Advice You - Business

5 Things Your Customers Want When Configuring Products Online Did you know that at Starbucks, you can choose from over half a million drink combinations? That’s right, just over 550,000 ways to make a latte.

This kind of customiz

According to USFDA, a combination product is one composed of any combination of a drug and device; biological product and device; drug and biological product

ation, and the branding around it, has become the alma mater of such big corporate players; And if you’re a manufacturer of configure to order products, you can probably relate. You probably have an easily comparable variety in yo

; or drug, device, and biological product and fixed dose combination would include two or more combinations of drug.

Examples of combination products may in

r product line.

Whats more is that as a manufacturer, you’re dealing with a number of different sales channels; industrial sales reps, distributors, retailers, etc. And then there’s the consideration of OEMs, owners and engineers

lude drug-coated devices, drugs packaged with delivery devices in medical kits, and drugs and devices packaged separately but intended to be used together.

who influence your customer’s purchasing decisions. Needless to say, this wide an audience presents a need for mass appeal.

After some extensive research, we’ve found some of the top priorities our clients have shared wi

here is enormous increase in the number of combination products entering the market in the recent years. Combination products have proven advantages but fixe

h us regarding customer’s needs. Bear in mind, we’re in the business of online solutions. Your website can be your most valuable sales tool, offering a one stop solution to shorter lead-to-order times, streamlined processes, and u

d dose combinations are still in the process of convincing regulatory authority on their advantages over the single ingredient formulations.

Combination pro

timately, more winning bids.

While Shopping for ecommerce solutions, product configurators , and RFQ solutions, remember to remember your customer… They Want:

1. An Intuitive Way to Identify and Select

ucts have become life saving products for the pharmaceutical companies who doesn’t have many innovative molecules in their product pipeline and have been inc

he Most Appropriate Solution for Their Needs

You’re probably dealing with customers of varying knowledge levels. Dealers who make similar orders on a weekly basis will need less guidance than someone less familiar with a

easingly used in the product life cycle management. Even the companies having product patents are trying to extend their product life cycle through the combi

particular product application, let’s say. Help your customers out a little. Choose a product configurator and supporting navigation schema that allows for multiple ways to select products. A well organized, searchable catalogue s

nation products and maximize the revenues. But the companies involved in this practice are overlooking that they are burdening the patients both economically

lution will quickly guide your customer to the right product.

2. The Ability To Quickly Specify A Variety Of Options

Again, you’re dealing with a differing audience, and a differing buying approach. the key is t

and physically. They need to rightly judge the benefits of the combination products and they have to even look at the risks involved when combining the produ

figure out how your customers are operation, and to make the customization process as intuitive as possible. Features that can be applied to all products, applied to all products except…etc are options that will make the purchasi

ts. Some of the combination products were well accepted by physicians while others suffered. Companies involved in development of combination products are fi

g process much easier for your visitors.

3. Fast, Accurate Price Quotes

This might sound like a obvious one, but actually supplying this experience requires some thought. For standard configurations, y

ding difficulty in defining their combination products and facing various challenges from selecting a combination to marketing it.

Following aspects would a

our customers just want the right price, now. For more complex configurations, it’s accurate pricing, the first time that counts. In thinking about what options to provide in the RFQ process, consider what your customer’s motivati

dd to the challenges in developing combination products:

Which markets to tap where the combination products can do fairly well?
Which combination prod

ns are: They want to know exactly what their costs will be, with all markups and discounts clearly displayed. they may be searching for value adds on your competitors products - in order to manage their margins and budgets success

cts are meaningful and rational?
Which therapeutic categories to select?
Which Combinations can address unmet needs of the patients?
Do combin

ully, they’ll need to do some experimentation. Supply them with comprehensive options, and clearly indicated pricing information.

4. The Ability to Quickly Create Bid Documents; Including Configuration Specific Drawings.<

tions increase the patient compliance?
What would be the developing cost?
How to tackle the risks encountered during combination product developmen

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Your distributors will sometimes need to create, formal, comprehensive proposals to their bid. the more information you provide, and the more automated the process, the quicker these documents can be created. A content so

t?

As combination products don't fit into the traditional categories of drugs, medical devices, or biological products, the USFDA is in the process of devel

ution that allows you to produce and deliver configuration specific drawings in a ready to go electronic form means a quicker sales cycle, and more business for your customers, and for you. You can also provide access to premade C

ping new procedures for reviewing their safety, efficacy and quality.

Professional from academic institutions, pharmaceutical industries, health care indust

D blocks, making it easier for your user to incorporate your products in their layouts.

See CAD Publisher y and representatives from various regulatory agencies are working out to design the regulatory requirements for manufacture and sale of combination products

tp://www.ecreativeworks.com/fliers/ws_custom.htm" target="_blank">

5. The Ability to See What They’re Ordering

You dont need an interactive, visually stunning flash configurator in order to give your custom

.

As there is an increasing trend of the combination products companies manufacturing such products should be able to tackle the problems involved in the de

rs visual confirmation of their configuration. Its lousy in the search engines and tough to find a talented flash designer that wont break your bank. A static image is often enough. More advanced solutions could involve rotatable

elopment. They need to be wiser in analyzing the market trends and the regulatory requirements.

Companies that provide selfless information through particip

D images for products where the look is critical.

Of course, all of these pieces must be wrapped up in an intuitive, well organized, visually appealing, usable, and search engine friendly website in order to be the most effective

tion in industry events and feedback to regulatory authorities would be able to face the challenges and will be successful in developing combination products

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Advice You - Manufacturers - 5 Things Your Customers Want When Configuring Products Online

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