Axon Pharma is one of the fastest growing pharmaceutical companies in the Latin American market. Its strong presence in our continent is anchored in its headquarters in Santiago de Chile and subsidiaries in Colombia, Peru and Venezuela. Its development is focused on the success of innovative products in the OTC ( over-the-counter ) and CNS (central nervous system) segments. 

Axon Pharma's presence in Latin America has guaranteed a commercial platform for foreign pharmaceutical companies that, as partners, bring their products to the region's markets. These are renowned pharmaceutical labels such as Biocodex, Novartis, Alimentary Health, Bifodan, TannerMedico, AOP Orphan, Invent Farma, which Axon Pharma brings together in products related to the areas of pediatrics, gastroenterology, cardiometabolic area, probiotics, sleep health and central nervous system. Its portfolio, which is in great demand, is constantly expanding. 

The field operation in which the GoDoWorks digital tool was implemented consists of daily visits to 16 establishments by pharmacy representatives, i.e. point-of-sale management. 

The challenge: the tool used until then was no longer suited to the present objectives and needs.

In these 16 establishments, pharmacy representatives are dedicated to the task of presenting and selling the products in the Axon Pharma catalog, providing training for pharmacy personnel, delivering information, taking inventories and performing product rotation or visibility operations in the assigned locations, gondolas or promotional spaces.

Prior to the GDW-Trade solution, the registration of the activity of the representatives was done in Excel spreadsheets, which generated delays, difficulties in collecting the information, the constant need for new spreadsheet designs that even then generated redundancies and duplication of processes in data management. At the same time, the representatives had to have additional time each day to organize and send the Excel form. On the other hand, coordination was done through constant phone calls to supervise the presence of the representatives at the assigned point of sale. 

The solution: GDW Trade

GoDoWorks ' solution was the implementation of a GDW-Trade service, i.e. a point-of-sale equipment management software that, specifically designed around the activity of salespeople, merchandisers, promoters or retailers, allows the integral management of the POS (point-of-sale), i.e. managing product availability, price surveys, share/facing surveys on the shelf, both of its own displays and those of competitors. A digital software tool like this allows to document the reality, and therefore is of vital importance in the audit of commercial agreements with chains, stores and brands, allowing supervision and management to take immediate actions based on knowledge. 

Through the implementation of GoDoWorks, each representative can record his action in real time in the pharmacy he visits, report on actions to be taken, document the state of the shelves or the display as he saw it. Their management is recorded and the information is processed centrally, speeding up and simplifying the registration process. Also, their location is marked by GPS; this gives greater guarantees to all the actors. The representative obtains, on site, key information about the point of sale where he is located, about the catalog and product availability at Axon Pharma, and direct assistance from a coordinator if needed.  

This results in obtaining a greater wealth of information on the day-to-day operations of each Axon Pharma representative; that is, better and more complete reports on commercial action and the possibility of better management decisions thanks to an expanded data horizon. 

The GDW-Trade tool focuses on locating and analyzing the key sales performance indicators (KPIs) that give a clearer and more accurate picture of the sales operation, its achievements and objectives, and allows to weight the compliance of both Axon Pharma's representatives and the company itself with the pharmacies visited. This provides greater transparency and guarantees in the fulfillment of the commercial agreements between these parties. 

Also, the tracking of promotional materials at points of sale was implemented, that is, through the same digital tool, it was decided to keep a record and control of POP material in order to verify the point of sale where it is located and its good condition.

The benefits achieved

This sum of factors has a direct impact on the daily productivity of each actor, both merchandisers and supervisors, as well as on the possibility of making managerial decisions, lowering costs and improving the use of resources.

Specifically, processes were automated: no longer an Excel spreadsheet but an IT process design and an interface designed especially for point-of-sale management, updated in real time, used from mobile devices as each representative carries out his or her workday's activity at the point of sale he or she visits. 

On the coordination side, no more phone calls, with their intrinsic disorder, but a direct and discreet supervision that provides guarantees, saves time and reduces the complexity of administrative processes linked to field operations.

There was an improvement in the quality of the information collected in the reports: both the recording process is more complete and the versatility of the information obtained is broader. This improves management decision-making. 

Information regarding pharmacy orders, inventories, product availability and location (whether on display or in stock) is obtained error-free and in real time. 

From Axon Pharma, certain key findings were given that allow us to measure the extent of the success achieved thanks to the implementation of GDW-Trade, especially:

• The representatives' working hours changed substantially from Monday to Saturday to Monday to Friday. In other words, there was a reduction of one working day per week due to a very significant increase in the productivity of each representative.
• The optimization of the supervision task allowed a single coordinator to be in charge of the entire national operation.
• The administrative time associated with the generation of reports was also reduced. Thanks to the data collection and management capabilities of the GDW-Trade tool, each report went from needing 2 days of work to needing ½ day. 
• Thanks to the control over the stock and condition of POP material provided by Axon Pharma, it was possible to reduce the volume of purchases, lowering the cost of each promotional operation. Previously, POP materials were purchased for almost 10 thousand points of sale. 
• In summary, the productivity increase achieved is more than 20%.