MedicinMan August 2015 Issue

MEDICINMANField Force Excellence
TM
August 2015 | www.medicinman.net
Since 2011
I
n August 2011, the dream of creating
a digital magazine to foster field force
excellence in Indian Pharma became a
reality and MedicinMan was born.
The response was tremendous. MedicinMan
had identified and met an urgent need in
the industry for a learning and development
platform and a forum to discuss pressing
issues pertinent to Medical Reps, Front-line
Managers and the pharma industry as a
whole.
Today, MedicinMan annual events – Field
Force Excellence (FFE) and BrandStorm – are
must-attend for industry professionals and
see attendance from Medical Reps right up to
CEOs.
MedicinMan social media network is now
the most prolific and visible voice of Indian
Pharma on Facebook, LinkedIn, SlideShare,
Google+ and Twitter.
Our reach has gone beyond India and, as
Editor, I can count friends in more than 50
countries in Asia, America, Europe, Africa and
Middle East where Indian Pharma is present.
As MedicinMan steps into the 5th year, it is
a time for us to thank all those who gave us
unstinting support in this journey.
People still ask us –“What is your business
model? How do you manage to put out such
good quality magazine month after month?”
MEDICINMAN
STEPS INTO
YEAR FIVE
The initial design of the magazine
when it was launched in 2011. (Below)
In 2013 the design of the magazine
was revamped to give it a more mod-
ern look and feel. (Below)
1 | MedicinMan August 2015

Editorial
Connect with Anup Soans on LinkedIn | Facebook | Twitter
Anup Soans is an Author, Facilitator and the
Editor of MedicinMan.
Write in to him: anupsoans@medicinman.net
Meet the Editor
The closest we can come to by way of an
answer is“Wikipedia”. Our model is one of
co-creation and collaboration. Issue after
issue, we compete with ourselves as there
are few precedents or benchmarks for us to
look up to.
MedicinMan gratefully acknowledges the
enormous contributions of K. Hariram, our
chief mentor, and Prof. Vivek Hattangadi.
Many others have pitched in with their
time, shared their experiences and
contributed articles and ideas. We can only
mention a few – Salil Kallianpur, Amlesh
Ranjan, Deep Bhandari, Satya Mahesh and
Hanno Wolfram.
As we step into the 5th year, we at
MedicinMan look forward to your
continued support by way of contributing
articles and widely sharing each issue with
your colleagues and friends.
We are enjoying the ride. Tell others if you
are enjoying it too. If not, tell us and we’ll
make sure there’s something for you in our
issues.
Thank you all and keep it coming... -MM

1. Is Your Field Force Regulation-Proof? ..............5
The only way to ride the incoming tide of
regulations and guidelines is for pharma to invest
in field force learning and development.
Daxesh Patel
2. Leadership Training that Makes a Difference
..................................................................................6
How to design and deliver a leadership training
program that has tangible impact on participants.
Gopal Kishore
3. Catching Them Young ........................................8
Grooming the next generation of pharma sales
professionals can be taken up by first and second
line managers as an ‘industry cause’.
K. Hariram
4. Getting Sales Contests Right ...........................10
How to design a sales contest that brings in the
desired results at the right price.
Amit Jain
5. To Coach or Close Sales? ................................14
Many Front-line Managers are too busy chasing
sales targets to spend time coaching their MRs for
sales excellence. This needs to change.
Sunil Bajaj
6. Production Planning for the Brand Manager ....
.................................................................................17
As sales forecaster, the brand manager plays a very
important role in production planning and material
management strategy of the company.
Vivek Hattangadi
(Click to navigate)
CONTENTS
MedicinMan Volume 5 Issue 8 | August 2015
Editor and Publisher
Anup Soans
CEO
Chhaya Sankath
Chief Mentor
K. Hariram
Editorial Board
Salil Kallianpur; Prof. Vivek Hattangadi; Shashin
Bodawala; Hanno Wolfram; Renie McClay
Executive Editor
Joshua Soans
Letters to the Editor: anupsoans@medicinman.net
(click on the book to purchase on flipkart)

CAREERPROGRESSIONRESOURCES
NOWAVAILABLEON
(click on the books to purchase on
flipkart)
SuperVision for the SuperWiser Front-line Manager
is a tool to help pharma professionals transition from
super salesmen to great front-line managers and
leaders. The book will equip front-line managers to
Manage, Coach, Motivate and Lead their teams to
deliver outstanding performance. An engaging read,
filled with examples and illustrations, SuperVision for
the SuperWiser Front-line Manager has been used by
thousands of managers across the industry.
HardKnocks for the GreenHorn is a specially crafted
training manual to enable Medical Representatives
to gain the Knowledge, Skills and Attitude needed
to succeed in the competitive arena of pharma field
sales. Medical Representatives joining the field are
often not aware about the key success factors of their
job and as a result they get discouraged when things
don’t go as planned. HardKnocks for the GreenHorn
is a powerful learning and motivational tool for field
sales managers to build their sales teams.
GET YOUR PHARMA CAREER OFF TO A FLYING START!

