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MedPointe is a specialty pharmaceutical company that develops, markets and sells branded prescription therapeutics in the areas of allergy/respiratory, neurology and cough/cold. The company’s sales and marketing teams of over 360 individuals— more than one half of MedPointe’s entire workforce—provide a knowledgeable and trusted link to physicians and healthcare providers across America. MedPointe is headquartered in Somerset, New Jersey—the heart of the nation’s pharmaceutical corridor.
THE CHALLENGE
To stay competitive in the specialty pharmaceutical business, it is critical that MedPointe’s sales force, marketing team and executives have the business tools they need to keep them one step ahead of their rivals. “We’ve always been on the leading edge of the technology bell curve,” said Chuck Hoyt, executive director of IT for MedPointe. “This has been one of the keys to our success.”
To give MedPointe’s employees access to their e-mail while on the road, the IT department issued BlackBerry® devices from Research in Motion. While this solution provided value, it fell short of expectations. “RIM® does ‘push’ e-mail very well, but that’s where it ends,” explained Hoyt. “We wanted to do much more in developing a wireless messaging solution for our mobile workers.”***
Specifically, Hoyt was looking for a solution that could provide real-time access to calendaring, contacts and the Web, in addition to e-mail. It was also critical for MedPointe’s mobile workers to use the handheld that made them most productive. “BlackBerry just didn’t measure up in these areas,” said Hoyt. Hoyt and his team began evaluating other products that could provide the functionality and services MedPointe was looking for. The team initially looked at Seven and Infowave. They then discovered Good Technology. “The more we learned about Good, the more excited we became,” said Hoyt. “Being at the leading edge of new technology, we could see the benefits of Good’s solution.”
Hoyt’s team implemented a pilot with a small group of MedPointe executives who spend a lot of time on the road. The positive feedback they provided solidified MedPointe’s decision to make the switch and go with Good Mobile Messaging. The Solution —Good Mobile Mesaging with Carrier Service from Sprint and Cingular
Following the pilot, the IT team rolled out Good Mobile Messaging with carrier service from Sprint and Cingular to about 50 additional users. “Sprint’s data service is top notch and very affordable,” said Hoyt. “We use Cingular for executives who regularly travel overseas and need to stay in contact with the business no matter where they are.”
“The feedback from the new users has been very positive,” added Hoyt. “Demand has also been growing as more and more employees hear about Good Mobile Messaging and are able to see the product in action.” Because of the positive results from the expanded rollout and increased demand, the IT department is deploying Good Mobile Messaging to another 50 people in the company’s sales and marketing departments, giving MedPointe approximately 100 Good Mobile Messaging users.
Handheld Choice
So that employees can be as productive as possible, MedPointe supports almost any compatible handheld that users prefer. Currently, MedPointe’s mobile workers are using Treo™ 600s and Treo 650s smartphones by Palm,® the PPC-6601 from Sprint, the Audiovox® SMT5600 Video Smartphone, and the new HP iPAQ hw6515. “Handheld choice is one of the key reasons we selected Good,” said Hoyt. “Everyone has their preferences. Users love it and we know they are using the handheld that best fits their needs.”
THE RESULTS
“Good Mobile Messaging on multiple handhelds with service from Sprint and Cingular makes our people more productive, our customers more satisfied and our company more competitive,” said Hoyt.
In addition, MedPointe has discovered a benefit that may prove even more important—quality of life. During the pilot, one of the top reasons people liked the Good™ solution was because it allowed them to stay on top of their work while they were out of the office. While flying, driving or waiting for a meeting to begin, employees could check their e-mails and calendar and be up to date.
“By staying ahead of the information flow, MedPointe employees could go home at night and spend time with the family rather than reviewing the 200 or so e-mail messages that would have accumulated while they were on the road,” said Hoyt. “I was initially surprised by this, but it makes complete sense. Employees who are happier are more productive and will stay with the company longer.”
Another key benefit is being able to provide immediate responses to customers. MedPointe’s Good Mobile Messaging users are often on the road with customers or at their offices. With Good Mobile Messaging, they can give customers the information they need almost instantly. “This has improved our customer service and given us a big competitive advantage,” said Hoyt.
“I’m a big supporter of Good,” concluded Hoyt. “The service is incredibly stable, it provides the real-time wireless communications we need to stay ahead of the competition, it allows our users to select the handheld that makes them most productive, and it improves the quality of our employees’ lives—who could ask for more?”
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