Pharmaceutical leader Schering do Brasil has taken the integrated
approach to business efficiency and customer service
excellence by managing its relationships with clinicians, patients,
and hospitals using mySAP™ Customer Relationship Management
(SAP CRM). Part of global manufacturer Schering AG,
Schering do Brasil has a 50% share of Brazil’s market for contraception
products and ranks among the country’s 10 largest
pharmaceutical enterprises. Building close relationships with
customers is key to the company’s mission to broaden its
expertise, enhance patient care, and provide new life-enhancing
solutions.
THE BEGINNING OF A LONG RELATIONSHIP WITH SAP
A long-term user of SAP ERP, Schering do Brasil was already generating significant
savings through streamlined, integrated financial management,
sales, and manufacturing processes. Replacing its
disparate legacy systems with SAP software enabled the company
to consolidate its infrastructure and reduce costs. For example,
integrated financial processes provided up-to-date information
on the status of customer payments, helping to speed up revenue
collection and reduce bad debts. In addition, the SAP software
helped the company speed up production by synchronizing all
stages of the manufacturing process. And that was just the
beginning.
BUILDING A CUSTOMER-CENTRIC BUSINESS
Not long after, Schering do Brasil decided to replace various
stand-alone CRM applications, and went looking for a single
system that would provide its sales and medical-area team with
access to integrated customer/consumer information. The
company wanted a solution that would integrate with its SAP
enterprise resource planning (ERP) system to ensure a continuous,
transparent flow of data – from sales opportunity through
to order placement, delivery, invoicing, and after-sales support.
In addition, Schering do Brasil wanted CRM software that would
provide end-to-end visibility of customers and automate routine
processes, so the company could reduce administration overhead,
while enabling staff to spend more time on value-added activities.
“The CRM solution had to support our policy of continuously
improving each patient’s, doctor’s, clinic’s, and partner organization’s
experience of doing business with us and differentiating
Schering do Brasil through service excellence,” says Martha
Caballero, CRM project leader from Schering’s regional
headquarter.
BEST VALUE FROM SAP® INDUSTRY-SPECIFIC SOLUTION
Schering do Brasil evaluated CRM software from a best-of-breed
supplier, but chose SAP CRM, in part, because it could be
easily integrated with the company’s back-office system without
specialized interfaces.
SAP CRM could also be implemented in stages, allowing
the company to address strategic priorities in alignment with
its planned investment. And it offered the kind of flexibility
the company needed to add functionality incrementally, while
minimizing disruption to its day-to-day operations.
PARTNERSHIP WITH SAP CONSULTING – LOWER TOTAL COST OF OWNERSHIP
Schering do Brasil built an implementation team consisting
of SAP Consulting and regional and local professionals from
Schering do Brasil and Schering headquarters. SAP Consulting is
an integral part of SAP Customer Services Network – a single
point of access for the most comprehensive SAP solution services,
including consulting, education, support, custom development,
and hosting.
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SAP CRM is a key enabler of our strategy
to enhance customer value, increase profitability,
and extend our market leadership in Brazil. |
President,
Schering do Brasil,
Theo van der Loo. |
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The competent team helped Schering do Brasil develop a
solution based on the company’s requirements. SAP consultants
worked closely with Schering do Brasil’s IT team to transfer
knowledge so the company could handle ongoing system
management on its own.
“The project team delivered on time and at a price within our
budget,” says Theo van der Loo, president of the company.
“The team was highly professional and totally committed to
the success of the project.”
ONE-STOP CUSTOMER SERVICE
Schering do Brasil made effective use of the mySAP CRM
interaction center capability. Today, when patients, clinicians,
and hospital administrators contact its call center, they are
routed to the first available agent, who has online access to
callers’ complete history, along with all the information regarding
the company’s products. Scripts designed by the call center’s
supervisors guide agents through the customer interaction
and prompt them to ask questions that help Schering do Brasil
guarantee high-quality service.
BUILDING A CUSTOMER-CENTRIC BUSINESS
The SAP CRM interaction center automatically updates
information in the SAP sales and distribution component. This
means sales team members can be advised of sales orders entered
and take prompt action to follow up on any outstanding issues –
helping the company keep its customers happy and grow its
customer base. Having a 360-degree view of each customer’s
orders and buying trends also enables agents to take on a more
proactive role in managing the customer relationship. Schering
do Brasil’s call center employees can carry out regular customer
satisfaction calls to either set up complementary visits by sales
staff or ascertain if a visit is needed.
COMPREHENSIVE SUPPORT – INCLUDING REGULATORY COMPLIANCE
Schering do Brasil’s field sales representatives eliminated the
need to make expensive long-distance calls to report sales order
information to the office; they can now send reports electronically
from their laptops using the mySAP CRM mobile sales
capability. Orders are automatically entered into the SAP sales
and distribution component, verified against customer payment
terms, and processed for delivery. Customers’ records in the
interaction center are also updated instantly.
Schering do Brasil is also required to inform Brazilian health
authorities within three days of all reported side effects and
adverse reactions to its medicines. Having a single customer
database ensures that data is logged in the required format and
reported within the required time frame.
EXPANDING FUNCTIONALITY
Sales support teams use the SAP CRM mobile sales capability
to advise sales executives of special activities related to their customers
or sales campaigns that need to be executed. Schering
do Brasil plans to extend the current functionality to give its
field sales staff wider access to company resources – right from
their laptops. This will maximize time invested with customers.
Schering do Brasil is currently expanding its mySAP CRM solution
to standardize sales and service processes across the business,
and supply all areas of the company with up-to-date customer
information. The company feels that gaining a better understanding
of its clients is key to driving higher customer satisfaction
and profitable growth.
“Excellence in customer care is increasingly being recognized
as the most important way to sustain competitive advantage.
Schering’s policy of innovation should not only be present in
the development of our products, but in all actions we take to
meet customer expectations,“ says van der Loo. “In fact, mySAP
CRM is a key enabler of our strategy to enhance customer value,
increase profitability, and extend our market leadership in Brazil.”
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