E
IS YOUR FIELD FORCE
REGULATION-PROOF?
The only way to ride the incoming tide of
regulations and guidelines is for pharma to
invest in field force learning and development.
P
harma industry is driven by personal selling. In
the recent past, there have been many regula-
tory pressures like MCI guidelines and UCPMP
that prohibit doctors from accepting perks and privi-
leges from pharma. This has forced many companies
to focus on scientific activities instead of high-value
gifts to doctors.
Since the sales and marketing budgets of pharma
companies remain the same, the question is where to
spend the money which was earlier invested in high
value inputs or junkets in the name of CMEs?
The best area to invest the money is in developing
the field force. Why do some territories outperform
others when the promotional resources, competition
and product portfolio are the same? The answer is -
field force makes the difference.
If the customer-facing field force has sound knowl-
edge about product, competition, customer and
channel partner, then they will score over others.
Investment in developing the personality of Medical
Reps and making them presentable will pay off in
the long run. Regular interventions to improve the
knowledge and skills of the field force, will ensure
that people are retained and become more produc-
tive in terms of building rapport and relationship with
customers, leading to higher productivity. -DP
Daxesh Patel is an Asst. Product manager in a
Pharmaceutical Company based at Mumbai.
daxeshmpatel90@gmail.com
Daxesh Patel

A
leader is made and not born. Few will
disagree with this statement. There are
many qualities that make a good leader.
Some of them include leading by example, cre-
ating a vision, motivating the team, enabling the
full potential of their team and encouraging their
team to think differently.
Most, if not all of these leadership traits can be
taught. A leader is responsible for educating his
or her team. Managing knowledge is the first step
toward becoming a successful leader. In such
a scenario, how does one go about creating a
successful leadership training program?
Training programs are a perishable and limited
asset. The information provided in the training
program needs to be constantly updated and
aligned with the company’s goals and strategy. A
successful leadership program does not just hap-
pen. It is the result of planning and innovation.
Here are the key characteristics of a successful
leadership training program:
Making it Relevant: One of the biggest con-
cerns that participants have is how relevant the
leadership training program is for them, and what
is in it for them. Yes, the agenda may be to learn a
few things and reaffirm old notions on leadership.
However, participants need to know how soon
can they apply this learning in real situations at
work and how much it will benefit them. Hence it
is essential to get them motivated about the lead-
ership training program right at the beginning by
demonstrating the RoI of the program.
Learning-by-Doing: Nothing can replace
hands-on learning that comes from doing a task
or achieving a goal. Many experts believe that
this, in fact, is the only way of learning. It can
be a simulation-based learning where you use
technology to create a real life, safe learning
environment, or an outdoors challenge that can
test the limits of physical and mental endurance.
The most important aspect to keep in mind is that
there needs to be a goal and a sense of achieve-
ment sprinkled in between learning outcomes.
E
How to design and deliver a leadership training program that has tangible
impact on participants.
LEADERSHIP TRAINING
THAT MAKES A DIFFERENCE
Gopal Kishore

Making it Fun: Learning-by-doing will only
work when the person is completely engaged in the
training program. If given a choice to indulge in a
day-long movie marathon, watch a game of cricket
or participate in a training program, it is most likely
that the majority would choose the first two options.
If your leadership training program can become the
top choice because it is fun, engaging and produc-
tive, you then have a winner in your hands.
Enabling Sharing of Experiences: Most
leadership training programs are geared towards
an audience that is on the verge of taking over a
new role or responsibility. They bring an immense
wealth of experience and knowledge. If the training
program can tap into this rich resource and enable
the participants to learn from each other as well as
from the program itself, then it is most likely that the
training program will be a success.
Keep Them Connected: A leadership training
program does not end once the program is over. If
the program followed the above guidelines, then it
is likely that the participants made strong bonds. The
organization can tap into this and create an environ-
ment that enables continuous learning experience
and incorporates the functions of social learning so
that the participants, as well as the organization can
reap maximum benefits. -GK
Gopal Kishore | Leadership Training that Makes a Difference
”
Training programs are
a perishable and limited
asset. The information
provided in the training
program needs to be
constantly updated and
aligned with the company’s
goals and strategy.
Gopal Kishore is the Experiential Learning
Evangelist at KNOLSKAPE. He has over nine years
of experience in the industry and his articles have
been published in some of the world’s leading HR
and IT publications.
Connect: in.linkedin.com/in/gopalkishore

