Discover, develop and deliver: Procurement
Discover, develop and deliver:
Procurement strategy for European markets at BMS
Dennis Stelljes, Associate Director of Strategic Sourcing and Procurement at Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) responsible for the CHAT region, located in Steinhausen, Switzerland, on the company’s use of technological innovation to transform procurement in the pharmaceutical supply chain.
uelled by research in Oncology, Hematology, Immunology and Cardiovascular diseases, Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) in Europe is a biopharmaceutical company with one of the most diverse and promising pipelines in the industry.
Here to tell us about how the company’s procurement strategy is a driver for growth is Dennis Stelljes, Associate Director of Strategic Sourcing and Procurement at BMS in Europe. To begin, he credits BMS for looking at procurement in a new light.
“At BMS procurement is seen not as a transactional function but as a strategic enabler,” says Dennis. “This means that the procurement goals are aligned with the overall business objectives, which helps us emphasise a long-term partnership with suppliers.
“We take this approach because we’re focusing on value-driven procurement, and we’re seeking supply partners who share that commitment to innovation and sustainability. We’re not interested in a cheap solution – we’re looking for
who can bring the greatest value to the business.
“In essence, we leverage our procurement strategy as a catalyst for growth. By strategically sourcing materials, services, and technologies, BMS ensures cost efficiency, supply chain resilience and quality assurance.”
To ensure the procurement team creates value for the company, Dennis explains how their strategic approach embraces collaboration to foster innovation and the
adoption of new approaches at BMS in Europe.
“In order to deliver innovation, we need strong partners,” says Dennis. “We collaborate closely with suppliers involving commercial projects, product development and process improvement. It’s impressive to see
what the supplier base is able to deliver in regard to innovation, and it demonstrates how important those partnerships are – we cannot do everything alone.
“Because we work so closely with these partners, we’re able to get ideas from them and explore new
“Our procurement teams worldwide are collaborating and regularly sharing information. We foster a culture of collaboration because we don’t want to reinvent the wheel”
“RMH Media is a fantastic partner for us to work with, The company has been transformational and inspiring in helping us revolutionise our marketing tactics”
ways of working. Personally, I believe that this strong collaboration and innovation exchange is what separates us from other companies.”
According to Dennis, BMS champions this spirit of collaboration internally as well as externally.
“This is what our new Chief Procurement Officer (CPO)
Paula Glickenhaus refers to as ‘crowdsourcing,’” says Dennis. “Our procurement teams worldwide are collaborating and regularly sharing information. We foster a culture of collaboration because we don’t want to reinvent the wheel.”
“So, we join forces with our business partners and teams across the region and across the market. One way we champion this is through our internal hackathons, where we discuss new and innovative ideas.
“We are also working with external partners, organisations and suppliers to deliver new ideas, but we rely on
internal collaboration to deliver them and add value in the process. Personally, I would say this showcases BMS’ role as a pioneer in healthcare and innovation – setting new standards for healthcare professionals (HCPs), patient outcomes and education.”
This focus on nurturing collaboration among its internal teams has paid off, explains Dennis.
“We have been awarded as a Great Place to Work in different countries across Europe, which we’re incredibly grateful for,” shares Dennis. “Our employees are anonymously interviewed about their experiences in the company, which we use to deliver results, prioritising inclusion, diversity and employee education.
“I recently hosted an internal learning session on artificial intelligence across the region on how AI can transform the way we work. It’s important for our teams to have a strong foundational knowledge of these new technologies because changes are happening so quickly. With AI, the evolution we’ve seen from just a year ago to today is extremely impressive, and it won’t stop there.”
While this technological innovation is a key component of BMS ongoing transformation, Dennis reiterates the importance of being mindful when deploying new technologies.
“We’re not using every new technology just because it’s there,” explains
Dennis. “It’s very easy to get caught up in new innovations, but we’re specifically choosing the emerging technologies that deliver benefits and promote the company’s values.
