GSK Biologicals, World leader in vaccines, benefits from a 114% ROI from its competitive intelligence activities using Digimind Evolution

Within the highly competitive context of the global vaccine production market, led by a handful of major players, GSK Biologicals is actively defending its current position in the number one spot in the world. When GSK decided to improve and give more structure to its competitive intelligence activities, it appointed the French provider Digimind to deploy its strategic intelligence application … reaping tangible benefits after just a few months. These results can be quantified using a systematic assessment of the return on investment, painting a very positive picture indeed .

A highly competitive and innovative environment

As means are made ever more available, innovative techniques are developed and experts' knowledge increases, the rate of new vaccine discoveries is accelerating. Between 1980 and the year 2000, over 20 new vaccines were developed and made available to health professionals and the general public.

Research is accelerating still today and projects currently under development may well lead to groundbreaking discoveries in the mid and long term, especially in the area of therapeutic vaccines against aids, cancer and chronic illnesses. It is in this context that GSK Biologicals decided it must be equipped to continue its development, thus to maintain its position as market leader. This is why GSK needed to deploy a continual surveillance system of its competitive and scientific environment.

The specialist chooses a global intelligence solution

After evaluating the range of solutions on offer in the market place, GSK Biologicals chose the global approach favored by Digimind, "Digimind Evolution". This is an integrated application for collaborative intelligence, deployed hand in hand with long term consultancy services provided by sourcing and project consultants.

Within several months, Digimind Evolution and Digimind experts enabled GSK Biologicals to improve productivity and the scope of its internet intelligence thanks to the detailed selection of appropriate information sources and the deployment of advanced surveillance agents. Selective information is sent out to the various internal communities in the form of newsletters, hardcopy reports and dedicated intelligence portals. The time saved and increases in productivity at GSK are a tangible reality. The positive effects are immediately perceptible and can be proven through the assessment of the Return On Investment.

A ROI of 114%

The project is widely acknowledged to be of great use, particularly by the company's decision-makers who are the organization's main users of information and yet the net benefits are rarely subjected to methodical assessment. GSK Biologicals consequently decided to progress from a simple qualitative assessment of the intelligence process and to conduct a quantitative analysis.

Digimind Services applied its proprietary methodology for assessment, in order to quantify the three types of benefits: increases in productivity (time saved by eliminating daily repetitive data handling tasks), increases in volume (more sources monitored), in the amount of information gathered and the relevance of that information, and finally benefits provided by "network" intelligence uniting individuals and teams (cut in transactional costs: meetings, informal exchanges, memo writing).

The global results of calculations carried out at GSK Biologicals point to benefits in the order of 114% compared to the initial agreed investment, benefits experienced right from the end of the project pilot phase.

To find out more, download the White Paper "[lien=321]".