Scenarios for Managing Samples

This topic outlines three scenarios that are examples of workflows performed by a samples administrator and the sales representatives who distribute samples to health care professionals. Your company might follow a different process according to its business requirements.

A pharmaceutical company has new products to bring to market. To set up a samples inventory, the samples administrator adds the products to the database, associates any lot numbers (optional), and allocates and transfers samples to the sales representatives in the field. Once sales representatives acknowledge them, the samples are available during call execution. The sales representatives then visit the doctors in their territories and drop the new samples. After a month goes by, each sales representative is required to reconcile his or her inventory. One sales representative realizes there are some discrepancies in her inventory. After she makes the needed adjustments, she reconciles her inventory and starts a fresh inventory period.

Scenarios discussed in this chapter include:

• Scenario 1: Administrator Establishes a Master Inventory. The Siebel samples administrator establishes and transfers inventory to end users.

• Scenario 2: Administrator and End Users Establish a Master Inventory. The Siebel samples administrator and the end user establish an initial inventory and then reconcile it before they disburse any samples.

• Scenario 3: Users Transfer Samples to One Another. Describes the basic process of how users can exchange samples inventory within Siebel CRM.

Using the procedures described in this chapter, sales representatives can track their samples inventories, record inventory transfers, and track lost or damaged inventory. However, to record samples disbursements, sales representative should use the procedures described in Completing Contact and Account Call Activities.