“If you look at the adoption curve, you can see that it starts with innovators, the people eager to embrace new solutions and new software. Then there are the early adopters. These people are quick to adopt new technologies –not as immediately as the innovators, but they’re pretty fast to adapt to new changes after observing the innovators and seeing that the technology is working. This is where we situate ourselves. It’s important for us to explore these new technologies before they’re picked up by the majority.
“One solution we’re using is robotic process automation (RPA) where, using automation, the RPA mimics
human workers. We’re using that most notably in invoice processing, where the RPA books invoices into the system.
“We’re continuously looking at how we can innovate across the company, from medical to commercial operations. However, whenever we look into a project or solution, we need to see tangible results. It’s not always easy to find them because the technology is so new, but if we feel that a technology will be a good implementation, we need to know if it will save costs, if it will be faster and if it will deliver results.”
Diving into an example of the technological innovation at BMS, Dennis describes recent transformations in the company’s marketing strategy, where the company collaborates closely with RMH Media.
Innovation
requires
interdisciplinary
perspectives and a truly awesome team.
Sebastian Richter COO // RMH MEDIA GmbH
In today’s competitive market, key questions for marketeers persist: How can you boost customer retention? How to speed up time to market? How to create a streamlined and cost-efficient content pipeline?
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Our solution range is specifically designed to meet the needs of the life science industry. SHOWCASE streamlines your content production pipeline, reducing costs and accelerating time to market for multichannel assets.
ONE MESSAGE connects your field force with healthcare professionals via popular instant messaging platforms, fostering unparalleled customer relationships. Additionally, enhance your customer experience by integrating 3D, AR, or VR into your customer journey, delivering a truly outstanding and immersive experience.
We help you maximise the potential of your digital ecosystem, driving success through innovation and efficiency.
We believe that good communication between pharmaceutical companies and healthcare professionals leads to better patient care. Since 1997, this has been our motivation to develop innovative digital marketing and outstanding software solutions for the pharmaceutical and healthcare industry worldwide. www.rmh-media.com
Transforming Pharmaceutical Field Force Engagement with RMH MEDIA.
In the rapidly evolving pharmaceutical industry, effective and engaging digital content is vital for the success of field forces. RMH MEDIA recently partnered with a pharmaceutical client facing significant challenges with their eDetailers and their customer engagement.
The Challenge: Reports showed that the client’s field force was not using the eDetailers provided by the CLM team. Interviews showed that presentations were not engaging and difficult to use. Additionally, there were significant delays in content publication, often resulting in outdated information. These issues severely impacted the field force’s willingness to adopt the provided materials and the overall productivity and performance.
Analysing the Problem: To address these challenges, RMH MEDIA began with a comprehensive analysis of the customer journey. We identified key pain points and opportunities to optimise and enhance the existing digital ecosystem for better support and faster content production.
Enhancing eDetailing: RMH MEDIA’s consulting team redesigned the eDetailers to incorporate best practices for digital engagement. We developed a performancefocused eDetailing playbook tailored to the customer, ensuring future content would be both engaging and user-friendly.
Streamlining
Content Production:
SHOWCASE was introduced to speed up the content creation process and reduce previously separate processes into one unified production pipeline. SHOWCASE enabled faster, more structured, and cost-effective production, significantly reducing turnaround times and enhancing content quality.
Improving Communication with ONE MESSAGE: Further analysis revealed that healthcare professionals were overwhelmed by excessive email communication. To address this, we implemented ONE MESSAGE, a compliant instant messaging solution and customised it for the medical liaison unit. This tool provided concise, highly personalised information and immediate responses to queries via major instant messaging apps like WhatsApp and LINE.
Results: The implementation of these solutions led to significant improvements:
Increased Engagement:
The revamped eDetailers were highly engaging, leading to better adoption by the field force.
Cost Efficiency:
SHOWCASE streamlined content production, reducing costs and time to market.
Enhanced Customer Experience:
ONE MESSAGE improved the quality of interactions with HCPs, reducing email fatigue and delivering timely, relevant information.
Conclusion: This case study demonstrates how RMH MEDIA’s innovative solutions can transform digital marketing strategies in the pharmaceutical industry and bring them to life. By leveraging expertise in content production and tailored digital solutions, RMH MEDIA helped this client achieve significant improvements in engagement, efficiency, and cost reduction. Now, let’s sit down together and delve into your customer journey. Contact us today to start enhancing your customer experience and driving your business forward.
