Case study

Pfizer

Improving alliances through effective information management

Pfizer, a dominant force in the global pharmaceutical market and a significant player in the multi-billion dollar pharmaceutical alliances sector, had a number of local disparate systems following its acquisition activities. As a result, Strategic Alliances (the department responsible for securing and managing external alliances) lacked a consolidated global view of current and historic data. Consequently, a rising proportion of effort was being spent on non-value-adding tasks and the potential for costly mistakes was greatly increased.

To address this challenge, Pfizer engaged PA Consulting Group to create and implement a rapid, insightful information management solution that would help the company manage and derive value from the wealth of project and agreement information. Working closely with staff in global Pfizer locations to understand regional nuances in process and practice, PA assisted Pfizer in designing, developing and deploying a system to efficiently and effectively manage information throughout the alliance lifecycle, from initial contact through to agreement completion. Using our ‘Rapid Systems Development’ methodology, PA delivered a proof of concept in just two weeks. The system, Strategic Technologies, Alliances and Relationships (STAR) was implemented at two pilot locations just six weeks later and was in use at all global locations after only eight further weeks.