I
n the current context, seldom do students of phar-
macy/ life sciences look at Pharma Selling as a career
opportunity. Most often, it is the last option, thrust
upon them by CHANCE and not by CHOICE, and that
too with a very small number of students. Time and
again this is confirmed when I am invited to address the
final year students of pharmacy/ life sciences courses.
There was a time when one would look with envy at a
person in medical sales in a pharmaceutical firm; more
so, when he was well-dressed, carrying a well-kept
leather bag and riding the latest two-wheeler. His confi-
dence and enthusiasm was palpable.
Over a period of time, with the proliferation of ge-
neric players and‘me-too’formulations, the quality of
pharma selling has taken a back seat. Added to this is
inadequate training and poor‘role model’front-line
managers. This mediocrity has eroded the social image
of medical reps, almost pushing it to a pitiful nadir.
E
CATCHING THEM YOUNG
Grooming the next generation of pharma sales professionals be taken
up by first and second line managers as an ‘industry cause’.
K Hariram
K. Hariram is the former MD (retd.) at
Galderma India.
He is Chief Mentor at MedicinMan and a
regular contributor. khariram25@yahoo.com

“Opportunity is where you find it and not where it
finds you.”
I strongly believe that this can be converted into
an OPPORTUNITY. Whenever I have addressed stu-
dents, I have highlighted the opportunities and the
bright chances of career progression in the pharma
sector through presentations and interactions. I
have also been able to clarify myths and misunder-
standings about pharma selling.
Like in any other job, if one has the right attitude
and works hard at it, the sky is the limit. I have
shared my own experience of climbing up the
ladder from a Medical Rep to Managing Director.
Having spent four decades in the industry, I am
thoroughly convinced that next to the IT sector,
pharma sector is a knowledge sector and should
attract the right people.
Somewhere we are missing this pull.
In my opinion, grooming youngsters for the med-
ical sales profession has to be a concerted effort
and become a movement. Second line managers/
regional managers of established pharma players
could take this up as an‘industry cause’. If they take
it upon themselves to address at least 10 colleges
in their geographical area, one can imagine the
multiplying effect in getting entry level candidates
(given the number of managers from even 50
pharma companies). One may not get great results
overnight. However, if there is a consistency in
this approach, perhaps over a period of time the
lost glory of medical selling profession may be
restored.
This can certainly be one of the ways by which a
talent pipeline might be built, positively impacting
the future of the industry. -KH
K. Hariram | Catching Them Young
”
In my opinion, grooming
youngsters for the medical
sales profession has to
be a concerted effort and
become a movement.
Second line managers/
regional managers of
established pharma players
could take this up as an
‘industry cause’.

S
ales Contests and SPIFs are a powerful tool to
accomplish specific short-term sales goals. They can
be quite effective if used well because of the ad-
ditional cash/ non-cash based incentives over and above
the regular incentive compensation (IC) plan. Team-based
sales contests can also bolster salesperson teamwork by
encouraging healthy competition. However, sales contests
should not be used as a method to account for gaps in
the base IC plan. Also ensure that there aren’t too many
contests running for a particular salesforce within a year
as they may act as a distraction to the base IC plan. Some
scenarios where contests are a good tool are:
1.To temporarily motivate salespeople to react appropri-
ately to external market events. For e.g: In case of launch of
a new competitor, focus should be on maintaining market
share.
2. Give sales performance a shot in the arm. For eg. Sever-
al companies run contests mid-year when performance to
budget needs to catch up.
3. Provide temporary focus to a lagging product line.
4. Sometimes sales SPIFs can be used as a base IC plan for
a new product that went to market very quickly and the
base IC plan is still playing catch up.
E
GETTING SALES
CONTESTS RIGHT!
How to design a sales contest that brings in the
desired results at the right price.
Amit Jain
”
Amit Jain is Co-founder and Director
of Operations at Aurochs Software, an
incentive compensation solution specifically
designed for the pharmaceutical industry.

