Pharmaceutical Pain Specialist, Grünenthal, Selects Cloud-Based Veeva CRM to Support New Centralised Business Model

BARCELONA, Spain, March 22, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

More than 1,200 users across all 15 Grünenthal affiliates in Europe and Australia are replacing their various server-based CRM systems with a single, cloud-based solution: Veeva CRM. The company selected Veeva to support its new centralised business model, tearing down regional silos and uniting its selling effort across the enterprise. According to Grünenthal, each region had operated its own CRM system - none of which "talked to one another." So, the pharmaceutical leader searched for a flexible system that would align with the company's new vision.

After an in-depth evaluation and head to head comparison of more than ten CRM providers, Grünenthal executives agreed that Veeva CRM was the one system that could meet all of the company's needs. "We were looking for a system that enabled seamless data sharing among all our commercial teams across the enterprise plus provide full geographic coverage of Europe and Australia," said Martine Delage, Head of Field Force development for Grünenthal Europe & Australia. "So we ran a Veeva CRM pilot in the Nordics and were very impressed with the unprecedented implementation speed and reliability."

Grünenthal reports that the inherent flexibility and openness of Veeva CRM's cloud-based platform were also appealing. "We were very impressed with the possibility of being able to integrate other systems on a common CRM platform in the future. And the cloud gives us the insurance of adequate capacity for data storage that server-based systems cannot guarantee," added Delage.

The company also expressed satisfaction with Veeva's global support team that implemented the new CRM system. "Veeva works collaboratively while also speaking in one voice. Their commitment to quality, customer focus and innovative vision matched our own," said Chris-Carol Bremer, Grünenthal's Head of Marketing.

Five years ago, Veeva introduced the first cloud-based CRM system designed specifically for pharmaceutical and biotechnology organisations. Today, Veeva CRM supports tens of thousands of users globally, including 17 of the top 20 largest global pharmaceutical companies. Most recently, Veeva launched iRep - the industry's leading, integrated CRM and CLM application for the Apple iPad. Grünenthal is piloting iRep in its Nordics region with the expectation that it will roll out the new application company-wide in the future.

"We are building a centralised, customer-focused organisation. Veeva's vision, support and powerful cloud-based CRM system will allow us to do that," continued Grünenthal's Bremer.

"Grünenthal's customer-centric commercial vision combined with their world-class business and IT organisations have set a new high standard for both market leadership and execution excellence," said Dan Goldsmith, general manager, Veeva Europe. "Veeva is delighted to be part of Grünenthal's transformation and we look forward to a strong partnership focused on innovation and customer success," concluded Goldsmith.

About Grünenthal

The Grünenthal Group is an independent, family-owned international research based pharmaceutical company headquartered in Aachen, Germany. Building on its unique position in pain, its objective is to become the most patient-centric company to be a leader in therapy innovation.

Grünenthal is one of the last five research-oriented pharmaceutical corporations with headquarters based in Germany which sustainably invests in research and development. These investments amounted to about 25% of revenues in 2011. Grünenthal's research and development strategy concentrates on select fields of therapy and state-of-the-art technologies. Grünenthal focus on the intensive search for new ways to treat pain better, more effectively and with fewer side-effects than before.

Altogether, the Grünenthal Group has affiliates in 26 countries worldwide. Grünenthal products are sold in more than 155 countries and approx. 4,200 employees are working for the Grünenthal Group worldwide. In 2011, Grünenthal reached estimated revenues of €947 million.  

About Veeva Systems

Veeva Systems is the leader in cloud-based business solutions for the global life sciences industry. Committed to innovation, product excellence and customer success, Veeva has over 150 customers, ranging from the world's largest pharmaceutical companies to emerging biotechs. Founded in 2007, Veeva is a privately held company headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area, with offices in Philadelphia, Barcelona, Paris, Beijing, Shanghai and Tokyo. For more information, visit http://www.veevasystems.com.

Copyright (c) 2012 Veeva Systems. All rights reserved. Veeva and the Veeva logo are registered trademarks of Veeva Systems. Veeva Systems owns other registered and unregistered trademarks. Other names used herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Media Contact
Selma Nawaz
Marketing Director, Europe
Veeva Systems
selma.nawaz@veevasystems.com