A Case Study in Remote Sales Team Support
Background
A Life Sciences Sales Organization was facing difficulties as their Representatives were unable to access key pharmaceutical information in a simple and reliable manner. When these Representatives were meeting with Health Care Professionals it was crucial for them to quickly and easily reference sales materials and product data required to answer potential questions. They needed a solution to access the most up to date information at all times no matter the location or internet connection.
Challenge
The Organization wanted to maintain a central repository, which would be used to store all relevant product information, and they wanted Representatives to access the information in real time. Since strong internet connection was not always available in the field, near real time implementation to replicate data to the Representative’s local devices was agreed to. Product information had to be easily and centrally maintained by the Organization’s Subject Matter Experts (SMEs). Representatives needed to be informed of product updates to ensure that they were aware of new information, and updates had to be copied to their devices, guaranteeing they were referencing the most up-to-date and accurate information.
Solution
VISTECH was able to address these challenges by employing a combination of a SharePoint Online site to manage product content, a canvas app built in Microsoft PowerApps to view product material in the field on mobile devices, and a Microsoft Power Automate Flow utilizing PowerApps connectors to send product update notifications.
The SharePoint Online site component leverages out-of-the-box features for an easy-to-setup and maintain central repository for all product information. SMEs access the site to view and update data in the SharePoint Lists that is then shared with Representatives.
VISTECH used Microsoft PowerApps to build a VISTECH canvas app that functions as the interface all Representatives interact with to access the data stored within the SharePoint site. Canvas apps are accessible on any device. As a result, VISTECH’s responsive web app was built for optimal viewing on tablets and phones, allowing field workers to easily access product information on any of their devices. The application fetches data from the SharePoint Lists and displays product information within a simple interface, which is easy for the Representatives to navigate. The Representatives can save a collection of ‘Favorite’ products, allowing faster access to certain products that field force Representatives may need to reference more than others based on roles and responsibilities. VISTECH designed this canvas app to save List data into application memory in order to address internet connectivity issues. If connectivity issues arise, the application loads the data stored on the device, so the Representatives never lose access when in the field. The application syncs local data with the master repository as soon as the app is opened while connected to the internet, to ensure the Representative is viewing the most update-to-date information.
The Power Automate Flow accesses the List of Representatives and sends out an iOS push notification any time production information changes within the SharePoint site’s Lists. When an SME makes any update to the product materials, the SharePoint site triggers a flow to send a notification containing the product name and the message “has been updated” to Representatives who have the application installed on their device.
Result
Since launch, hundreds of Representatives have downloaded and used the application to utilize real-time data at their fingertips no matter what device they are using or internet connectivity status. SMEs can easily maintain their products’ brand information as it evolves through SharePoint’s simple List interface. As information changes, Representatives are immediately notified – satisfying the need to always have accessto the most up-to-date and accurate information during in-person and virtual sales discussions. When the organizations’ needs evolved, they came back to VISTECH to add additional features and functionality to the currently existing application using out-of-the-box PowerApps tools. Representatives use these additional features alongside the original implementation every day to increase efficiency and accuracy when marketing pharmaceutical products in sales discussions.
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