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Ca#lin Gura#u, (2005),"Pharmaceutical marketing on the internet: marketing techniques and customer profile", Journal of
Consumer Marketing, Vol. 22 Iss 7 pp. 421-428 http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/07363760510631165
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Introduction
The pharmaceutical industry has become a crucial part of our society adding
value to everyday human life. It constantly faces challenges and demands to
provide better services to the community. In the 1980s the pressure was
enormous to develop new strengths for delivering products and services
quickly and at lower cost to rapidly expand their presence while managing
risk and costs through sharing the resources. To achieve these objectives,
the pharmaceutical industry implemented E-commerce in its business pro-
cess. Typically, E-commerce promotes electronic transactions among in-
Gateway sites are the centralised points of entry into diverse re-
sources of information on the internet. These types of sites usually create a
common channel for exchange of commercial and non-commercial infor-
mation. For example, www.catesource.com is a type of gateway site.
Whereas, Corporate identity sites profile different pharmaceutical compa-
dustry as well as on the users creating a system that will work for tomorrow
not just for today.
E-Commerce Supply chain management is a crucial aspect of all the industry sectors. Like
in the any other industry the pharmaceutical industry is very much dependent on
Pharmaceutical logistic and supply chain management to reach out to their retailers and the
Industry users. Thomas and Ballard (1995) state that the integration and incorpora-
tion of information and data, personalised to a user or groups of users allow a
customised view of their view and response by creating a type of logistic re-
lationship. From a supplier and user perspective it is known as supply chain
management particularly in the context of electronic transaction. In E-
commerce primarily EDI serves such purpose for both the supplier and the
users. The opportunity to appropriate the benefit of E-commerce lies in de-
veloping the rightful sharing of information, data and process between dif-
ferent trading partners. The partners and supplier set realistic expectations
to achieve their goals by mutually contributing to resources and capabilities.
EDI assists them to allocate the resources in a more time efficient manner
and maintains their relationship in tact. This comprises internal and external
collaboration, marketing joint web sites, supporting business systems and
creating interface with the users. Supply Chain Management (SCM) in this
Management Research News 2004.27:98-108.
In this context, E-commerce has three integrative aspects, such as, in-
formation transaction through electronic highway, institutionalisation of in-
termediaries and evaluation of the network system. These aspects help to
develop sites and procure data. At the same time these provide data safety,
quality and assurance; maintain sites for the patients saving their time,
money and urgency on priority basis. Such applications include entire on-
line trials, medical registration, access to personal data, laboratory practice,
dispensing, query solution and adverse events reporting. Colon (1999) re-
ports these practices reduce the exorbitant cost of large trials with a zero de-
fect result which in future proves to be more environment friendly and
establish the innovative aspect of the clinical trials. In addition, he proposes
that these practices should be closely monitored for more effective results.
Such integrated network created by E-commerce makes the supply chain
system more efficient for the pharmaceutical industry.
The integration of E-commerce with the pharmaceutical industry has cre- E-Commerce
ated an appropriate forum for the selection and the employment of compe- in the
tent professionals. Moreover, professionals attain considerable skills Pharmaceutical
through E-commerce to enhance their expertise and render efficient service Industry
to the users. Often professionals in the pharmaceutical industry need organ-
ised work place, less clinical trial time and quicker user response, which is
now accomplished by electronic transaction of resources, data, on-line con-
ferencing, etc. In recent years medical professionals require much more rig-
orous training to perform multi-task functions than in the last twenty years.
This system has undergone through a radical change of multi-disciplinary
and in-house training to provide effective consultation techniques and diag-
nostic prescription. The prospective medical and para-medical profession-
als have on-line submission formats available for the recruitment process.
Some recruitment process can be entirely conducted by electronic commu-
nication, which includes taking entry tests, on-line interviewing and interac-
tive diagnosis. In this context the internal benefit of E-commerce is to attract
more skilled people to the pharmaceutical industries offering them the right
Management Research News 2004.27:98-108.
opportunities. This promotes a new trend of the right people at the right
place at the right time. Lin (2000) affirms that a new community of medical
IT people is now sharing space in the traditional set up of the pharmaceutical
industry. Examining the benefit derived from E-commerce, Roche (1995)
says that the part of the excitement of E-commerce stems from it making
possible many types of services that either have not previously been avail-
able or have been based on closed systems that never took off to saturate
markets.
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1. Calin Gurau. 2005. Pharmaceutical marketing on the internet: marketing techniques and customer profile. Journal of
Consumer Marketing 22:7, 421-428. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
Management Research News 2004.27:98-108.