Axway Trade Activity Manager – Meeting Industry Analytics Challenges in Pharmaceuticals

Few business sectors have a greater need for transparency than the pharmaceutical industry. For years, lack of visibility has made it difficult, if not impossible, to determine precisely what’s happening – and where – in the distribution channel. Distribution programs including Fee for Service (FFS) have emerged to increase transparency and accountability across the healthcare supply chain.

In this complex ecosystem of manufacturers, distributors, third-party logistics providers, retail chains and group purchasing organizations, information gaps result in unpredictable demand, lost sales opportunities, product launch issues, and higher rebate costs. Even with FFS and inventory management agreements (IMA) in place, manufacturers often lack the technology or resources to effectively manage and analyze the data available to them. As a result, they do not have a clear view into critical issues that effect supply chain performance and profitability.

The good news is that retailers, usually through 3PL’s and distributors, are beginning to share large volumes of detailed sales and inventory data via extended 852 and 867 reports. However, Trade and Commercial Operations Managers often do not have an affordable and scalable way to accept and analyze these extremely large files. 

Axway Trade Activity Manager (TAM) is a comprehensive trade management solution that includes a packaged analytic application and market-tested delivery tools, ensuring secure, timely data delivery and analysis. Axway TAM enables trade managers to:

• Manage wholesaler inventory management agreements and pay-per-performance models
• Monitor order variability to eliminate diversion and forward-buying
• Create targeted sales and marketing programs for chains
• Verify charge-backs and returns
• Optimize new product introductions

Axway TAM captures 850, 852 and 867 data as it flows between manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers, and provides real-time views of orders, on-time shipment rates, and days of supply in an easy-to-use, role-based Web application. Also available in a hosted delivery model, the solution helps trade analysts:

• View critical information with pre-packaged and custom scorecards
• Correlate and identify trends in Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
• Take action based on user-defined automated alerts
• Leverage detailed operational visibility across key functions
• Complement existing data warehouses with real-time, context-sensitive, exception-based analysis