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Susan_Rafizadeh
Advisor
Advisor

Around the world, patients needs boil down to 3 things. They need access to affordable drugs and devices. They need the best personalized therapy that delivers the highest probability for success. They need to be able to comply with physician orders to achieve these outcomes.

The truth is that fulfilling these needs is challenging for the life sciences industry. Complexities include:

  • Long, complicated, and costly research cycles.
  • Disjointed global supply chain and manufacturing processes. 
  • Inconsistent communication across channels (wholesaler to physician/pharmacist to patient)


The mandate for a successful life sciences company is well-understood.  They must use  real time data to analyze genomic, proteomic, and other scientific implications.  They must collaborate with research partners effectively.  They must align demand and supply efficiently - establishing global process and quality standards. Finally, they must provide a unique customer experience. When you put this together into a recipe for success one thing is abundantly clear. Start by simplifying. Simplify every area of the business.  Question the status quo and ask not just what is being done but also why it happens this way.   

Knowing where to start isn't always obvious.  The following areas are the best starting points on the journey to simplification:

  • Increase R&D productivity by analyzing clinical and real world evidence data in real time to drive personalized medicine
  • Streamline sourcing and procurement by using business networks to collaborate with third parties
  • Ensure traceability of drugs and devices through automated and accountable processes
  • Achieve operational excellence obtaining live insights to manufacturing.
  • Mitigate risks and improve insights via predictive analytics
  • Provide a single view of differentiators to all stakeholders and channels   

What are the benefits of simplifying? We know that simplification can unlock growth potential.  It can optimize spend and working capital. Simplification aids compliance across the enterprise. Customers who experience a simplified experience tend to be more loyal. Acquisition integration takes less time.  Done well, simplification rewards shareholders. 

Simplification winners are already emerging. Medtronic has accelerated global complaint handling and global sales processes significantly. MKI analyzes genomes quickly. Himedia Laboratories generates reports in less time. Roche Diabetes Care facilitates personalized health management.

We will see many more examples on how life sciences companies are simplifying their businesses in order to improve efficiency, patient centricity and lastly contributing to better patient outcomes. This means, we all will benefit from this! If you would like to learn more on how technology can help life sciences companies innovate their businesses, please read the whitepaper “The Digital Health Sciences Network” and follow us on @Sap_Healthcare.