Tablet PCs in Pharmaceutical Sales

Tablet PCs in
Pharmaceutical Sales
Demands placed upon today’s pharmaceutical sales reps are many
and intensifying—know your products, industry guidelines and federal
regulations, and make an impact big enough to close a sale in 5 minutes
or less. Tablet PCs are helping reps make face-time with clients more
productive, while reducing back-end administrative burdens.
Executive Summary
Pharmaceutical sales is a challenging, high-reward
occupation with a compressed selling process that
demands maximally efficient communication between the salesperson and the medical professional.
The salesperson must make presentations, provide
information, access pricing and order history information, produce all necessary forms, and get approvals with signatures during time-constrained
meetings.
It’s a sales job like no other. The pharmaceutical
sales representatives must be knowledgeable in the
applications and indications of their products, and
the contraindications and interactions with other
drugs. And they must be willing to comply with the
industry’s self-imposed guidelines, follow federal
regulations and to stay on top of current events.
To give reps an edge, pharmaceutical companies
have made heavy investments in sales force automation and customer relationship management tools.
Still, computing devices such as handhelds, wireless
e-mail devices, and conventional notebook computers have had limited success in the field attacking
the fundamental tasks of high-quality presentation,
easy data entry and access, and frictionless handling
of forms and approvals.
The Tablet PC uniquely addresses all these needs
in a single device. Convertible models that combine
a keyboard with a bright, pen-based display that can
operate in slate mode hold particular promise. An
advanced model such as the Toshiba Portégé M400
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running Microsoft Windows XP Tablet PC Edition offers the additional benefit of being an attention-getting, high-tech device that keeps the conversation
focused on the products and the process of delivering the latest pharmaceuticals to physicians and
other health-care providers. Because the Toshiba
Portégé M400 remains at the center of presentations to physicians, sales reps are able to keep all of
their relevant materials in one place, thereby eliminating their traditional paper-based collection.
Market Climate
The United States comprises 45 percent of the worldwide market for pharmaceutical sales, which has
grown increasingly competitive as new drugs come
online and where the opportunity to recoup huge de-
Pharmaceutical Sales at a Glance
Approximate umber of U.S. sales reps
100,000
Ratio of U.S. sales reps/physicians
1 to 1.2
Average meeting time with physicians
5 minutes
or less
Average number of sales calls per day, per sales rep
8 to 10
Sources: Yankee Group, AAAS Science Careers
velopment costs is short. Despite other ways of creating demand, the physician is the major determinant
of how often a drug is prescribed for a given condition. Most drugs usually compete with other, similar
medications, and physicians want the best outcomes
for their patients. The onus is on the salesperson to
present each drug in its most beneficial light.
Competition is intense for physician face-to-face
time, which has decreased dramatically in recent
years as the number of reps has jumped to between
90,000 and 100,000. Meanwhile, the 120,000 or so
U.S. physicians are themselves pressured to see increasing numbers of patients. So the 15 to 20 minutes
formerly allocated to sales visits are often cut to five
minutes or less. With the clock always ticking, reps
must be able to present data quickly and accurately
on both their company’s products as well as competitors’ products. At the same time, they must establish
good working relationships and provide timely, trust-
Tablet PC Benefits for Pharmaceutical Sales
Tablet PC Feature
Benefits in Pharmaceutical Sales
Lightweight and
portable
•Augments or replaces handhelds, wireless e-mail
devices, and conventional notebook computers with a
single device
Clear, multifunction
display
•High-resolution screen well suited for desktop
presentations
•Convertible screen design operates with both pen and
keyboard input
• Capture signatures as well as keystrokes
Real-time access
to e-mail and CRM
software
•Reps are always armed with the latest customer
information through Wi-Fi and Bluetooth wireless
connections
•Corporate managers have more accurate and up-todate sales information for planning
On-screen forms
• Accurate, single point of data entry
•Automates formerly slow paper processes such
as collecting physician signatures to receive drug
samples
Captures text,
pictures and sound
•Helps reps create, edit, organize and search through
handwritten notes
•Handwriting and speech recognition capabilities
automate translation to digital text
Secure
•Secure Web and e-mail using industry-standard
encryption methods
•Toshiba Portégé M400 includes a fingerprint reader
for added device security
Digital ink capability
• Facilitates easy annotation of documents
•All Microsoft Office 2003 applications support
digital ink
Enhanced version of
Microsoft Windows
• Short learning curve
• As easy to use as desktop or notebook computers
worthy information. And to succeed long-term, each
rep must glean instances of successful outcomes
from physicians’ prescribing of their products.
In addition to doctor visits, reps also call on pharmacists, hospitals, practitioners at managed-care
facilities, and other health-care–related personnel
within their territory. The actual calls made may
number 8 to 10 per day.
