"Treasure hunt is not an easy task"

At the beginning, Grupemef used to be 100% focused on market intelligence, by setting up meetings and bulletins. Little by little, the pharmaceutical industry started to recognize the entity as new source of exchanging knowhow and relevant information for the market. New commissions, then, were set up and other areas started to be studied, such as HR and events.

Nowadays, Grupemef holds sixty associated laboratories and their focus on market intelligence is around 70% lower, but the president of the entity, Sônia Orestes, wants to make Grupemef yet more versatile and comprehensive. "In the pharmaceutical industry there aren?t only market intelligence professionals, there are other areas that must be analyzed", says Sônia.

During an exclusive interview to Top Team, the president of Grupemef opens up about the entity bulletins, analyzes the current trend of the pharmaceutical industry and says what kind of professionals still lack in the market. Follow it below:

Grupemef has existed for 36 years. Do you still face difficulties to obtain data for the bulletins?
Treasure hunt is not an easy task. Unfortunately, some laboratories still avoid providing data. Most say they do not have time; others say that it is about confidential information. There are exceptions: some laboratories give us information close to reality just to know further information about other laboratories. However, we end up finding out because we have all the information needed and because other laboratories also tell us about it. As a whole, Grupemef has been able to bring up the pharmaceutical industry interest, as it is very important to get to know competition better. When you know your market share you gain more competition skills, guide your sales and set up strategies.

Which bulletins have been developed by Grupemef?
Grupemef carries out surveys which can be only accessed by those associates that are part of the group. These surveys show a wide range of information that guides Marketing and Sales areas when taking decisions. Based on these surveys, we create several bulletins that are sent to participants, such as monthly sales, capital resources, sales force reward and enteral nutrition.

What is enteral nutrition bulletin?
It is created out of the information provided by a group of laboratories whose meetings take place at Grupemef. They analyze this market niche, which is formed by nutritional medicines that contain some hospital vitamins. Then, the laboratories can exchange information about real sales, know the real market share and set up new strategies in order to expand it.

Do mergers cause an impact in the results of Grupemef bulletins?
Absolutely. Laboratories that have made mergers already give us a report with unified sales. Just the ranking changes. The laboratory which used to be the tenth in the ranking, can now be the eighth one, for instance.

What is your opinion about intercultural change in the pharmaceutical industry?
I find it great. I realize that the foreign executives come to Brazil with totally different profile and culture. They are very close to sustainable pharma. At Grupemef, we have a directorate working towards a campaign so that the industry becomes more sustainable. The industry must know all their partners because everyone has responsibilities to share.

In Brazil, what kind of professionals lack in the market?
The market intelligence professional is a great analyst and understands about business, marketing strategy, sales and productivity. The professional ends up having a promotion and his place remains available. However, the company does not have time to qualify another executive. Grupemef receives, then, several requests from HRs requiring high performance and development analysts. Nowadays, the market hunts for these professionals, who have high aggregate value. It is a commitment, therefore, for Grupemef to train and qualify analysts who are coming into the market as trainees. As a consequence, we need some partners.

Which are the next Grupemef challenges?
There are a lot of challenges, however, we will focus on some of them in order to establish bigger and more responsible adherence, such as increase the number of associates; keep narrow relationship with association councils, find partners to sharpen the Professional Development and improve Lupa de Ouro Award.

Speaking about Lupa de Ouro, what can we expect for 2008?
For the time being, I just can say the date (laugh). It will take place on November 28, in a very cozy place. I wish I could say a lot about Lupa de Ouro, but I still can?t.

To wrap up, what is the trend for the pharmaceutical industry?
The industry tries to optimize all areas and sectors by establishing corporate goals for the continuous improvement of the company and the professional. As a consequence, there will be a commitment with the resources provided by one?s productivity.