At a high level the process below should be fol-
lowed to ensure that contest is effective:
Define a clear contest objective
Define the contest objective clearly along with
the desired business goal. As far as possible, try to
define the business objective in numeric terms as
well. This helps judge the success of the contest
more objectively. For eg. Increase market share for
the brand by 2 percentage points.
Budget, Budget, Budget!
Next, decide on the budget for this contest. What is
the investment you are willing to make to achieve
this desired business goal? The success of a contest
is defined as achieving the desired business objec-
tive while remaining within budget.
What are the details?
Once the problem statement is defined, the next
step is to design various aspects of the contest:
1. Design methodology – As far as possible the
SPIF/contest should complement the base IC
plan and should not send out a conflicting mes-
sage
2. Performance Metric – Pick a performance metric
that is clearly aligned to business objective
along with definition of data sources being used
for calculations
3. Period – Communicate the effective start and
end date of the contest and the payout timelines
for the contest/SPIF
4. Applicable Rules – Define the rules in as detailed
a manner as possible. Specify at least:
- Eligibility – Who is eligible to win the contest
and who is not
- Competing pool – In case of competitive con-
tests clearly define the pool within which your
performance will be compared
- Number of winners – Define the number or
percentage of winners from each pool
- Reward – Cash, Non-Cash, Recognition, Com-
mission per unit
How much is this going to cost us?
Perform cost sensitivity analysis based on various
sales performance scenarios to get a better under-
standing of cash outflow and to avoid the risk of
facing cost-overruns. Use this model to tweak the
contest parameters so as to achieve acceptable
spend.
Amit Jain | Getting Sales Contests Right!
”
As far as possible, try
to define the business
objective in numeric terms
as well. This helps judge
the success of the contest
more objectively.

This model can also help you build a business case
for contest implementation. This model should also
be used to ensure that the performance metric is
unbiased to any specific geography/ group and that
the contest will not create any undesirable be-
haviour from the participating salesforce.
Communication
The most critical step for the success of a sales
contest is communication. There should be clear
messaging about the underlying business objective,
eligibility, associated business rules, the competing
pool and the reward associated with the contest.
Participating sales team should have clear under-
standing of the performance metric (sales perfor-
mance or activity based) and should perceive the
metric as fair. Be open to offer additional training
especially for new launch products to engage the
broader salesforce.
Your contests will be more effective if
they are exciting!
Ensure that you generate excitement in your con-
test communications as well. Using sports or enter-
tainment analogies in contest communications can
help here. The aim should be to get your salesforce
excited about your contest. Create a buzz around
the program by utilizing multiple communication
channels:
- Second line manager – direct communication
- First line manager
- Company Intranet
- IC Scorecards (via notes/comments)
- Email blasts
- Social Media
How are we doing?
Along with the contest detail communication, focus
should be on creating effective reports and dash-
boards to communicate feedback:
- Dashboard with performance measurement
and clear contest standing
- Ranking Report
- Additional section in existing IC Scorecards or
sales performance reporting
Let’s build and run this thing!
Ideally you should use your existing Incentive Com-
pensation Management system to implement your
sales contests. This will ensure that data sources and
rules applied for your contest are consistent with
the base IC Plan definition of those rules.
”
The most critical step
for the success of a sales
contest is communication.
There should be clear
messaging about the
underlying business
objective, eligibility,
associated business rules,
the competing pool and the
reward associated with the
contest.

Timely progress reports to management as well as
participating employees on the contest standings
and projections will help maintain salesforce focus
on the contest.
Ok! Was it worth it?
Once the contest period is over, go back to contest
objective and desired outcome identified in the
first step. Measure success in comparison to the
assigned business objective. Analyze improved
sales performance and success metric and cost of
contest as compared to the budget allocated. Slice
your contest winner performance many ways to
analyze the overall impact of the contest. As part
of this step, it’s also important to seek feedback
from the participating team on their experience
so that contests can be made more effective in the
future. In this post, we talked about how to make
the contest design and management process more
streamlined and effective. Below is visual frame-
work of designing and managing sales contests for
your organization. - AJ
”
Timely progress reports
to management as well as
participating employees
on the contest standings
and projections will help
maintain salesforce focus
on the contest.

