Siebel Announces Analytic Offering for the Pharma Industry

Siebel Systems has announced the availability of another industry-specific CRM module, an application called Siebel Pharma Field Analytics. The release promises to offer pharmaceutical sales representatives the ability to access remotely the full analytic capabilities of its server-based system, without the requisite hardware and networking infrastructure. The module is available for current users of Siebel's pharmaceutical sales force automation application, and for new users will come bundled with the application. According to Jeff Wessinger, director of Siebel Life Sciences, the new analytic module specifically addresses the needs of sales reps in the pharma space, where "an indirect selling model" requires an approach finely attuned to the nuances of selling in that industry. Pharma sales reps, Wessinger says, "don't actually sell to pharmacies directly; they sell through wholesalers." As a result, reps rely on syndicated data collected by third parties from thousands of pharmacies. The new module offers these reps the ability to optimize sales calls by analyzing this customer information in the field. Though Siebel offered an analytics module for the pharmaceutical vertical already, the new release introduces the ability to access the application remotely. While Wessinger admits that "there will definitely be some business-process work [required to get mobile analytics] to work in a pharmaceutical setting," the new module gives reps the ability to capture "the details of the sales call." The analytic module allows the sales rep to make the call, detail the product, and review the syndicated data, all in real time. "This takes advantage of the fact that all the [pharmaceutical] reps have powerful laptops in their hands," Wessinger says. It also capitalizes on the benefits of not having to connect to a server or scaling that server. Sales information can be updated daily. While Wessinger admits that maximizing the usefulness of the Pharma Field Analytics module will be "a little more difficult" for users entirely new to the Siebel Pharma applications, he estimates that roughly 50 percent of Siebel's installed pharmaceutical user base will adopt the new module within the first year. For current users, he says, the extension of existing data will be a major draw: populating the necessary data warehouse is free for Siebel customers. "They want to get this type of analytical capability into their hands," he says.