Pharmaceutical Fulfillment: Do You Have the Right Prescription for Success? 

Published On September 27, 2017

If you’re in the pharmaceutical business, you know how critical it is to get your messages right. By “right,” we mean effective, efficient and compliant. Does your pharmaceutical fulfillment company have the right tools, processes and expertise to fill that prescription?

In a new Iron Mountain Fulfillment Services case study, we profile a mid-size pharmaceutical company that was struggling with complicated, manual ordering processes and lack of accurate data concerning ordering and inventory levels. Some of the problems they experienced as a result included:

• Delays in getting materials into sales reps’ hands
• Inaccurate shipments and difficulty tracking orders
• Frequent inventory miscounts and out-of-stock situations
• Inflated print costs due to rush reprint and shipping charges
• Reduced productivity among both sales and home office staff

These and related issues were impeding the company’s growth strategy, which focused on acquiring orphan drugs. Every time they added a new product or more sales personnel, it magnified the difficulties of creating, ordering and distributing marketing collateral and product information, while maintaining regulatory and brand compliance.

The Cure: Online Ordering and Inventory Management

Left ‘untreated,’ this company’s failing fulfillment program could have proved fatal to its expansion and bottom line. But Iron Mountain’s online ordering and inventory management system proved to be the right Rx for their problem. The results?

• Instead of emailing orders to the home office for entry into a manual system, sales reps can now place their own orders 24 hours a day from any internet-connected device.
• Sales reps can see what they’re ordering because the system provides thumbnail pictures and descriptions, instead of just stock numbers.
• The system also generates tracking numbers so they can track their orders online, rather than waiting for home office staff to get tracking data from their fulfillment provider – a process that formerly took days.
• Management now has accurate, real-time inventory counts because their order portal is fully integrated with Iron Mountain’s warehouse systems. When stock runs low, the system automatically sends a reorder alert. It can even let them temporarily switch to digital print-on-demand or electronic delivery, eliminating out-of-stock problems and rush reprint charges.
• The system also captures coding information on product inserts and other materials that change over time and provides other tools that help keep materials in compliance.

The company’s marketing officer found making the switch to Iron Mountain painless, thanks to the on-site training and reference manuals we provide. His conclusion? “Working with Iron Mountain is easy and enjoyable. We would absolutely recommend them to any of our peers.”

You can read more about this pharma company’s experience with Iron Mountain by downloading our case study. And, if your pharmaceutical fulfillment program isn’t as robust as it should be, contact Iron Mountain. We can put you on the road to healthier results by helping you produce and deliver more effective, efficient, compliant communications.