So let’s ask Barbra to take few minutes to tell us about the report…<\/p>\n
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Why produce this Blueprint report now, Barbra?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Barbra McGann is There is some pretty spectacular and mind-boggling activity today in the pharmaceuticals industry, with the 3-D printing of pills, use of IBM Watson to cull through reams of data and help diagnose and personalize therapies, and edible devices that can transmit data and images. Behind the scenes, too, there are some significant changes underway that are also critical to helping this industry\u2014enabling it to operate in a way that re-focuses on the patient, and helps pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical technology companies shorten trial times and accelerate time to market, increase medical adherence, reduce risk, and manage compliance. This operations support, having taken shape over the past two decades as the Pharma BPO industry, is on its way now to the As-a-Service Economy\u2014with service providers bringing together industry and operations experts, digital technology and new operating models to collaborate with willing service buyers.<\/p>\n Two of the significant ways that pharmaceuticals companies \u201ctouch\u201d consumers are in the R&D process and through sales and marketing (aka commercial services). The pharma BPO market in this Blueprint covers clinical data management services, safety management services, regulatory affairs support, and related sales and marketing\u2014all activities that we recognize are part of a highly regulated, complex market in the midst of global expansion and change. The objective of the Blueprint report is to evaluate the nature of engagement and support between the service buyer and the service buyer across these tasks.<\/p>\n How did this Blueprint take shape?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n In this Pharmaceuticals Industry-Specific BPO HfS Blueprint, we take a look at the evolution of Pharma BPO to \u201cAs-a-Service\u201d: a services market that is increasingly agile, collaborative and consumer-centric. HfS considers this transition in outsourcing a move to the As-a-Service Economy, placing increasing value on diverse talent, analytics, and collaboration, as well as increasingly on platform-based services. To develop this Blueprint, we spoke to service buyers and service providers to understand the innovation and execution capabilities of seven multi-national, multi-functional service providers with industry-specific pharmaceuticals business process support capability in their portfolio: Accenture, Cognizant, Genpact, HCL, TCS, Tech Mahindra, and WNS.<\/p>\n And how did the service providers perform, based on your research with the buyers?<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n We want to understand a variety of different things in order to compile this Blueprint. How do service buyers approach business process outsourcing\u2014what is working well and what could use a \u201crethink\u201d or refresh? How are service providers extending their capabilities for data management, analytics, and talent development and management? And how are digital technologies such as automation, social, mobile, and cloud being approached and used; what value are they providing for BPO? In short, how is this market changing to become more \u201cAs-a-Service\u201d\u2014business-outcome oriented and flexible through the combination of capable people and digital technology.<\/p>\n As-a-Service Winner\u2019s Circle: <\/strong><\/p>\n High Performers:<\/strong><\/p>\n Execution Powerhouse: <\/strong><\/p>\n What do we see changing in the future, Barbra?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n In general, HfS believes that service providers need to make their services more accessible. There are a lot of technology solutions being developed, a lot of skilled resources with advanced degrees and training, and a lot of change underway. The entr\u00e9e point for a service buyer is getting more complex, not less so, in an industry that needs simplification. Service buyers need to be open to sharing problems and asking questions of service providers, challenging them to look outside their industry and their ready-made pharma toolbox for ideas and examples that while they may not be usable in pharma directly due to regulations, can still inspire and lead to relevant solutions. That means buyers \u2013and we heard a mix of this during our interviews\u2014need to consider service providers \u201cpart of the team,\u201d and even an extension within their leadership. Accenture and WNS have made considerable progress along these lines with some of their clients in pharma R&D and research and marketing respectively.<\/p>\n Due to the significance of change required in an operating model, and with the added complexity of regulation and the possibilities of digital technology, Pharmaceutical companies can take advantage of the existing and developing depth in their service provider partners. One area where multifunctional service providers can add value is in bringing together consulting, subject matter expertise, practices from other industries for ideas and inspiration, and internal and external partnerships with software and digital technology companies.<\/p>\n And what do you see, Barbra, along the road, for Pharma BPO?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n HfS sees a few areas taking shape in which these service providers can play a valuable role, although it does require a service buyer to be willing to be collaborative\u2014versus the more traditional directive role in outsourcing\u2014and for both parties to share risk and investment. These include:<\/p>\n \u2022 Sales and Marketing Content and Campaigns: Cognizant has the most comprehensive business process as a service offering for supporting sales and marketing operations in pharma; but Accenture (particularly for asset management and campaigns) and Genpact (with analytics expertise) are also providing services in this area. The WNS research and analytics services dive into clinical, sales, and marketing for enabling targeted campaigns.<\/p>\n As more than one service provider pointed out, these efforts are to help change an industry that has a lot of players to bring together. Regulators are in the same learning process as pharmaceutical, medical device, and health care organizations in terms of understanding what digital technology and new operating models can do, how it can impact drug development and health care, and how therefore does regulation need to change accordingly. From a broader industry perspective\u2014considering the client base of today and tomorrow for these services\u2014HfS sees the opportunity and heard from the service providers expansion from the \u201ctraditional\u201d client portfolio of the \u201ctop\u201d pharmaceutical companies to also provide established services to smaller start-ups, medical device, and biotechnology companies. We see the industry changing to not just be about providing services to the largest pharmaceutical companies, but also to a growing number of these other industry participants around the world.<\/p>\n Barbra McGann\u00a0can be tweeted at @SheridanMcGann<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n HfS readers can click\u00a0<\/i><\/b>here<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/a>\u00a0to view highlights of all our 31\u00a0HfS Blueprint reports. See our plans for 2016 Blueprints here<\/a>.<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n![\"Barbra](\"http:\/\/www.horsesforsources.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/mcgann-headshot.jpg\")
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Executive Vice President, Business Operations Research (click for bio)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
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