Actavis Group, headquartered in Iceland and with manufacturing and development plants in Europe, the USA and Asia, is one of the largest generic pharmaceutical companies in the world. To maintain its position, Actavis realises that it must constantly strive to develop sustainable competitive advantages.
The Challenge
Over the last 10 years the pharmaceutical industry has witnessed massive changes in logistics and distribution. Actavis realised that it needed to get closer to its customers; the retail pharmacies. The first step was the recruitment of a Customer Relations Director to spearhead its customer development and retention strategy. With responsibility for all customer touchpoints in the company, she was also to develop a large telemarketing team. The Customer Relations Director quickly recognised the need for a customer relationship management solution as the current system, based mainly on Excel, would not suffice.
The Solution
Following an internal requirements specification for a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system, Actavis sought a partner to build and deliver the chosen CRM system to meet its exact requirements. Actavis selected Dorset Software, recognising that the two parties could build a good working relationship and a high level of mutual trust and respect.
Dorset Software took over the system specification and developed a bespoke solution based upon Microsoft CRM. Dorset Software migrated data from the existing system, developed integration between the CRM system and Actavis’ Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system and provided intensive training.
The Benefits
The solution has already delivered significant benefits to Actavis: improved customer communication, increased customer satisfaction and higher sales. A customer loyalty scheme has been developed which improves customer retention and increases sales over the longer term. Marketing campaigns can be undertaken to focus on selling certain products at a certain time to help match supply and demand. Additionally, morale and motivation in the telemarketing team is very high.
The Future
Reliance upon and use of the Microsoft CRM-based system is to be extended within Actavis. Future developments are being prioritised and significantly more benefits will be realised from the solution.
Technology Snapshot
Microsoft CRM customised using ASP.NET and SQL Server 2005. Integration with One World ERP system and data migration from existing solution.