W
ith a little over three decades of work
experience in the pharmaceutical arena,
more than half of it in the domains of Sales
& Marketing, I have come to the conclusion that the
most critical role to be played by the most critical layer
of the Sales & Marketing wing of any pharmaceutical
establishment, is often under-played due to the con-
stant dilemma of“To Nurture or Not To Nurture”.
I am referring to the role of Front-line Managers to
nurture their team of Medical Representatives.
Please don’t get me wrong; I am not by any means
accusing FLMs. My intention throughout this article,
is to share the environment in which the FLM has to
operate and how the“needs of the hour”almost al-
ways come in the way of the FLM carrying out his/ her
responsibilities when it comes to the“people”area.
No FLM will deny the fact that the Medical Represen-
tative is the face of the organization, responsible for
creating the right image of his/ her company, brands
and self as a professional service representative, in the
minds of the“customers”, especially KOLs. However,
during joint field work with the MR, most FLMs prefer
to“compensate”for the lacunae in their MRs by step-
ping into their shoes during the call and“converting”
the customer, rather than spending quality time with
their MRs to identify and mutually agree upon the
areas of improvement and work towards bridging the
knowledge/ skill gap, through mentoring, training or
coaching.
To a newly promoted FLM, the demonstration of a
superior“in-clinic performance”by the FLM boosts
his/ her ego and also gives him/ her tremendous“job”
satisfaction. But is stepping down into the shoes of
the MR, the“job”of the FLM and does he/ she willingly
do so?
E
Sunil Bajaj
TO COACH OR
CLOSE SALES?
Many Front-line Managers are too busy chasing
sales targets to spend time coaching their MRs for
sales excellence. This needs to change.
Sunil Bajaj is Proprietor at Krafterrz

Sunil Bajaj | To Coach or Close Sales?
The absence of a proper induction in the role of a FLM
and the lure of immediate gain of prescriptions (short-
term goal) from the customers being jointly called
upon, to meet up the sales targets for the running
month, leaves little or no room for any long term
thinking towards the capability building of the Medical
Representative, which in reality, is the“job”of the FLM!
The spectrum of the‘job responsibilities’of the FLM
towards people, starts from the right recruitment of
team members, and ends with the grooming of the
deserving personnel for the next level; and in between
two extremes lies the zone for continuous coaching,
cultivation, development, encouragement, grooming &
refining of people, based on personal observations and
feedbacks from senior managers.
The absence of an environment which promotes proac-
tive thinking, inadequate interviewing skills, insufficient
involvement of the senior managers, and the“pressure”
for filling up the vacancy, often lead to a compromised
selection of MRs. Justifications such as,“this person is
okay for that territory”are then often given by the FLM/
selectors who are keen to have at least, the customer
coverage regained at the earliest, so as to arrest any fur-
ther loss of sales in the vacant territory. This is a classic
example illustrating lack of long-term focus by many
managers in this industry.
With all good intentions of ensuring at-the-earliest
resumption of brand exposures to the customers in the
erstwhile vacant territory, FLMs often“push”the newly
selected personnel into the“field/market”without pro-
viding them the desirable extent of induction/training.
Aligning the efforts of each team member in accor-
dance with the ongoing promotional strategies is a very
critical job of the FLM. To be able to do justice in this
area, the FLM should be good at identifying the gaps in
understanding, clarifying doubts, and providing timely
constructive feedbacks. However, to be able to do so,
the FLM himself/ herself should be having a thorough
understanding of the strategies and the way the inputs
are meant to be used. In most of the cases, the PMT
briefs the FLM & MRs in the same forum and the“field”
is then expected to implement the strategies from the
very next day. In some cases, the currently-used promo-
tional tools are destroyed then and there to ensure that
the new material is put to use immediately.
I can’t help but empathize with the situation of the
newly promoted First Line Managers. In most cases,
his/ her state is similar to that of a couple bestowed
”
During joint field work
with the MR, most FLMs
prefer to “compensate”
for the lacunae in their
MRs by stepping into
their shoes during the
call and “converting” the
customer, rather than
spending quality time with
their MRs to identify and
mutually agree upon the
areas of improvement and
work towards bridging
the knowledge/ skill
gap, through mentoring,
training or coaching.