Business Challenges
Pharmaceutical sales reps need to be constantly
engaged with the health-care providers in their territories, continually balancing orders, presentations,
meeting schedules, information sharing and networking. They must also maintain contact with the office,
keep up their own training and product information,
and stay up-to-date on pricing, incentives and other
marketing and promotional efforts. Despite the emphasis on calling and contact, some sources estimate
that the paperwork load can consume as much as 20
to 25 percent of a rep’s available time.
“Time is money” applies to almost any aspect of
business, but seldom is it more pertinent than in
the life of a pharmaceutical sales rep. Paperwork is
anathema to every salesperson, but it is especially
vital here because of the need to keep pharmacies
and dispensaries supplied, and to close the sale in the
limited time available with an approval signature.
From the corporation’s point of view, the remote/
on-the-road nature of the sales rep’s position creates
information flow problems in both directions: in updating the sales rep’s marketing materials, pricing guides
and promotional schedules, and in logging sales.
Solution: Tablet PCs with Microsoft
Windows XP Tablet PC Edition
Pharmaceutical sales performance is greatly benefited by an infusion of technology. All of the usual
tools—handhelds, notebooks, wireless e-mail devices—can help, but none provides a complete solution.
Field operatives need a single device that covers every aspect of their job: presentations, communication with the office, forms, e-mail, various forms of
input, and even signature capture.
Hardware advantages. The convertible Tablet PC
meets all of the pharmaceutical sales rep’s needs,
and provides them in a package that’s attractive
and engaging, helping to identify the salesperson
as a skilled professional, part of a high-performance
team. The Toshiba Portégé M400 is a prime example, fully functional as both a Tablet PC and conven-
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tional notebook, with built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth
connectivity and a high-resolution screen well suited
for desktop presentations. The modular drive bay accepts an optical drive (handy for running corporate
video presentations) and the large hard disk provides fast access to a territory’s worth of records,
contacts, presentations and more.
When equipped with available wireless broadband
services, the convertible Tablet PC is in constant contact with the office, enabling the rep to receive realtime updates of pricing and promotions, check availability and inventory levels, track existing orders, get
approval of quotes, transmit approved orders from
the provider’s office, and receive instant acknowledgement. Web and e-mail communications are secure, using industry-standard encryption methods.
The Portégé M400 also has a fingerprint reader to
further ensure end-to-end security.
Presentation advantages. The convertible tablet’s ability to move seamlessly from keyboard to
stylus gives it a unique advantage over all other PCs,
since it can capture signatures as well as keystrokes.
By using the Tablet PC’s gesture recognition capability—for example, a quick up or down flick of the
pen—the sales rep can page through presentations
without the visual interruption of reaching for a key.
The Portégé M400’s unique zoom capability allows
the rep to zoom in on a specific area and then zoom
out again, with a single button.
Forms that were formerly constrained to paper
can be displayed onscreen, and they can be filled out
as if they were paper documents with the stylus or
with a keyboard. Reps can present contracts such as
drug sample agreements to doctors, who may sign
them on the spot.
Software advantages. The Tablet PC runs an enhanced version of Microsoft Windows XP, which fully
harnesses its capabilities. This familiar environment
provides ease of use and little to no training time.
Pharmaceutical-specific applications use common
Windows metaphors and can therefore be used with
the keyboard or the stylus.
The entire suite of Windows productivity software
is available with pen support, including Microsoft Office 2003. The representative can use familiar word
processing, spreadsheet, e-mail, database and presentation tools, as well as Microsoft OneNote, which
is specially adapted to the Tablet PC. OneNote is included with all Toshiba Tablet PC models and is the
ideal vehicle for taking notes on a new prospect, for
example. It allows the rep to move seamlessly from
Selecting the Right Hardware
The Toshiba Portégé M400 contains several features
that are particularly well suited to the demands of
pharmaceutical sales.
■Bright, high-resolution 1400 x 1050 color display
■Rugged hinge allows convertible display to quickly
transform from notebook to Tablet PC
■Docking feature for quick office “ins and outs”
■Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connections
■Long battery life
■ Microsoft OneNote application included
■ Intel Centrino dual-core processor option
typing to diagrams such as organization charts and
building layouts, to handwritten notes using digital
ink. It can convert handwriting to text and can even
incorporate voice dictation or recorded conversations into a given prospect’s or customer’s record.
And using speech recognition, reps can dictate notes
directly into the Tablet PC, save the notes and make
them available later in digital format.
E-mail gains new capabilities with Tablet PCs, too.
For example, reps can, if they prefer, handwrite and
send e-mail messages through the Microsoft Outlook
e-mail client.
