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Case Studies

Developing a Document Management System for a Pharmaceutical Giant

Overview

A global leader in the pharmaceutical industry has established an enviable reputation for itself through its dedication to treating and preventing disease. Its Indian subsidiary is one of the largest multi-national pharmaceutical companies operating in India.

Business need

The company's massive scope of operations in India and its geographical spread meant that large volumes of data of varied genre were being created at dispersed locations. It was essential that the content was centralized and organized in a way that optimized its usefulness to multiple users across the organization.

Content management lies at the heart of efficient business management in an IT-enabled world. Establishing uniform document formats, controlling access to critical information, tracing usage, establishing audit trails and most importantly, eliminating the cost and efforts associated with distributing and retrieving paper copies, are some of the reasons why content management holds the key to increased profits and lowered costs. The client recognized the centrality of efficient content management to its business processes in India. Infosys was the solution provider of choice to implement a solution that would address the client's content management requirements.

Challenges

Managing content in a pharmaceutical company is highly complicated because of the highly structured and regulated nature of the content. Infosys had to first acquaint itself with these intricacies to effectively address the challenges, some of which were:

The solution delivered had to manage 3 critical functions, those of creation, delivery and archival of content. The nature of the client company's operations meant that the content would be complex as well as geographically disbursed. Infosys had to organize the content into an efficient, organic whole.
The scope and variety of the data complicated further the task of referencing and retrieving documents quickly.
70 users, some from production sites and others from external manufacturing locations, across 15 organizational departments, needed to use the system. Infosys had to implement a solution that would allow multiple users to use the system effortlessly.
All of this had to be done while ensuring that the client received maximum possible savings of both time and money.

The Infosys solution

Infosys developed a Web based Distribution Management Solution (DMS) using Documentum that efficiently addressed all the client requirements. The solution was developed at Infosys and deployed at the on-site location of the client. A team of 4 people handled the assignment and completed the project well within the stipulated time period of 11 person months. Infosys used the Integrated System Methodology (ISM) to implement the solution. This covers all aspects of a project including strategy, choice of technology, desired user experience and delivery management.

Benefits

The Infosys solution delivered the following benefits, which translate into savings of cost, time and effort across 15 departments of the enterprise:

The client could now import, store and retrieve electronic and scanned documents. This enabled a more efficient process of dissemination of information across the organization.
A repository of intellectual assets was created. Each asset was classified based on content type. This ensured that all users used the latest, approved versions of software, made sharing information across boundaries easier and regulated enterprise-wide documentation processes for SOPs, corrective actions and validation documents that are critical to compliance.
Using Documentum's Workflow and Lifecycle, the Infosys team automated the client's business processes. This simplifies approval processes and retention of records.
Implementing LDAP integration centralized user security. Short for Lightweight Directory Access Protocol, LDAP is a set of protocols for accessing information directories. It makes it possible for almost any application running on virtually any computer platform to obtain directory information, such as email addresses and public keys. The solution implemented by Infosys enabled a user and role-based system of access to information. This ensured that critical information was protected.
The DMS implemented by Infosys enabled users to search efficiently for metadata. It includes data associated with either an information system or an information object for purposes of description, administration, legal requirements, technical functionality, use and usage and preservation. It also enabled a keyword search.
Infosys' solution enabled the client to track the usage of content. Functionality for usage and status reports within Documentum was created to this end.

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