Press Release
TGaS Advisors Convenes “Mega-Summit” for Pharma Leaders on the Impact of Industry Trends on Commercial Organizations
East Norriton, Penn., May 26, 2009 – New approaches to offshoring, increasing complexity in all operational areas, “effectiveness” metrics and emerging opportunities for better Managed Markets support were some of the hot issues debated at TGaS® Advisors’ first “Mega-Summit.” Fifty-three Commercial Operations leaders from 22 pharmaceutical companies met in Princeton in mid-May for the invitation-only gathering. The day-long event, the largest ever for the benchmarking and advisory services firm, was part of an ongoing series that brings together decision-makers to exchange ideas on their key issues and learn “How other pharmaceutical companies do ‘it.’”®
Stephen E. Gerard, Managing Partner, moderated a keynote panel featuring three senior leaders of top pharma Commercial Operations teams to open the Summit. The panel discussed challenges facing the pharmaceutical industry and the impact on commercial organizations. Summit attendees, all TGaS Advisors clients, are participants in the firm’s confidential collaborative benchmarks.
Four break-out sessions explored Commercial, Marketing, Sales and Marketing Sciences Operations issues in-depth. A sampling of hot-button issues and on-the-spot surveys from various sessions follows.
Commercial Operations: Field Force Workload Drivers, Off/Onshoring and Managed Markets
- Field Force reductions being offset by the additional workload resulting from the increasing complexity of account targeting, training requirements and brands being supported
- Current trends in offshoring turning out to be onshoring – using vendors who achieve lower costs through managing their operations both onshore and offshore
- Usefulness of operations skills in Managed Markets, which currently operates as an “island” in many companies, particularly in Contract Analysis, ROI and Pull-Through initiatives
Marketing Operations: Becoming “Trusted Advisors,” Digital Media and Promotional Review, Effectiveness Metrics
- Reinventing the role of Marketing Operations and transitioning from a transactional role to a “Trusted Advisor” relationship, advising on the alignment of key business strategies to operational priorities
- The proliferation of digital media and the profound challenges for promotional review; process and workload “bursting under the weight,” new skill sets essential
- The growing trend to go beyond activity/efficiency metrics to measures for ROI + effectiveness
Sales Operations: New Selling Models, Alternative Sales Channels
New selling models being considered, piloted and implemented by the group: -Most considered: Account-based selling (32%)
-Most piloted: Embedded contract sales force (47%)
-Most implemented: Flexible sales force resources/deployment by geography (47%)Alternative channels:
-Most considered: Video-Detailing (41%)
-Most piloted: E-Detailing (29%)
-Most implemented: E-Detailing (47%)
Marketing Sciences Operations: Differential Resourcing, Offshoring
- Differential resourcing – varying levels of service across brands — with 58% of participants offering a formal, tiered resourcing structure to brands (both in Marketing Sciences and in Marketing)
- Two-thirds using offshore personnel to support Marketing Sciences, primarily for Marketing Analytics and Secondary Information
Asked about their experience at the day-long event, one participant said: “I found the TGaS Advisors Summit to be a great forum for the exchange of ideas. I am excited about sharing the learnings with our larger team – there are many ideas worth considering.”
Jim Mercante, TGaS Advisors Partner, observed: “The Summit had both individual and group benefits. It gave attendees an opportunity to step away from the day-to-day, network and establish relationships outside their area of operations. Beyond that, we were able to leverage the collective expertise and insights of the entire group and had the benefit of a senior operations executive perspective on both the business and operations areas.”
TGaS Advisors currently provides operational benchmarking and advice in Sales, Sales Leadership, Marketing, Managed Markets, Marketing Sciences, Commercial Compliance and Internet and Relationship Marketing as well as Commercial Operations Integration services. Additional benchmarks are developed in response to client needs.
About TGaS® Advisors LLC
TGaS Advisors, ranked ninth among health-related companies by the Inc. 500, is the leader in benchmarking and advisory services to the pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical industry. The TGaS Advisors roster includes nine of the top 10 and the majority of the top 50 pharmaceutical companies with operations in the U.S. market. The firm’s benchmarking and advisory services suite of solutions, PharmaStance®, provides clients with a way to measure where they stand with respect to their organizations and answers the question, “How do other pharmaceutical companies do ‘it’?”® TGaS Advisors is based in East Norriton, Pennsylvania.
- Other 2009:
- TGaS Advisors’ Gerard Featured on Executive Leaders Radio
- TGaS Advisors Hosts Pharma Commercial Operations Summit on 2010 Trends
- TGaS Advisors’ Donna Wray Invited to Present Benchmark Findings and Recommendations on Digital Marketing Issues at DDMAC Hearings
- The Right Skill Sets for Pharma More Critical Than Ever in 2009, According to TGaS Advisors Organizational Career Guide
- TGaS Advisors Sample Accountability Benchmark Shows Stepped-Up Focus on Compliance Operations
- TGaS Advisors Named to Philadelphia 100®
- Brian Deppen Joins TGaS Advisors Managed Markets Practice
- Managed Markets Leaders Identify Most Urgent Concerns
- TGaS Advisors Appoints Anthony Sorce, Vice President, New Business Development and Jeff Wojcik Promoted to Principal
- TGaS Advisors Named to 2009 INC 500/5000, Ranked First in Business Products & Services in the Mid-Atlantic Region
- Commercial Compliance Benchmark Charts Promotional Monitoring by Pharmaceutical Companies
- Critical Job Skills, Career Progression are Key Issues for Sales Ops Leadership
- Taking “Closed Loop” to the Next Level: Re-Imagining Sales and Managed Markets as an Interactive System
- FDA Letters Hobble a Favorite Relationship Marketing Tactic of TGaS Advisors Benchmark Companies Page
- TGaS Advisors Analytics Experts Urge Pharma Management Sciences Professionals to Help Shape Industry Future
- TGaS Advisors Appoints Curt Staab Director, Management Advisor, Sales Advisory Practice
- TGaS Advisors Offers Benchmark-based Services to Support Integration Following Recent Wave of Mergers & Acquisitions
- TGaS Advisors Introduces Commercial Compliance Benchmark