Noel Wack
Director
“RMH Media is a fantastic partner for us to work with,” celebrates Dennis. “The company has been transformational and inspiring in helping us revolutionise our marketing tactics. In the past, we used the more traditional approach of face-to-face interactions with healthcare professionals (HCPs). This can be a very effective approach, but it has limitations in terms of scalability, personalisation and timely communication. Our email campaigns also used to be one size fits all, so everyone received the same message, and we were missing the nuances of individual preferences.
“Today, we’ve revolutionised our marketing with the omnichannel approach, and RMH Media has played a key role in the execution. Omnichannel marketing is not just about using multiple channels, but about creating a seamless, intuitive integrated experience for HCPs across all touchpoints.
“RMH Media have been pivotal in helping us shift towards this more holistic approach, particularly in our use of their SHOWCASE solution, which allows us to create, manage and publish curated content efficiently. Now,
we’re able to send out personalised emails created with this tool in a fraction of the time, making us more agile and simplifying the way we work.”
In particular, Dennis credits RMH Media’s ability to collaborate with companies in highly regulated industries.
“As a pharmaceutical company, there are a lot of rules and regulations we need to comply with,” says Dennis. “All of our outside communication must be run through medical, legal and regulatory (MLR) approval to ensure the
content is correct and adheres to brand guidelines. The tools RMH offer integrate seamlessly with our systems, simplifying content distribution significantly.
“There are several tools we use from RMH, including its website creation tool for several of our websites, and its interactive residual advertisements, which are often used by sales to customise presentations to suit specific HCPs.
“By helping us revolutionise these processes, RMH is helping us create value. They’re highly adaptable and quick at implementation when we need adjustments. Looking to the future, we want to continue to prioritise patient centricity with omnichannel marketing and other innovations, and we’re very excited to achieve this with RMH Media.”
When speaking about the company’s future, Dennis reveals that the priority lies in sustained growth.
“We have a diverse portfolio, and digital transformation is so crucial in building that,” says Dennis. “Our priority is investing in digital capabilities to enhance customer experience and operational efficiencies. As Peter Drucker wisely advised, ‘The best way to predict the future is to create it.’ We envision a future where innovation and collaboration are key drivers of growth, and that’s what we’re aiming to build.”
Learn more about BMS Europe here.
Turn over for Added Value with Dennis.
Quotes
Dennis mentions three quotes that particularly resonate with the way he approaches procurement strategy:
“Price is what you pay, value is what you get.” – Warren Buffett.
“The technology you use impresses no one. The experience you create with it is everything.” – Sean Gerety.
“The best way to predict the future is to create it.” – Peter Drucker.
An open mindset
“You need to be in the right frame of mind to challenge your own ideas,” says Dennis. “You can’t allow yourself to become close minded and rely on the status quo. I’m always looking to challenge my own thoughts, and I do that by reading, watching Ted Talks and consuming a variety of thought leadership content.”
Dennis recommends…
The Code of the Extraordinary Mind: 10 Unconventional Laws to Redefine Your Life and Succeed on Your Own Terms by Vishen Lakhiani
“I loved this book,” says Dennis. “It can teach you to transform your life and become a better person.”
Never Split the Difference: Negotiating as if Your Life Depended on It by Chris Voss and Tahl Raz
“I highly recommend this book to anyone working in procurement,” says Dennis. “Chris Voss is an ex-FBI hostage negotiator, and in this book, he explains how he would get results in high-pressure situations. A lot of the strategies he explores can be very easily applied to the procurement industry.”
Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action by Simon Sinek
“This is a great book to refer to when leading a team,” says Dennis. “A key takeaway from this book is that we need to go forward with purpose. For BMS in Europe, that purpose is delivering medicines to patients. My grandfather died of cancer, and if we had had better help available at the time, maybe we could’ve expanded his life expectancy. To me, things like this are the core purposes of my role.”
www.bms.com