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So much attention is spent on the front-end of channels-- determining whether to build, buy or partner, channel selection and recruitment. In our years of channel management, the success of channel

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

s has depended just as much on the back-end--supporting the channels correctly. Too often, the channel had to fend for themselves. There was no channel program, the channel did not receive help in

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

Examples of combination products may in

sales and marketing or expensive channel sales representatives wrote sales training, developed collateral and tried to solve support problems, rather than working with their channel partners to bui

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

ld business and close deals.

Enter the channel lifecycle, a model on which channel programs are based. The model identifies the key leverage points to touch partners, support their efforts and spe

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

d their time to success. While at HP, we had the challenge of having many partners, but few provided the kind of revenue we needed. The lifecycle allowed us to determine where to take action to sp

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

Combination pro

eed partners to revenues.

The Lifecycle follows a channel partner through the entire relationship with a company, from recruiting and introduction to the value proposition of being a partner to bu

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

siness agreements to preparation for launch to growth and management. A channel program must be carefully constructed to support each step of the lifecycle. A channel does not happen by chance. Eac

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

h step of the way, a carefully selected set of actions must take place to speed the channels to success.

Recruitment: Once a company selects a channel strategy, you will need to develop a set of r

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

gorous criteria for the type of partner you want to recruit. You need to ensure that the prospective companies will be a good match for your company and business model and vice-versa. Key questions

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

can include: “What is the value proposition you are offering and is that important to them? Can you clearly define an upside opportunity for both sides? Is there a reasonable level of investment e

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

ach side is prepared to make? What does the partner expect from you in terms of revenue stream, profit margin, demand creation, creation of a market?”

Business Terms and Processes: As you create b

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

Following aspects would a

usiness terms, think of how you will implement them. How will you measure sell-through? How will you evaluate the relationship? Likewise, think through each step of the sales process and develop pr

dd to the challenges in developing combination products:

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

cesses to support the channel. How will product training be provided, how will launches of new products be communicated to partners BEFORE the launch, how will product be shipped, returns be taken,

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

success be measured.

Preparation: As you build a channel, consider how you will prepare them to sell, support and deliver the product and solution. How will you deliver training and communication

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

cost-effectively as the channel grows? One-to-one management will no longer be possible. How will you effectively communicate in real-time, answer questions, provide marketing materials, training

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

and documentation?

Launch: What will you do to officially launch new channel partners? What kind of marketing support will you provide? Yes, you want your channels to build your business at less c

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

Professional from academic institutions, pharmaceutical industries, health care indust

st, but the reality is that you will need to proactively encourage them to market your products. How do you plan to launch new partners, do you plan joint marketing, will you have coop funds, what

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

collateral, logos, etc. will you provide?

Growth: How will you encourage planning and growth? What kind of joint planning will you do? How will you measure growth and success? What will you do wit

.

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

h non-performing channels?

The channel game is not simply select and go. There are many steps to take to ensure success of your channel. The channel lifecycle is one model to speed your partners t

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

Companies that provide selfless information through particip

o success. Starting a channel strategy and program takes well thought out strategy and tactics, investment in time, money and resources, and a channel support organization to ensure channel success

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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During the last period we can recall the Savings and Loan and Junk Bond Scandal everyone was up in arms over that. It led to a public mindset that all business people were greedy and evil. One songwriter in the band Jefferson Starship who wrote “We Built This City on Rock and Roll” had a verse in his song; “Someone always playing corporation games; Who cares they're always changing corporation names.”

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is the system that handles the internal course of action of a business. It comprises of resources planning, management control and equipped control. It came after manufacturing resource planning (MRP II), a proposal for the effective planning of all resources of a production company. This further originated from material requirements planning (MRP), the method used to handle the manufacturing processes. ERP mainly deals with manufacturing, logistics, inventory, invoicing and accounting of a company. It is a back office system wherein the clientele, suppliers and the general public are not directly involved. ERPs are generally cross-functional and enterprise-wide, and all the company departments are integrated in one system.

Just imagine - billions of dollars are wasted every year. Most exhibitors only get a fraction of the return on investment. Why? Because they spend their trade show promotional budget on giveaways and not repetitive message senders.

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