Cardinal Health 2009 Annual Report Download - page 31

Clinical and Medical Products Segment
The Company’s Clinical and Medical Products segment faces competition in both its domestic and
international markets. Its infusion and respiratory products compete based upon quality, technological
innovation, price, brand recognition, patents and other intellectual property and the value proposition of helping
improve patient outcomes while reducing overall costs associated with patient safety. Competitors with respect to
infusion products include both domestic and foreign companies, including Hospira, Inc., B. Braun Melsungen
AG, Baxter International Inc. and Fresenius SE. Competitors with respect to medical product and respiratory
product manufacturers include Kimberly-Clark Corporation, Covidien Ltd., Teleflex Incorporated, Medline
Industries, Inc., Ansell Limited, 3M Company, Getinge AB, Dräger Medical AG & Co. KG and Koninklijke
Philips Electronics N.V., among others.
This segment’s dispensing products (including supply dispensing products) compete based upon quality,
relationships with customers, price, customer service and support capabilities, patents and other intellectual
property and its ability to interface with customer information systems. Actual and potential competitors with
respect to dispensing products include both existing domestic and foreign companies, including McKesson
Corporation and Omnicell, Inc., as well as emerging companies that supply products for specialized markets and
other outside service providers.
All Other Segment
The Company’s All Other segment faces competition with respect to pharmacy franchising operations from
other franchisors of pharmacies. Competition for this business is based primarily upon aggregation of purchase
volume, operational support and assistance, benefits offered to both the pharmacist and the customer, access to
third-party programs, brand awareness and marketing support and pricing. Medicine Shoppe also needs to be
competitive with lower cost retail independent networks or cooperatives that provide support services to
pharmacies, as well as a pharmacist’s ongoing option to operate independently or work at a regional or national
chain.
This segment’s pharmacy services business competes based on range and quality of services, price, effective
use of information systems, development and implementation of clinical programs and the established base of
existing operations. Competitors include both national and regional hospital pharmacy management and remote
order entry firms, including Comprehensive Pharmacy Services, as well as self-managed hospitals and hospital
systems.
Employees
As of June 30, 2009, the Company had approximately 29,600 employees in the United States and
approximately 16,900 employees outside of the United States. Overall, the Company considers its employee
relations to be good.
Intellectual Property
The Company relies on a combination of trade secret, patent, copyright and trademark laws, nondisclosure
and other contractual provisions and technical measures to protect its products, services and intangible assets.
These proprietary rights are important to the Company’s ongoing operations. The Company operates under
licenses for certain proprietary technology and in certain instances licenses its technology to third parties.
The Company has applied in the United States and certain foreign countries for registration of a number of
trademarks and service marks, some of which have been registered, and also holds common law rights in various
trademarks and service marks. It is possible that in some cases the Company may be unable to obtain the
registrations for trademarks and service marks for which it has applied.
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