Man found a tiny creature in a bag of mulch. Months later, this is what love looks like. | The Diabetes Site Blog
As consumer expectations for real-time visibility grow ever higher, B2B expectations are rising as well. To meet these heightened customer expectations, modern manufacturers are leveraging new technologies to build a digital supply chain, in which real-time tracking and advanced analytics enable end-to-end optimization and an all-around superior customer experience.
We wrote our new white paper, The Digital Supply Chain: Meeting Rising Expectations in the Age of Amazon, to help manufacturers meet and even exceed these rising expectations. In this paper, we consider how various trends in the B2C world are spilling over into B2B, creating new requirements and new opportunities for forward-thinking manufacturers. For example, as companies such as Amazon and Uber set a new bar for speed, transparency, and reliability for consumer deliveries and transportation, is has become necessary for commercial manufacturers to provide similar levels of service.
With global IoT tracking and big data analytics, the modern supply chain manager can rise to the challenge of today’s consumer expectations, delivering a commercial experience on par with and even surpassing the consumer status quo. The digital supply chain makes it possible to increase efficiency, cut costs, and optimize operations, enabling improved internal operations as well as better service for the end customer.
The time to invest in a digital supply chain is now. As consumer expectations continue to rise, forward-thinking manufacturers must develop a strong foundation of digital technology and IoT infrastructure on which to continue to modernize — or be left behind. By leveraging new technologies and maintaining an innovative mindset, the modern manufacturer can ensure that they stay competitive and continue to deliver a superior customer experience in the modern digital world.
To learn more about the impact of consumer trends like Amazon and Uber on the B2B supply chain, download our free white paper today.
In September, the creators of 12 new veterinary products were invited to pitch their innovations to a committee of leading agricultural and animal health experts "Shark Tank" style. Their mission? To be selected for the coveted 2018 Animal Health Innovation Award at the 10th Annual KC Animal Health Corridor Investment Forum in Kansas City, MO.
According to a press release issued by the winner, “Each company was given ten minutes to present their company followed by a five-minute Q&A session with scientists and top executives from within the animal health industry. The event attracted over 1,000 animal health industry executives, venture capital firms, investors and potential partners.”
And the winner was… Torigen Pharmaceuticals, a company developing personalized cancer immunotherapies for veterinary patients. The company received a $10,000 prize and global recognition for its commitment to helping our industry provide better and more affordable animal cancer treatment options.
The release noted, “Select veterinarians throughout the U.S are currently using Torigen's experimental companion animal cancer treatment, which utilizes a portion of the patient's own tumor sent to Torigen's laboratory for creation of a personalized vaccine.”
As you consider this incredible solution, think about what that would mean to practices in your territory.
Pharmaceuticals and food-related products are highly regulated and go through a lengthy trial and approval process. In fact, it can take and average of 12 years and up to $1billion to get a new drug from concept to approval and to market.*
The U.S. FDA (Food & Drug Administration) regulates these new products. Its article, “From an Idea to the Marketplace: The Journey of an Animal Drug through the Approval Process,” provides a complete, in-depth look at what it takes to gain approval for a product.
“The journey to drug approval begins with the drug sponsor (pharmaceutical company; scientific research group; government agency such as the U.S. Department of Agriculture; or academic organization, such as colleges and universities) having an idea about a new compound. Perhaps this new compound has certain qualities that may make it a useful drug to treat bovine respiratory disease in cattle. The sponsor researches and develops the new compound and conducts initial (“pilot”) laboratory studies on it for a specific use (called an “indication”) in a specific animal species (called the “target animal species”). In the example above, the indication is the treatment of bovine respiratory disease and the target animal species is cattle.
If the results of the pilot studies are promising and there is a potential market for the drug, the drug sponsor contacts CVM to officially start the drug approval process.
The sponsor submits a New Animal Drug Application (NADA) to the CVM (Center for Veterinary Medicine). The NADA includes all the information about the drug and the proposed label.
A team of CVM personnel, including veterinarians, animal scientists, biostatisticians, chemists, microbiologists, pharmacologists, and toxicologists, reviews the NADA. If the center's team agrees with the sponsor’s conclusion that the drug is safe and effective if it is used according to the proposed label, CVM approves the NADA and the drug sponsor can legally sell the drug.”
For other products, such as toys, apparel, self-watering bowls, retractable leashes, and a wide range of other items, the process is much less complex. It’s still difficult for new products to be embraced by our market. Many never see the light of day. But as you know, each year there are hundreds (if not thousands) of new products debuting at trade shows and in distribution catalogs.
John Cullen, Principal, Bulldog Marketing & Sales, Inc., is a product-marketing consultant who developed and execution multi-million dollar ad campaigns for brands like Pounce Cat Treats, Zoombak GPS Trackers, and JW Pet Company Inc. Now he helps new-product inventors get their products to the pet and veterinary markets and into distribution companies.
To get into distribution, John said the key is, “Using qualified reps that have access to the major vet distributors. It’s a highly fragmented channel… which means it’s very difficult to gain critical mass without a distribution partner. Reps have the relationship with the distributor to get you in front of the buyer.”
In part 2 of this blog post series, you’ll meet and hear from a pet-care product inventor who made it into distribution. And, you’ll find out how distribution sales reps learn about all the new products that make it into the market each year