As integration and information management applications take center stage in managing the critical business processes, there has been a growing need to have a robust enterprise scale data management and information delivery framework that can serve as the foundation for information needs of the organization. Due to the changing and dynamic nature of businesses, IT infrastructure is increasingly moving toward service-oriented architecture (SOA). This article discusses typical business challenges in the pharmaceutical industry and why data as a service is a viable option for information delivery, especially in the commercial operations of sales and marketing within this industry.
Pharmaceutical industries face some unique challenges to stay afloat and be profitable. Huge investment is required for new drug discoveries. The cycle time of drug discovery can take as long as 10 to 15 years, including clinical trials and regulatory approval, before a drug can be commercially sold. Subsequent to this long investment, the window of profitability lies within the period that the patent of the drug is valid. After the expiration of the patent, there can be serious competition from generic companies who can market cheaper version of the same drug.
Faced with such challenges, some of the most crucial business processes in a pharmaceutical organization include the efficient management of:
- Sales and Marketing functions - Segmentation and sales force productivity, portfolio optimization, brand management and product management.
- Research and development - Drug discovery, clinical trials and drug development.
- Manufacturing - Process control and optimization, production planning and quality control.
- Packaging and distribution - Supply chain optimization and management.
- General administration, including legal expenses.
Generally, for the prescription drugs, it has to be popular among the physicians to be sold to the patients. Hence, the selling must be targeted toward physicians and other major health care providers such as hospitals, clinics and so on. Key activities for the sales teams include:
- Targeting the right physicians and health care providers.
- Informed call planning of the sales force.
- Efficient and timely incentive and compensation calculations for the sales force.
- Contract management.
- Key opinion leaders (KOL) management.
- Product management.
Information Needs for Sales in a Pharma Company
The key information required for business analytics for commercial operations are sales (retail and outlet) and call activity data. Sales and marketing functions within the pharmaceutical companies, especially in the U.S. depend heavily on the external data providers for the projected sales data of their own drugs and those of their competitors. These data providers get the data from various pharmacies, clinics and hospitals, where the drugs are purchased by retail customers and outlets. Typical business analytics performed are:
- Market share analysis/regional analysis - To enable market competitiveness in the same therapeutic class and the market in general.
- Call planning and targeting - To prepare physician visit plan with the limited sales force organization to maximize visit coverage and effectiveness.
- Call activity monitoring - To analyze calls to physicians against plans and its impact on sales.