Pharmaceutical Sales-Specific
Benefits
The convertible Tablet PC allows applications to be
built that eliminate paper documents and reduce the
amount of clerical back-office support. Using Microsoft Office InfoPath 2003, developers can quickly create or customize a wide variety of electronic forms
that in turn are integrated with other Microsoft applications (such as Excel for calculations). Available
application software can even convert existing paper
forms into data-entry screens that can accept handwritten or typed input.
The most visible aspects of sales force automation
via the Tablet PC—reduced paperwork, full availability of order history and notes from previous meetings—are timesavers that will make the sales rep
more productive. But the Tablet PC is also the front
end to far more extensive customer relationship management (CRM) capabilities. Beyond the traditional
analysis of past buying trends to predict future pur-
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chases, CRM can incorporate regional demographic
trends, aggregated patient information, and other
factors to increase the accuracy of predictions and
tailor purchase recommendations and stocking levels. With the Tablet PC’s wireless “always on” capability (within wireless coverage area) and CRM, reps
can attend meetings armed with the latest customer
information and managers back at headquarters can
view and act on accurate, up-to-date information.
Reps can incorporate trend information into individually tailored presentations for each provider,
stressing the benefits most appropriate to physicians, hospital dispensaries and pharmacists. They
can then harness the Tablet PC’s presentation capabilities to convey their recommendations. The importance of tailored presentations cannot be overstated.
A 2004 study from the Yankee Group found that face
time with doctors doubled when reps used visual aid
materials integrated with clinical information, managed care information and signature capture.
The Tablet PC facilitates a more demand-driven
business model, allowing the rep to transmit trends,
ordering levels and inventory levels back to the corporation so that manufacturing levels can be adjusted to demand. This approach makes the rep more
of a consultative partner to health-care providers
rather than a mere salesperson driven by monetary
incentives to push the available production.
Sales reps are on the front lines, constantly in
the field, but when equipped with convertible Tablet
PCs and wide-area broadband connectivity, they can
drive CRM systems directly and transparently, while
reaping full benefits of market intelligence.
A More Productive Tomorrow
A convertible Tablet PC such as the Toshiba Portégé
M400 is powerful platform, available with a single- or
dual-core processor. It is equal to any computing task,
such as multimedia editing and production, as well
as the full array of presentation, communication, retrieval and data-crunching tasks it is likely to encoun-
© 2006 Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc. All product, service and
company names are trademarks, registered trademarks or service marks of
their respective owners. Information including without limitation product
prices, specifications, availability, content of services, and contact information
is subject to change without notice.
About Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc. (TAIS)
Headquartered in Irvine, Calif., TAIS is comprised of four business units: Digital
Products Division, Imaging Systems Division, Storage Device Division, and
Telecommunication Systems Division. Together, these divisions provide mobile
products and solutions, including industry leading portable computers; projectors; imaging products for the security, medical and manufacturing markets;
storage products for automotive, computer and consumer electronics applications; and telephony equipment and associated applications.
CRM and Tablet PCs:
Made for Each Other
Pharmaceutical sales success depends on powerful
customer relationship management software that
goes beyond traditional order history and reorder
projections. CRM is rapidly approaching a real-time
system that keeps field reps continually apprised of
inventory levels, competitive pricing, incentives and
promotions, while funneling orders into predictive
software that drives manufacturing.
Pharmaceutical company spending on CRM is scheduled
to grow dramatically in the next several years:
2003
$455 million
2008
$625 million
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
Source: Global Information, Inc.
ter on a daily basis. It is more than a mobile office; it
is an extension of the office and an extension of the
corporation’s considerable IT infrastructure, bringing
all of its power to bear on simplifying the pharmaceutical rep’s life while enhancing productivity.
The days of the leisurely office visit are fast disappearing, replaced by tightly scheduled meetings
where business is done quickly, with high-bandwidth,
dense, useful information, and frictionless contractual work and approvals, so that sales can be closed on
the spot. No other mobile technology, or even a combination of technologies, can provide the breadth of
capabilities necessary to support the unique requirements of pharmaceutical sales. ■
TAIS provides sales, marketing and services for its wide range of information products in the United States and Latin America. TAIS is an independent
operating company owned by Toshiba America, Inc., a subsidiary of Toshiba
Corporation, which is a global leader in high technology and integrated manufacturing of electrical and electronic components, products and systems, as
well as major infrastructure systems. Toshiba has worldwide sales of over $54
billion and approximately 300 subsidiaries and affiliates worldwide. For more
information visit the company’s Web site at www.toshiba.com.
About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in
software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their
full potential. Microsoft and Windows are either registered trademarks or
trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.
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