statistics, there are more than 480,474 dentists in the world – not
considering Africa, most of Asia, and UEA and its bordering countries.
About 266,560 people work in private dental practices of which more than 50% are dental
assistants including dental hygienists.
The total number of detected potential customers amounts to more than 2.08 Million people in
dental health.
According to OECD Health Data, their published information reveals an increase of practicing
dentists in most countries worldwide. Growth rates averaged about 5% from 1995 to 1997.
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17. Potential customers of Dental21
Germany worldwide worldwide
Professions 1997 1998 Amount* Amount** %
Dentists na na 62.024 480.474
Dental Intern 0,18 0,17 8.833 53.092 3,31%
Dental Technicians 0,20 0,19 9.873 59.339 3,70%
Dental Assistants 2,88 2,70 140.295 843.232 52,63%
Apprentices 1,03 0,95 49.363 296.693 18,52%
other 1,00 0,96 49.883 299.816 18,71%
unpaid family assistance 0,14 0,16 8.314 49.969 3,12%
Total 5,43*** 5,13 266.560 1.602.140 100,00%
* Basis: 51.961 clinics
** Basis: 480.474 dentists, extrapolation 65% in private practice = 312308
*** Number of employees per clinic
Source: Statistics of National Dentist Association Germany, Statistics Department of Germany
5.2. Potential Demand
The potential demand for DENTAL21 has been carefully evaluated and is based on the
number of dentists in Europe and USA. The total number of potential customers also could be
based on the total number of people working in dental health worldwide. For Europe and USA
this number totals 1.6 Million people.
Health care and health insurance companies are increasing their requirements for continuous
education in the USA and Europe. This means that dentists and their medical staff have to
prove their continuous education efforts. Because of this rigorous trend, many members of
the dental health community worldwide are gaining interest in eLearning as a beneficial way
to meet requirements of continuous education.
Estimated Demand
Area/Year 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
Base Germany 0 2.000 5.000 10.000 20.000 30.000
Base Dubai 0 300 600 1.200 2.400 6.800
Base USA 0 0 3.000 6.000 12.000 30.000
Total 0 2.300 8.600 17.200 34.400 66.800
5.3. Sales Policies
DENTAL21 benefits from cooperation with Dental M and the publishers mentioned above.
Additionally, cooperatives with manufacturers draw potential customers to the portal because
many short introductory seminars or presentations are provided free to the customers and are
financed through the product placement strategies of the producer.
The sales force consists of dentists and dental technicians. As mostly PR strategies are used
to attract customers, a sales force is to be in place in the first year to promote DENTAL21 at
exhibitions and traditional conferences and workshops.
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18. 5.4. Price Policies and Price Design
5.4.1. Memberships
DENTAL21 offers a free area and a member’s only area. Memberships cost $150 per annum
to sign as an organization including the first person. Any additional employee adds $30 each
to the fee per annum.
The member receives an educational newsletter introducing innovation and informing of
health news. He also receives various rebates and special offers for courses, seminars, and
workshops or conferences. Specific content is to be free of charge for members.
5.4.2. Events
All chargeable events are priced according to their source, length, complexity, content and the
technology involved and can run from $50 to $2.000, 00. The amount charged for continuous
education programs is to be evaluated in phase II of the business development plan.
5.4.3. Education Consulting
Education consulting costs between $50 - $2000 per service according to its complexity,
purpose, and whether the customer is a member of DENTAL21. Education consulting
reaches from assisting in setting up an individual training program to planning a continuous
education program for a complete clinic or laboratory. This includes an analysis of training
requirements. Individual coaching also is provided on request.
5.4.4. B2B Revenues
DENTAL21 retrieves income from all sales that are generated through its portal. The
manufacturers of the dental industry give a specific percentage (e.g. 5%) for the total amount
of ordered products.
5.5. Product and Service Policies
DENTAL21 offers different service packages to satisfy the individual need of customers:
Visitor Area
Visitors to the portal have free access to different areas. These visits also can be non-
medically related. This open area of DENTAL21 offers information about the services
provided and education regarding dental health and hygiene. Visitors are able to view some
content and presentations. They also benefit from interesting links and recommendations.
Member Area
All members must belong to the health care community (incl. medical students and
apprentices). Members have free access to all areas of the portal. They receive a newsletter
regularly and benefit from up to date medical information provided by the cooperating
publishers. Some seminars are to be free or offered with a rebate.
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19. Continuous Education Subscription
Members are able to buy a price reduced subscription package. These subscriptions include
seminars, workshops, and other events throughout a whole year. An education consultant
provides help and information to arrange a suitable education package. This offer can be
especially interesting to personnel of related health care. They are required to increase their
knowledge in dental health in the future and by regulation.
Content and Events
Events are seminars, workshops, conferences, colloquiums and symposiums. These events
are offered in different styles and characters. They are either produced by DENTAL21 or
bought from publishers and content providers. Events can also be sponsored by the industry
– product placement.
Non-members can attend all events for a higher fee.
Education Consulting
People interested in continuous education programs benefit from education consultants.
These consultants plan complete education packages for individuals or whole organizations
like dental laboratories or dental clinics.
B2B Shop
The B2B area provides shopping opportunities for visitors, members and participants.
Especially after a product introduction seminar, the participant is able to order these products
in the B2B area of DENTAL21. Additionally, many health care or business related links can
lead the server to adequate links and referrals.
5.6. Communication Policies
The Verband der deutschen Dentalindustrie has 200 registered members. DENTAL21
introduces itself as service provider and service partner.
The goal is to assist the manufacturer in an outsourcing program of that part of their
marketing strategy that provides product and health procedure education in dentistry. Doing
so, innovations are introduced more quickly to the market than by using conservative
methods. The production of the seminars/workshops can either be produced by the
manufacturer or offered to a media production company for production. Personal
conversations with manufacturers revealed a great need for such services.
Strategic Partnerships with world renowned dentists, dental technicians and companies of the
dental industry support DENTAL21 in communication measurements and build trust in the
market.
5.6.1. Advertisement
Direct Marketing: Personal contact with trendsetters in dental health.
Cooperatives: DENTAL21 benefits from cooperatives and receives free advertisement and
public relations for its portal through their contacts.
Introductory Events: Hand-selected dentists, manufacturers and owners of laboratories are
invited to a live event that introduces the DENTAL21 Portal and its features. Journalists,
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20. broadcasters, and TV channels are also invited. The event is filmed and placed in the Internet
to watch.
Classic and Internet advertisement: Ads and links in related Internet sites.
5.6.2. Marketing focus: Public Relations and Sales Support
A public relations agency supports this important part of the marketing plan.
♦ Folders and CDs which introduce DENTAL21
♦ Press conferences spread the word
♦ TV Shows present it in different countries
♦ Advertisement in magazines and health portals
♦ Exhibitions and other similar events are attended.
♦ Special live events are offered free of charge
♦ Direct Mailings
♦ Build strong contacts to opinion builders
5.6.3. Sponsoring
Establishing a foundation enables DENTAL21 to support personnel of health care in
developing countries by providing free, cost reduced, or sponsored continuous education
programs. The foundation receives its revenues from the profits of DENTAL21, the industry,
or other organizations.
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