Sunil Bajaj | To Coach or Close Sales?
with the responsibility of bringing up their child.
Neither the expertise in selling (in the prior role of
MR), nor any academic excellence comes to use, when
it comes to dealing with people in real life scenario.
Just as the‘new’parents have had no exposure to a
course on“Parenting”, the new FLMs too have no prior
acquaintance of dealing with a diverse set of people
who are now“team members”! It calls for a humun-
gous effort on the part of the FLM to be able to swiftly
gain acceptance from his team, understand them and
connect with them at an emotional level, which is the
prescribed mandate of the day!
For desirable changes to happen at the FLM layer,
changes have to happen at various other levels to en-
able FLMs focus adequately on their people and their
development; only then would the right recruitments,
non-compromised nurturing, and pertinent promo-
tions be the realities of the otherwise, splendid and
opportunity-filled pharmaceutical sales & marketing
arena. -SB
”
I can’t help but empathize
with the situation of the
newly promoted First Line
Managers. In most cases,
his/ her state is similar to
that of a couple bestowed
with the responsibility of
bringing up their child.
Neither the expertise in
selling (in the prior role of
MR), nor any academic
excellence comes to use,
when it comes to dealing
with people in the real life
scenario.

P
roduction Planning and Material Control is the devel-
opment of a plan to meet demand for a product over a
period of time: what to make, when to make it, how much
to make, where to make it and what materials and resources
are required. Production planning takes the guesswork out of
planning material requirements and plant capacity.
One can predict how much and when manufactured and
purchased products will be required, and accurately schedule
work centers according to your established capacity by utilizing
manual, forward or back-scheduling. If any unforeseen changes
occur the plan can be modified easily and instantly. Effective
production planning is a key issue in pharmaceutical manufac-
turing. Its purpose is to minimize production time and costs,
and simultaneously organize the use of resources to maximize
efficiency. The manufacturing environment is dynamic - condi-
tions change daily or sometimes even hourly; emergencies, ma-
chine breakdowns, and quality issues - the list can be endless.
These changes do not happen at definite time periods - they are
bound to occur many times in the production planning cycle.
Production planning is an intricate course of action that covers a
wide range of activities that ensures that material, capacity and
human resources are available when needed. To plan effectively,
there should be an efficient process to generate a production
plan or production-scheduling document. More than 110 differ-
ent methods have been proposed to improve the manufactur-
ing cycle.1
E
Vivek Hattangadi
PRODUCTION PLANNING
FOR THE BRAND MANAGER
As sales forecaster, the brand manager plays a very important role in the
production planning and material management strategy of the company
Vivek Hattangadi is a Consultant in Phar-
ma Brand Management and Sales Training
at The Enablers. He is also visiting faculty
at CIPM Calcutta (Vidyasagar University)
for their MBA course in Pharmaceutical
Management.
vivekhattangadi@theenablers.org

Vivek Hattangadi | Production Planning For The Brand Manager
The production planning document typically begins
with a sales forecast, or sales plan prepared by the
marketing team, the brand manager playing a pivotal
role in this process. The accuracy of the sales forecast
made by the brand manager goes a long way to op-
timize the process of production planning. From the
sales forecast, all other processes start. The produc-
tion planning document should include materials re-
quirement planning, converting planned orders into
purchase requisitions, production orders or process
orders and many more. The document should also
have a backup plan should things go wrong. Each
area of production planning is dependent on the oth-
er and must therefore be done in unison. It makes no
sense to procure material if production cannot pro-
duce, or plan production if materials are not available
or marketing is unable to create prescription demand.
Production planning is a collaborative effort amongst
different departments like marketing, distribution,
production, quality assurance, purchase and finance
to effectively bring all aspects of the course of action
together.
The factors which go into effective production plan-
ning and material control include:
1. Accurate sales forecasting by the brand manager.
2. Material requirements planning.
3. Inventory reduction/ optimization.
4. Quality assurance.
5. Financial management
We shall now discuss each of these.
Accurate Sales Forecasting by the Brand
Manager
The central tenet of forecasting in the pharmaceutical
industry is that collaborations lead to better insights
and results.2
The brand manager has a central role
in this important function.3
Although predicting the
future is difficult, nevertheless, accurate sales fore-
casting is a key factor in any company’s success, and
should include demand forecasting, trend forecast-
ing and sales and marketing plans.2
Accurate sales
forecasting allows a company to effectively control
inventory, production facilities, labor, inventory levels
and logistics, and is the basis of which most all other
operations within the company function.
Perfect sales forecasting allows the company to have
better negotiations and contracts for raw material,
logistics and vendors. An accurate sales forecast
provides for a smoother running operation with less
last minute rushes to fulfill customer requirements.
”
The accuracy of the sales
forecast made by the brand
manager goes a long way
to optimize the process of
production planning. From
the sales forecast, all other
processes start.

