Every organisation has an overarching mission, the achievement of which is crucial to their ultimate survival. However, few organisations have missions so intimately tied to the survival of the human race as Sanofi Pasteur.
The vaccines business of the Sanofi-Aventis Group is a key partner in the global alliance for vaccines and immunisation (GAVI). Its objective is to ensure the protection of every child worldwide against vaccine-preventable diseases.
The 8 500 people employed globally by Sanofi Pasteur in pursuit of its mission take pride in the knowledge that they have helped provide more than a billion doses of vaccine to protect more than 600 million people around the world.
The obvious question is who provides Sanofi Pasteur with the tools to achieve its mission and who supports the world's vaccine leader in its quest for a world in which no one suffers or dies from a vaccine-preventable disease?
That Sanofi Pasteur is a believer in the ability of technology to solve many of humanity's challenges is apparent in the fact that the company reinvests more than 15% of sales revenue in research and development.
It is obvious then, that Sanofi Pasteur would turn to technology to help it better co-ordinate the distribution of its life-saving products across South Africa's geographically vast territory. And which better technology to turn to than mobile technology, which has already proven its ability to increase productivity, lower costs and boost turnover?
Sanofi Pasteur approached local real-time intelligence-gathering solutions company, Adcheck Mobile, to develop a customised mobile application that would result in increased sales-force effectiveness. "We envisioned a solution that would enable the sharing of data and business processes among all Sanofi Pasteur employees, without having to make major changes to existing applications or data structures," explained Natalie Walters, Business Information Manager for Sanofi Pasteur.
Sanofi Pasteur was adamant that certain elements had to be included into any mobile solution aimed at helping it stay on top of its game in the fiercely-competitive pharmaceutical sector. An absolute priority for the company was reliability and speed, two deal-breakers that are understandable when lives are at stake.
The mobile solution developed for Sanofi Pasteur by Adcheck Mobile and MTN CBU offers the following functionality:
* Seamless communication between mobile sales representatives and the base office.
* Built-in customised reporting functions through one vendor.
* Synchronisation after every call delivered real-time technology in the field and also protected the customer from data loss.
* Up-to-date information provided on each PDA and the immediate correction of errors throughout the organisation via the mobile application and its back-end.
* Real-time data analysis and expense report automation.
* A centralised database, which provides synergy between different functions within the organisation such as sales, marketing, medical, customer service and finance.
* A customised database accessible to all staff via a Web-based interface.
"While we possessed the in-house expertise to develop a mobile territory management application for Sanofi Pasteur, only MTN could deliver the robust technology backbone required," comments Ian Hoffmann, Managing Director of Adcheck Mobile.
Not only are the knowledgeable sales professionals from MTN Corporate Business Unit (CBU) able to translate corporate ICT needs into solutions uniquely crafted to their differing requirements, the division is backed by a one million square kilometre cellular network perfectly suited to mobile territory management solutions.
"MTN boasts Africa's biggest EDGE cellular network. In addition, huge swathes of South Africa are covered by MTN's 3G and HSDPA networks, the faster speeds of which are appreciated by organisations like Sanofi Pasteur with vast sales teams spread across the country," said Megan Ashman, MTN Corporate Business Unit, General Manager Marketing and Product Solutions.
The patchwork of state-of-the-art technologies incorporated within MTN's coverage network means that Sanofi Pasteur employees using Adcheck Mobile's territory management solution, experience seamless connectivity between HSDPA, 3G, EDGE and GPRS as they travel within MTN's coverage area. While this means data speeds vary, it also means constantly expanding seamless connectivity and a resulting boost to productivity.
Not only has the Sanofi Pasteur sales team become more productive after implementing the mobile territory management solution, individual consultants have become empowered by being able to manage their own activities.
Everyone wins, as office staff can now more effectively communicate with the field force, product managers can rapidly change key marketing messages and store price information and updates can be efficiently entered into an intuitive Web interface. National sales managers can track the sales consultants' activities and appointments, as well as keep records on customer interaction, which can be viewed on the Web.
"We are delighted with our new system," says Walters. "Administration staff using the system reported an increase in proper tracking of sales representative queries, improved records of all responses sent to a field force, easier communication between office and field, quicker response times, less paperwork and improved communication. Sales managers have also been able to introduce a point system, which tracks what sales consultants are doing on a daily basis."
Since implementing Adcheck Mobile's territory management solution, backed by MTN's extensive coverage network, Sanofi Pasteur has enhanced its competitive position, improved customer retention and loyalty, strengthened the sharing of information and encouraged effective communication.
Providing measurable and meaningful benefits:
* Speed: Data is now gathered in real-time from the field rather than after the event.
* Mobility: The ubiquitous MTN data network means field workers are hardly ever offline.
* Cost: The complete solution, including handsets, is provided at an affordable fixed monthly cost.
* Security: The solution is completely secure because only a known device can access the network and the GPRS signal is completely encrypted.
* Scalability: Simple upward scalability is ensured by working with Africa's largest mobile services provider.
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