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Introduction - SCA's global brand, TENA

SCA is the world leader in incontinence care product. The International Continence Society defines incontinence as any involuntary leakage of urine. SCA's global brand, TENA, comprises a complete product portfolio of incontinence products range from large absorbent incontinence protection in a pant model to ultra-thin protective pads. SCA creates it's value through knowledge of consumer and customer needs, regional presence and efficient production. SCA products are produced nearly exclusively from renewable and recyclable materials. Equal quantities of recycled and fresh wood fibres are used in production.

Part 1: Marketing Environment Audit

1.1 Demographics

The age structure for the past four censuses (in 1970, 1980, 1991 and 2000) shows that the proportion of younger age groups (15 years and below) is decreasing, while the proportion of elderly is on the rise. The median age was 17.4 in 1970, 21.9 in 1991, 23.6 in 2000 and is projected to increase to 27.1 in the year 2020. Within a period of thirty years (from 1991 to 2020), the median age will have increased on average by 1.7 per decade. The old-age dependency ratio is expected to increase to 15.7 in 2020 from 10.5 in 1970. Over a period of 50 years, the median age of the Malaysian population will increase by 10, and the old-age dependency ratio by 5 (Department of Statistics, Malaysia 1998). By the year 2020, Malaysia will be a mature society with 9.5 per cent of its population aged 60 and above. The proportion of population 65 years and over for Malaysia in Census 2000 was recorded at 3.9% compared to 3.7% in 1991. Consequently, the median age for Malaysia as a whole increased from 21.9 years in 1991 to 23.6 years in 2000. All these different age parameters point clearly towards a continuation of the trend of population ageing in Malaysia.

In spite of this, Malaysia's ageing population has resulted in an increase in elderly care services, especially in incontinence products, which brought about a "boom" in sales in 2005, despite a price increase. Research by Malaysian Medical Association found that urinary incontinence is one of the major problems affecting the elderly population but often little amount of attention is given to this problem. The prevalence of urinary incontinence in the elderly population varies from 30% to 50% according to age. It was reported that more than one-third of women over the age of 65 years have some degree of incontinence and in men the prevalence ranges from 3-11%. This condition often goes untreated because of the misconception that the disease is part of the normal ageing process. Incontinence is a problem that is grow rapidly as populations become increasingly older. "It's NO secret that demographic development and trends pose a great deal of opportunities to SCA incontinence care product.

1.2 Economic

The Malaysia ageing market can be regarded as highly potential. Consumers aged 45-50 years are among the most prominent in the coming years, with vast markets and products to be offered. These seniors have high disposable incomes, making it a highly attractive and profitable segment. The reasons behind this income trend include lesser dependents, higher earnings, inheritance and their decreasing long term financial payments. With the growing numbers of the ageing population, Malaysian manufacturers must be at par and to be prepared to the senior's sensitive changing lifestyles.

In global market, incontinence products is accounting for the fastest growth, affecting between 5 and 7% of the world's population. These products are used in institutional care and are also sold directly to consumers at retail outlets and through pharmacies and shops specializing in medical supplies. Market growth is driven by demographic factors, primarily aging populations, but also by increased buying power. Wider acceptance of incontinence problems, increased availability of the products in retail outlets as well as innovation and brand building are also factors driving growth.

Today, SCA is the dominant player in the area of absorbent incontinence protection, with 26 per cent of a market that has a total turnover of 5 billion euros. SCA's incontinence products are sold under the TENA brand in 90 countries. Statistic shows that approximately one woman out of four will be affected during her lifetime; the condition is more common than normal fever. SCA noticed that consumers have become more demanding as they want to live their lives as they have always done. To meet these demands, major investments are being made in product development and design.

1.3 Environmental

Manufacturing incontinence care based product requires quite a significant amount of natural resources and energy. The typical SCA product comprises different types of wood fibers. In addition, small amounts of inorganic and organic fossil materials are part of the mass flow from SCA. Renewable resources (fresh wood fiber and recycled fiber) account for the major part of the total weight in an SCA product. Inorganic materials (kaolin, clay and calcium carbonate) are used as fillers and coating pigments to satisfy customer demands for high incontinence care product quality. Synthetic materials are used in high-absorption personal care products to enhance quality and functionality, as well as in special high-protection packaging.

In generally it is considered a 'dirty' industry which produces lots of pollutants, and SCA is proud of its impeccable environmental record. SCA's Environmental Committee has created a series of horizontal networks to address emerging environmental issues, adapt to changes, benchmark and support the implementation of environmental policies. The networks identify and investigate issues, prepare solutions and disseminate SCA Position Papers that serve as guidelines to all employees. An important input to the networks is the data collected by SCA's Resource Management System (RMS) on resource utilization and emissions. Some of the involved networks are:

* Waste Management Network: which deals with waste management systems and statistics to manage and control manufacturing- waste flows.

* Resource Management System (RMS): collects all technical data and supports all other networks with manufacturing data and information (tabulations, verification, analysis and statistics).

* Environment Management Network: which deals with environmental management systems, environmental labeling, environmental standardization, LCA techniques, policies and exchange of experience.

* SCA Product Safety