An independent group should be set up to deal with
the sales forecasting process and is essential for a
truly collaborative effort. This group must be inde-
pendent of all other departments and should be held
accountable for the sales forecasting process and final
accuracy.3
Because this group is independent of all
departments it will be able to work with all groups
without worrying about conflicting agendas or goals.
Many organizations that are successful in accurate
sales forecasting share a common structure of fore-
casting parameters:
1. An independent group is formed which would be
accountable for the sales forecasting program.
2. The final sales forecast would include demand
forecasting, trend forecast, future sales and mar-
keting plans in the final sales forecast.
3. Excellence in communication throughout the
organization on the sales forecasting process and
results.
4. A collaborative and effective effort from all de-
partments for greater accuracy in sales forecast.
5. The sales forecast is measured, measured, and
measured again and again for even greater accu-
racy in the future.
Material Requirements Planning
Material requirements planning (MRP) involves get-
ting material on hand when required for production
and sales. The material requirements planning docu-
ment should provide four basic items of information:
1. When to place order.
2. How much to order.
3. Whom to order from.
4. When the items need to be on hand.
While some companies do not use MRP, but rely
on expediting to accomplish this, some companies
use the minimum-maximum stock level. Both these
methods are costly and often fail to meet production
or sales needs that a good material requirements
planning process can provide. The only practical way
to provide material requirements planning is by de-
veloping a program or software on material require-
ments planning. Material requirements planning can
plan, schedule and reschedule materials as far into
the future as required.
”
An independent group
should be set up to deal
with the sales forecasting
process and is essential
for a truly collaborative
effort. This group must be
independent of all other
departments and should
be held accountable for the
sales forecasting process
and final accuracy.

Every company has a strategy for achieving that goal,
but within the company there are groups whose
focus may apparently seem to be in disagreement
and in contradiction to the Materials Requirements
Planning process.
The production department for instance is interested
primarily in long production runs to minimize unit
manufacturing costs, even though the results may
be high inventory costs. In contrast the finance team
wants a minimum of funds tied up in inventories.
The marketing team may want to make sure that the
entire range of products is available at all distribution
points so that prescription demand is not wasted.3
If the accounting group keeps quiet, the marketing
team will demand an increase in inventory. If the
marketing team keeps quiet, the finance accounting
group will want to know what could be the reason
for such a high inventory. Uncoordinated conditions
like these hamper the flow of products that is not
congruent with the goal of the organization.3
A good
Material Requirements Planning system will help the
inventory group balance both requirements – provide
product for customer requirements and keep inven-
tory levels at an optimum level.
The ultimate goal of this document is to supply
information that will enable the organization to have
enough inventory on hand to just fulfill demand - and
no more - available only when needed, (and no soon-
er) at a quality level that meets specification, (but
can also exceed it) and at the lowest price. A good
material requirements planning program can provide
the basic needs of keeping inventory levels low and
fulfilling customer expectations for on time delivery.
Inventory Reduction/ Optimization
Inventory reduction is all about eliminating sur-
plus inventory, improving inventory turnover rates,
increasing inventory turnover, and meeting on-time
delivery. Surplus inventory blocks up cash-flow and
needs to be reduced in order to free up cash for in-
vestment in revenue-growth activities such as brand
management, advertising, brand building, sales
promotion, training, customer relations management
and many more activities.
What could be the driving factor in poor performance
in inventory reduction? One of the major problems
to inventory reduction is the mistaken notion that
improved inventory control management is all that is
required to improve inventory rates, increase inven-
tory turnover and provide an ongoing inventory
reduction program.
”
If the accounting group
keeps quiet, the marketing
team will demand an
increase in inventory.
If the marketing team
keeps quiet, the finance
accounting group will
want to know what
could be the reason for
such a high inventory.
Uncoordinated conditions
like these hamper the flow
of products that is not
congruent with the goal of
the organization.

