How can you connect teams with different approaches, from Market Access to Finance, to improve forecasting in an increasingly complex pharmaceutical sector? Roche chose Beyond Plans to support it in transforming its processes with Anaplan.
Extended development cycles, stringent regulatory requirements, and increasingly unpredictable market dynamics… The global pharmaceutical industry is known for its complexity. To stay competitive, companies in this sector need robust solutions that facilitate efficient collaboration between departments. By leveraging the capabilities of the Anaplan platform, Beyond Plans worked with Roche France to transform the laboratory’s planning and forecasting processes.
From Market Access to Supply Chain, a strong need for integration
Roche France was faced with a fragmented forecasting process, with teams working with limited visibility into each other’s activities. This was particularly problematic for three key functions: Market Access, Business Development, and Finance. Each team approached its forecasts from different angles, and asynchronously: Market Access defined its pricing strategies based on market criteria and regulatory guidelines. Meanwhile, the Business Development teams used these pricing strategies, combined with market data (such as exclusivity periods and competitive activity), to estimate the potential sales volumes. Finance, on the other hand, relied on the information provided by the other two teams to manage Gross-to-Net calculations across various levels of granularity, whether at the product level, prescription type, or entire portfolio.
This need for data connectivity has also manifested itself at the Supply Chain level. The goal was to provide accurate forecasts for optimal planning of supply, production, and distribution, ensuring that the right products were manufactured and delivered to the right places at the right time. Based on disconnected data, forecasting production was cumbersome and prone to errors, which, in the pharmaceutical sector, can result in stock-outs that affect patients’ health. Conversely, overproduction can lead to wasted resources.
Anaplan to break down silos and promote collaboration
Implemented with Beyond Plans, the Anaplan solution enabled Roche France to adopt a centralized platform, allowing various teams to access, update, and leverage data in real time. The laboratory now has a planning process that unifies different perspectives while retaining the granularity required for the specific needs of each department. Data is no longer static; it now flows dynamically between functions, breaking down silos and fostering collaboration.
In more detail, Roche France currently benefits from:
- Monthly forecasts in various units (processing month, grams, SKU, etc.) according to two different processes: one for established products on the market, and another for new products;
- A rather detailed product breakdown based on SKU and therapeutic indication;
- Flexible pricing models, with the ability to trigger commercial discounts based on achieved volume levels.
Market Access teams can now simulate various pricing scenarios to predict their impact on the markets. This enables them to be more proactive in negotiations with health authorities.
Similarly, for Business Development, this integration results in more reliable forecasts, which are based on the latest pricing strategies and up-to-date market data. This helps reduce uncertainty and enhances decision-making.
The solution implemented provides both teams with a combined view of the impact of price/volume/mix effects on sales, while avoiding iterations as far as possible.
Finally, Finance teams benefit from a clearer and faster view of the entire Gross-to-Net cascade, improving their ability to effectively manage revenue targets.
Agile, responsive production planning
By integrating the Supply Chain within this connected environment, Roche France has been able to further improve the efficiency of its operations. Production planning has become more agile and responsive, as it is based on the latest sales forecasts and up-to-date pricing information. The result is a streamlined supply chain, with reduced risk of product shortages or overstocking.
Beyond Plans supported Roche throughout this transformation, implementing a minimum viable product (MVP) in just twelve weeks. This short timeframe allowed value to be delivered from the outset, giving Roche’s teams the opportunity to adapt and adjust in real time. Thanks to Beyond Plans’ expertise in understanding the specifics of the pharmaceutical sector and its mastery of the Anaplan environment, Roche now operates with a planning process that is both interconnected and adaptive.
As Anaplan’s integration partner, Beyond Plans played a key role in customizing our solution to meet Roche’s complex needs. They orchestrated workshops to precisely identify our requirements before configuring and deploying the solution. In the end, the tool is perfectly adapted to our organization and processes.
Garance Joncquiert,
Strategic Planning & Controlling – Roche France
To learn more about the collaboration between Roche and Beyond Plans, watch the webinar replay where both teams delve into the project in detail.
