Digital asset management: an upbeat option for marketers

Expedited reviews

Now that the system is operational, Novo Nordisk is beginning to realize some of the benefits. “We are seeing some impact in the cycle time and the number of face-to-face meetings, because more of the materials are being reviewed electronically,” Klemmer says. “Once the team approves the content, the system can generate regulatory forms for the FDA and distribute the files to the correct print and digital channels.”

The smooth rollout was due in part to the careful groundwork done before the implementation. Envisioning an eventual global rollout, the project team included stakeholders outside North America in the planning. “We agreed on 80 percent of the configuration, with the remaining 20 percent being U.S.-oriented,” Klemmer says. “Each geographic area will regionalize its configuration.”

In addition, thorough training was provided for all users. “We held in-person training for the reviewers and marketers, who were taught about the business processes and how to use the system,” he says. In addition, Novo Nordisk provided webinars for the agencies, many of whom had already been using Vault PromoMats and were familiar with its functionality.

“We expect to make incremental tweaks over the coming year,” Klemmer adds, “and departments in other regions will roll out the system one by one. In a year or so, we will do an evaluation and see what other adjustments we need, but all in all, the system is operating as we had hoped, and we are pleased with the outcome.”

Veeva’s Vault platform is specifically tailored to the life sciences industry and can accommodate numerous applications—more than 10 applications have been built on it to date. “We think industry-specific software makes a lot of sense,” says John Chinnici, global VP for PromoMats. Veeva built its own DAM system to ensure a solid integration. “We surveyed the marketplace and couldn’t find a DAM that addressed the very specific process needs of life sciences,” he adds, “so we decided to build ours in-house.”

In addition to Vault PromoMats, Veeva offers a customer relationship management (CRM) system built on Salesforce and several applications for providing a comprehensive view of customer data and for identifying and contacting prospective customers. The Vault PromoMats application was developed after Veeva concluded that it would be better to build Vault from the ground up, independent from salesforce.

“Continuity across processes is critical in the life sciences industry,” says Chinnici, “so we wanted to ensure that our processes flowed end to end and that everyone who needed access to the proper content could get it.” The combination of content and process designed specifically for the life sciences industry has provided a solid base for Veeva’s position in this fast-growing market.

Vendors are offering modular systems so organizations can add components incrementally, according to Forrester; for example, a company might begin with core library services and then add workflow. “This approach allows organizations to grow their DAM systems as their needs become evident and resources become available,” Barber explains. Over time, analytics will become increasingly important as marketers try to determine which of their strategies have been most effective, so that is another area likely to grow.