Most of the times, lack of control contributes to exces-
sive inventory.4
But often the marketing team reacts
negatively to material shortages and does not look
for ways to improve inventory turnover.
Many efficient organizations have achieved inven-
tory reduction and improved on-time delivery by
implementing systems such as Enterprise Resource
Planning (ERP), Just-in-Time (JIT), Kanban, and other
approaches to inventory management, and these
systems do reduce inventory and improve inventory
turnover, but there is still room for improvement.
There are some basic steps that any organization can
use to improve inventory turnover:
1. Set a realistic objective for inventory levels.
2. Identify those items that are in excess of accept-
able inventory levels
3. Identify obsolete and defective inventory.
4. Make an action-plan to reduce the inventory.
5. Devise new procedures to help eliminate future
build up of inventory.
6. Measure the steps and actions taken, measure
again and again for future considerations.
Purchasing Management
Purchasing Management is about working with key
suppliers to make it easier to do business by develop-
ing vendor partnerships. Good purchasing manage-
ment ensures the best possible cost, quality and on-
time deliveries. Purchasing management might also
include asking suppliers to participate in marketplace
reviews, analyzing product failures, asking vendors to
share information and expertise, just to name a few.5
A properly structured purchasing department can
help guide our purchasing team in vendor selection
and vendor relations to optimize our purchasing cost.
It can provide parameters used in vendor selection
such as, mandatory order size, lead time, cost and
quality consistency and on-time delivery. Purchasing
Management maximizes vendor participation and
minimizes our company’s expense in ordering, receiv-
ing, inspecting and maintaining optimum inventory.
Financial management
The executive management of a company usually
requires several pieces of financial information before
making a decision on starting the production plan-
ning process.
”
Good purchasing
management ensures the
best possible cost, quality
and on-time deliveries.
Purchasing management
might also include asking
suppliers to participate
in marketplace reviews,
analyzing product failures,
asking vendors to share
information and expertise,
just to name a few.
What the Pharma CEO
Wants from the Brand
Manager
A Book by Prof. Vivek Hattangadi
Available on Flipkart
(click to purchase)

Materials costs, cost of wages for labor, administration
costs will all be presented to executive management
for their decision regarding production planning pro-
cess. Financial control and risk management are crit-
ical to running an effective organization. The role of
finance is to ensure maximum utilization of economy.
Working capital can get stuck because of over-stock-
ing materials, largely due to the incorrect forecasts
made by the brand manager. Finance management
will have to optimize capital investment in the stock
of materials and eliminate wastage.6
The finance con-
troller is responsible for maintaining compliance with
accounting rules and regulations within the organi-
zation. Finance has to ensure sufficient cash flow to
meet the brand manager’s forecast; forecast therefore
becomes crucial in an organization.
Quality assurance
Quality assurance of pharmaceutical products is a
continuing concern. WHO has issued guidelines on
this subject. Quality assurance is a wide-ranging
concept covering all matters that individually or col-
lectively influence the quality of a product. Since the
reputation of a brand depends a lot on the perceived
quality, the brand manager has to integrate this
process in the production planning schedule. Quality
Assurance allows the brand manager to track quality
issues that are found at work order operation, at work
order close, upon receipt of material, or in inventory.
Conclusion
The brand manager has to deliver superior and
differentiated products - ones that deliver unique
benefits and superior value to the prescriber. The
brand manager therefore has to play different roles.
The brand manager often serves an inter-disciplinary
role, bridging gaps within the company, between
teams of different expertise, most notably amongst
quality assurance, financial management, production
and the materials procurement teams. He is therefore
the pilot who drives the entire production planning
and material controls process. The best option for
a brand manager is Just-in-Time production which
will improve the returns on investment by reducing
inventory and the associated costs. -VH
”
The brand manager
often serves an inter-
disciplinary role, bridging
gaps within the company,
between teams of different
expertise, most notably
amongst quality assurance,
financial management,
production and the
materials procurement
teams. He is therefore the
pilot who drives the entire
production planning and
material controls process.
Bibliography
1. Halevi Gideon.“Handbook of Production Management
Methods”; Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford; 2001
2. Cook Arthur G.“Forecasting for the Pharmaceutical Indus-
try”; Gower Publications Ltd, Hampshire, London;2006
3. HattangadiVivek.“What the Pharma CEOWants from the
Brand Manager: OvercomeTheTough Challenges of Pharma
Branding”;The Enablers, Ahmedabad, India; Ed. II 2014
4. Janice MacLennan.“Brand Planning for the Pharmaceutical
Industry”; Gower Publications Ltd, Hampshire, London;2006
5. Michael Etzer, BruceWalker,William Stanton.“Marketing”;
McGraw Hill Irvin, Boston; 2007
6. Sadiwala CM and Sadiwala RC.“Materials and Financial Man-
agement”: New Age International Publishers, New Delhi; 2007

MedicinMan August 2015 Issue

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MedicinMan August 2015 Issue