Document Type

Brief

Publication Date

2001

Abstract

Many nongovernmental organizations sell contraceptives through retail outlets to generate income and expand access to these products. In 1998 Centro Médico de Orientación y Planifación Familiar (CEMOPLAF) employed 25 sales agents in 14 cities throughout Ecuador. These agents sold products, including contraceptive methods and home pregnancy tests, to pharmacies, physicians, other distributors, and nontraditional outlets. Contraceptive sales were CEMOPLAF’s largest source of revenue in 1997. Sales had grown rapidly during 1996–97, but CEMOPLAF managers did not know whether product sales were profitable. With support from the Population Council and Family Health International, CEMOPLAF made a detailed analysis of product sales income and costs during 1998. As noted in this summary, the analysis found that net revenue is the best measure of sales performance, since it takes product costs into account; sales agents in large cities had the largest sales and generated most of the profits, whereas sales agents in smaller cities had lower sales volume; and program managers should set up a routine financial analysis system to monitor product sales, profits, and unit costs for sound decision-making.

Comments

Also available in Spanish

DOI

10.31899/rh2001.1007

Language

English

Project

Frontiers in Reproductive Health

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