How management software drives process digitization and in-store work: the Axon Pharma case

Axon Pharma is one of the fastest-growing pharmaceutical companies in the Latin American market. Its strong presence across the region is anchored in its head office in Santiago, Chile, and subsidiaries in Colombia, Peru and Venezuela. Its growth centers on the success of innovative products in the OTC segment — medicines sold over the counter, that is, without a prescription — and in the CNS segment, meaning the central nervous system. 

Axon Pharma's presence in Latin America has provided a commercial platform for foreign pharmaceutical companies that, through partnership, bring their products into the region's markets. These are well-known pharmaceutical names such as Biocodex, Novartis, Alimentary Health, Bifodan, TannerMedico, AOP Orphan and Invent Farma, which Axon Pharma brings together in products for pediatrics, gastroenterology, the cardiometabolic area, probiotics, sleep health and the central nervous system. Its portfolio, which sees strong demand, is constantly expanding. 

The field operation where the GoDoWorks digital tool was deployed consists of daily visits to 16 establishments handled by pharmacy representatives — in other words, point-of-sale management. 

The challenge: the tool used until then no longer fit current goals and needs

At those 16 establishments, pharmacy representatives present and sell products from the Axon Pharma catalog, run training for pharmacy staff, hand over information, take inventory and carry out rotation or visibility work in the places, shelves or promotional spaces assigned to them.

Before the GDW-Trade solution, representatives' activity was recorded in Excel spreadsheets, which caused delays, made information hard to compile, and created a constant need for new spreadsheet designs that still produced duplication and redundant data handling. Representatives also had to set aside extra time each day to organize and send the Excel form. Meanwhile, coordination happened through constant phone calls to check that representatives were at their assigned point of sale. 

The solution: GDW Trade

The GoDoWorks solution was to deploy GDW-Trade, software for managing teams at the point of sale that, built specifically around the work of sales reps, merchandisers, promoters and retailers, enables end-to-end POS (point of sale) management: managing product availability, capturing prices, and capturing share/facing on the shelf, for our own displays and the competition's. A digital tool like this documents reality, and is therefore vital for auditing commercial agreements with chains, stores and brands, letting supervision and management take immediate action based on what they know. 

Through the GoDoWorks rollout, each representative can record their work in real time at the pharmacy they are visiting, report actions to be taken, and document the condition of the shelves or display exactly as they saw it. Their work is recorded and the information is processed centrally, making the recording process faster and simpler. Their location is also marked by GPS, which gives everyone involved greater assurance. On site, the representative gets key information about the point of sale they are in, about Axon Pharma's catalog and product availability, and direct help from a coordinator if they need it.  

The result is a far greater flow of information about the daily work of each Axon Pharma representative: better, fuller reports on commercial activity and the chance to make better management decisions from a broader horizon of data. 

The GDW-Trade tool focuses on pinpointing and analyzing the key sales performance indicators (KPIs) that give a clearer, more accurate picture of the sales operation, its results and its goals, and it makes it possible to assess how well both Axon Pharma's representatives and the company itself are delivering to the pharmacies visited. That brings greater transparency and assurance in  honoring commercial agreements between those parties. 

Tracking of promotional materials at the point of sale was also implemented: through the same digital tool, a record and control of POP material was kept so its location and condition could be verified.

The benefits achieved

This combination of factors directly affects the everyday productivity of everyone involved — merchandisers and supervisors alike — and the capacity for management decisions, cutting costs and making better use of resources.

Concretely, processes were automated: no longer an Excel spreadsheet but a digital process design and an interface built specifically for point-of-sale management, updated in real time, used from mobile devices as each representative works through their day at the store they are visiting. 

On the coordination side, no more phone calls with their inherent disorder, but direct, unobtrusive supervision that provides assurance, saves time and reduces the complexity of the administrative processes tied to the field operation.

The quality of the information gathered in reports improved: the recording process is more complete and the information obtained is more versatile. That improves management decision-making. 

Information on pharmacy orders, inventory, product availability and location (whether on display or in the stockroom) comes through error-free and in real time. 

At Axon Pharma, several key findings help measure the scale of the success achieved through the GDW-Trade rollout, notably:

• Representatives' working week changed substantially: it went from Monday to Saturday to Monday to Friday. That is, one working day per week was cut thanks to a very significant rise in each representative's productivity.
• Streamlining supervision allowed a single coordinator to handle the entire national operation.
• Administrative time spent producing reports also fell. Thanks to the GDW-Trade tool's ability to capture and handle data, each report went from taking 2 days of work to half a day. 
• With the control over stock and condition of POP material that Axon Pharma now has, purchase volumes were reduced, lowering the cost of each promotional campaign. Previously POP materials were bought for almost 10,000 points of sale. 
• In short, the productivity gain achieved is more than 20%.