Cover Story: The Customer Connection

Tim Clark, Managing Editor

4/1/2004

With an aggressive growth strategy featuring new products and global expansion, Pfizer Consumer Healthcare realized that it absolutely had to provide cleaner data to its customers and distributors in order to remain competitive and boost brand loyalty. Pfizer's product portfolio includes over the counter medicines, like Benadryl and Zantac 75 and other health related and personal care products such as Listerine, Visine and Neosporin all of which are retailed in individual pharmacies and major food stores.

State of Communication
Like many manufacturers in the consumer goods industry, Pfizer experiences miscommunication with its retail partners and distributors from time to time due to lack of data synchronization and true industry standards. And while Pfizer's invoice deductions are below the industry average, the colossal amount of time spent preventing deductions could be better invested elsewhere, according to Joe Wisdo, senior director, B2B Customer eCommerce, Pfizer Consumer Healthcare. "We thought it would be a great idea if all of our preventative measures were done automatically," says Wisdo. "That's exactly what we're trying to accomplish with data synchronization."

The Transformation Begins
In 2001, Pfizer considered numerous software offerings and trade exchanges in order to begin transforming its data synch dreams into a reality. The company developed a matrix to qualitatively and quantitatively evaluate each offering, ultimately choosing a suite of tools from GXS, powered by HAHT as the win-win solution that best fit the company's desire to work more efficiently with retail partners and distributors. GXS Quick Connect, Product Information Manager and Order Management--all powered by HAHT, allows Pfizer to communicate accurate information to its customers in a timely manner, reduce errors and invoice deductions and improve transactional efficiencies. Here's how:

GXS Quick Connect - Item changes reflected in Pfizer's backend system are synchronized with the retailer's backend system through the UCCnet channel. This allows Pfizer to synchronize data with its trading partners in a near real time mode for UCCnet subscribers. Pfizer also sees an opportunity to eventually branch out into other data pools, allowing the company to synchronize data with a larger base of retailers. Pfizer is also working with the Worldwide Retail Exchange (WWRE) and GXS in developing an electronic relationship for the exchange of data between Pfizer and WWRE member companies.
Product Information Manager - This catalog capability allows Pfizer to build its product hierarchy by brand and make it available to both their retailers via data synchronization and portal users. In the portal, Pfizer keeps product information available in an easy to navigate environment with imaging content.
Order Management - As a segment of the Pfizer portal, this product hierarchy provides the foundation for web based online order management capability. This capability is available 24x7, enabling Pfizer's Consumer Healthcare customers to input and review orders, check order status, etc. This UCCnet compliant data is available to the retailers who choose to use it.

Benefits to Behold
With the aforementioned tools in place, Pfizer Consumer Healthcare is now open to a slew of time and money-saving opportunities. The self-service portal, for instance, is more cost efficient than handling transactions through customer support account analysts. In turn, Pfizer customer service can now devote more time on providing value added assistance to customers. This becomes especially beneficial on basic queries and customer transaction support. Now that Pfizer customers can proactively take matters into their own hands at virtually any given time, they too will reap benefits, including:

The ability to place and track orders, access product information, pricing, product promotions over the web--whenever they want.
Access to product, order status and sales information that is normally distributed through sales calls.
The opportunity to accomplish tasks after normal close of business. Also, customers can make more informed purchases and take advantage of special offers.

The Power of UCCnet
UCCnet will bring Pfizer closer to a real time trading environment as soon as more standards are implemented, according to Wisdo. "Once the majority of retailers implement this functionality, we will be closer to fully realizing a ROI for this project." Wisdo's team firmly believes that UCCnet will continue to expand subscribers and will evolve additional data exchange standards. Currently, out of 2,600 subscribers of UCCnet, about 20 are Pfizer customers and of those less than 10 are capable of exchanging data. The majority of subscribers are suppliers.

Pfizer devotes a lot of time trying to get its retailers' product databases to reflect Pfizer's product information in order to accurately reflect product attributes. Now that Pfizer has spent some time with its data synch tool, the company plans to implement new item adds into the UCCnet channel, all in an effort to get information to customers before they order. The sooner Pfizer customers receive the proper product information, the more time they have for planning initiatives.

"We're trying to circumvent the process where a salesperson needs to physically sit with a category manager to actually fill out the form to get product specifications into the database," says Wisdo. "The faster we can get the new product info to them, the faster they can get the product onto their shelves. That's how we build brand loyalty." Bob Fontana, project manager, B2B Systems, Pfizer Consumer Healthcare, also believes in the brand-bolstering capabilities of data synch and the company's self-service portal. "We're providing our retailers with a lot of value-added information at their fingertips and this gives us the opportunity to differentiate our brands by some of the services we provide to those retailers."

Accuracy Builds Loyalty
When Pfizer Consumer Healthcare realized it wanted to start measuring the benefits of its customer portal, the company implemented technology from Web Trends to measure usage of the various capabilities offered within the portal. Based on the data from Web Trends, Pfizer will be able to make estimates on ROI. "Whenever a Pfizer customer enters the portal to place an order, that translates into money saved because it removes the legwork on our end," says Pat Lombardi, Senior Manager, B2B Systems, Pfizer Consumer Healthcare. Because Web Trends measures usage of the various services offered, Pfizer has the information needed to adjust the portal's mix and delivery of value-added services. "If it's not being utilized, we have visibility to it, can analyze the issue, correct it, and continue to try to drive usage," says Glenn Lattner, director, market operations, global business technology, Pfizer Consumer Healthcare. "By providing this type of self-service, we're hopefully making the retailer more efficient which helps us drive brand loyalty."

Not-So-Easy Access
Obviously, the aforementioned potential benefits generated by Pfizer's data synch efforts are tremendous. Unfortunately, some of this momentum is undercut by an industry that is slow to adapt. "It is surprising that there has not been a more broad scale adoption of UCCnet data synchronization across the industry," says Wisdo. "We are eager to be able to synchronize with additional retailers and share in the benefits from this process." Even though Pfizer is surprised by the slow adoption from its retail partners to synch up with its UCCnet system, the division's e-commerce group is confident that retailer acceptance of the system will undoubtedly rise as the benefits of the technology are continuously demonstrated to them. "By continuing to invest in technology of this sort, we believe we can fuel growth for the division through our speedy response to customers coupled with error-free ordering," says Wisdo.

Foundation For Growth
Clearly, Pfizer's data synch vision of a Web-based trading marketplace is the ultimate customer connection. Starting with the solid foundation of an eCatalog, bolstered by additional value-added functions including order management and an information portal, the company is now on solid ground to do what it does best: create innovative concepts that grow the bottom line for itself and its customers.

What is uccnet?
Uniform Code Council, Inc. (UCC) is a non-profit, tax-exempt organization that aims to synchronize item information among all trading partners within the 23 industries the organization serves. UCCnet offers an open platform for collaborative commerce services, including standards-compliance verification, synchronization of product information, registry and lifecycle management of synchronized products, user locations and user trade capabilities. For more details, visit www.uccnet.com.