Boosting sales effectiveness remains vital

Click here for a French version

Sanofi Pasteur MSD, the joint venture created in 1994 by Sanofi Pasteur (the vaccines division of Sanofi Aventis) and the vaccines division of Merck&Co, employs approximately 2,000 people and markets around 30 adult and 26 pediatric vaccines. The company sells more than 90 million doses every year in Europe, generating annual revenue of €1 billion ($1.36 billion).

Tracking factors that influence vaccine sales.

“The IBM SPSS solutions are used to analyze data extracted from our databases of doctors and pharmacists, which is compared with the activity of our sales force of medical representatives,” explains Fabienne Humbert, marketing research manager for the company’s French subsidiary. There is a particular focus on analyzing the market for anti-flu products, she explains. The goal is to examine sales by distribution network, whether direct via pharmacies for some vaccines
or indirect via the wholesalers that supply dispensaries.

The Sanofi Pasteur MSD databases collect data from a number of different sources, one of which is through membership in panels operated by specialist providers to study pharmacist activity on the basis of medication sales. “We also buy data from those laboratories that declare their sales, particularly in the context of GERS, an Economic Interest Group set up by pharmaceutical companies to share sales data and improve market monitoring,” Humbert adds. Although not gigantic, this volume of data nevertheless covers the activity of 100,000 doctors and 23,000 pharmacies. “We track sales trends on a weekly basis, including those of our competitors, although this may not seem too complex a task, given that there are only nine flu vaccines available in the market,” continues Humbert.

Other uses for predictive analytics solutions

Only a year ago, Sanofi Pasteur MSD was using no predictive analytics solution at all, “Although the need was becoming increasingly urgent,” recalls Humbert. “Confronted in the market by software products that in many cases looked huge and complicated, I wanted a solution that would be easy to use and could be quickly adopted.” Humbert had previous experience in working with the IBM SPSS statistical software tools, and knew they would meet her group’s needs.

IBM SPSS solutions are also used by Sanofi Pasteur MSD for more specific and one-off analyses. The decision in favor of IBM SPSS Modeler was based on a specific need for analysis and modeling: the sector-based performance analysis of Gardasil, a vaccine designed to protect against cervical cancer. In the pharmaceutical industry, the geography of sales is monitored not by national region, but by GUA (Geographic Unit of Analysis): areas with similar economic potential. “We wanted to use the economic performance indicators for Gardasil to identify explanatory factors linked, for example, to demographics, the frequency of visits by medical representatives and socio-economic data, all of which would be impossible without a statistical and modeling solution,” explains Humbert. The task was made all the more difficult since Sanofi Pasteur MSD identified 173 explanatory variables. “IBM SPSS Modeler has allowed us to extract the most significant variables and, therefore, to identify those that have the greatest influence on sales... and to do so in a very visual way.”

Continual re-targeting and re-allocation of resources

Through predictive analytics, Sanofi Pasteur MSD has been able to conduct in-field campaigns in areas where sales of Gardasil seemed to be falling short of the economic potential offered by a particular Geographic Unit of Analysis. “We have changed the targeting of certain regions and reallocated resources, but this is an ongoing process, and we intend to extend the use of the IBM SPSS solutions to products other than Gardasil,” says Humbert.

About IBM Business Analytics
IBM Business Analytics software delivers complete, consistent and accurate information that decision-makers trust to improve business performance. A comprehensive portfolio of business intelligence, predictive analytics, financial performance and strategy management, and analytic applications provides clear, immediate and actionable insights into current performance and the ability to predict future outcomes.

Combined with rich industry solutions, proven practices and professional services, organisations of every size can drive the highest productivity, confidently automate decisions and deliver better results.