Digital Transformation Challenges in the Sales of Pharmaceutical Companies in Japan

Abstract

While the pharmaceutical industry is rated as having less digital maturity than other industries, the changing environment, especially due to the COVID-19 pandemic, has been giving momentum to the rise of digital transformation (DT). This study explored the current status and background of DT on sales and how DT has been promoted in Japan based on 20 interviews with leaders and consultants in the pharmaceutical industry. The results showed that while their DT was still at an early stage, DT had been driven by external factors, including the pandemic, with commitment from top management. We identified four changing external factors and nine initiatives in relation to the new activities: three in the practical stage and six in the developing stage. An interesting aspect was that regulations might both promote and hinder DT in this industry combined with COVID-19. As there has been limited domain-specific research in DT of the pharmaceutical industry in Asia, the study is considered to contribute to both academic research and practice in Asian business.

Customer experience in pharmaceutical B2B markets: perspectives of buyers and sellers

“…Close buyer–seller interaction and coordination are critical to getting the product approved and meeting certain service requirements across drug discovery, medicine development, medical devices, commercial manufacturing, etc. Finally, the pharma industry still lags in digital maturity despite the significant advancement shown in COVID-induced digital adoption (Della Corte and Della Corte, 2021; Liu et al , 2021, Benazzouz and Auhmani, 2023). The B2B businesses in the pharmaceutical industry are realizing the importance of CX and using digital technologies to influence the customer journey and touchpoints (Tiene, 2016).…”