3 Key Tools for Pharmaceutical Sales Representatives

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14/08/2026
11:52

reading time : 2 min

Lucie Monnot

Content Marketing Manager

In the field, whether in pharmacies, health and beauty stores, supermarkets or hospitals, sales teams working for pharmaceutical and healthcare companies operate in an increasingly competitive environment. Here is a closer look at three tools that can make a decisive difference when selling more effectively in the healthcare and pharmaceutical sectors.

A larger, but more fragmented and competitive market

Over the past three decades, several factors have profoundly transformed the pharmaceutical and healthcare products market and changed the practices of pharmaceutical sales teams. These include the following.

French and European medicines legislation, with stronger market authorization procedures and stricter marketing and promotional rules for both medicines and prescription medical devices. One consequence has been a steady decline in the number of medical sales representatives over the past 12 years, with approximately 10,000 now working in France.
The priority given to generic medicines. Health authorities strongly encourage pharmacists to substitute a generic for the prescribed originator product, unless the prescriber explicitly indicates otherwise. In 2022, generic medicines accounted for 84.8% of boxes sold within the official generic medicines directory, compared with 83.9% in 2021. This represented revenue of more than €4 billion, compared with €1.3 billion for originator medicines listed in the directory. Source: Leem, 2024.
Managed by the French National Agency for Medicines and Health Products Safety, or ANSM, the generic medicines directory consists of groups representing an originator medicine and its generic equivalents, whether or not those generics are marketed in France.
The diversification of distribution channels, including the emergence of health and beauty stores in the 1990s, the expansion of para-pharmacy sections in supermarkets and, of course, the development of specialized health and wellness e-commerce websites.
The acceleration of pharmacy group formation from 2009 onward. More than 90% of pharmacies are now part of a group, such as a purchasing group or a centralized procurement organization. At the same time, the number of pharmacies has declined, falling below 20,000 at the end of 2023, almost 2,000 fewer than in 2014.
The development of private-label brands owned by pharmacy groups, with an increasing number of products competing directly with laboratory brands in the self-service areas of affiliated pharmacies.
The rapid growth of the wellness, cosmetics and dietary supplements segment, with a growing number of brands sold exclusively in pharmacies or health and beauty stores, as well as a corresponding increase in sales teams dedicated to this highly competitive segment.

The 4 challenges facing healthcare and pharmaceutical sales teams

These developments have created a healthcare and pharmaceutical products environment made up of markets subject to very different levels of regulation regarding promotion and commercialization.

The structure, role and room for maneuver of sales teams can vary considerably between the reimbursed medicines market, where prices are regulated, and the market for comfort and wellness products sold in pharmacies, health and beauty stores or supermarkets.

Nevertheless, all sales teams face the same fundamental challenges:

Increase product-range penetration and market share.
Build customer loyalty.
Optimize the use of their time.
Demonstrate the added value of their field activities.

The strategy and organization used to address these challenges fundamentally depend on the product categories promoted by the sales representatives.

That is why, before selecting tools designed to make their daily work easier, it is essential to create a relevant territory structure based on the laboratory’s specialties, objectives and available field staff.

The purpose of this segmentation is to ensure optimal geographical coverage, while assigning sales representatives balanced portfolios in terms of customer numbers and potential, and portfolios that match their individual skills.

The organization created through this territory structure provides the foundation that enables the pharmaceutical company to:

Focus on the distribution channels, points of sale and key accounts with the greatest potential for its brands and product ranges.
Set objectives for the sales force and for each representative that are both realistic and aligned with strategic priorities.

Tools that help pharmaceutical sales representatives sell more effectively

To achieve their objectives, including visits, sales, customer acquisition and retention, pharmaceutical sales representatives need tools that give them access to all the information required to organize their work effectively.

They also need features that save time, particularly by minimizing the most time-consuming tasks.

A specialized CRM

The first of these tools is a CRM that takes the specific requirements of their profession into account.

It is always possible to configure a general-purpose CRM to adapt it to the needs of your sector and the preferences of your company.

However, a CRM designed from the outset for pharmaceutical and wellness companies natively incorporates the specific characteristics of the healthcare and pharmaceutical sector, including:

Its organizational and regulatory framework.
Its terminology.
Its analytical and monitoring features.
The functionality sales representatives need to manage their activities and organize their work effectively.

A route optimization tool

Your sales representatives’ time is valuable and should primarily be devoted to customers.

By giving them the means to complete essential but time-consuming tasks, including shelf audits, visit reports, order documentation, activity reporting and promotional material management, from a single mobile application, you make their work easier, save them time and enable them to focus on what matters most:

Make visits to pharmacies, health and beauty stores, healthcare facilities and supermarkets the high point of the commercial relationship.
Develop relationships of trust with staff at points of sale and healthcare facilities and, through them, with the target audiences for your products.

Having worked for many years with leading companies in the pharmaceutical, healthcare and wellness sectors, including Laboratoire Santé Verte, Orliman and Philips, Nomadia offers a unique set of sector-specific solutions and mobile business applications built around the OpenPharma CRM.

Would you like to learn how Nomadia’s healthcare and pharmaceutical ecosystem can help optimize your laboratory’s organization and commercial strategy, improve the performance of your field sales force and stand out from competitors through the quality of your customer relationships? Schedule an appointment with one of our healthcare and pharmaceutical experts.

Frequently Asked Questions

FAQ – The Most Frequently Asked Questions About Nomadia

Why Choose Nomadia?

As France’s leading publisher of Smart Mobility SaaS solutions, Nomadia supports more than 175,000 field professionals every day. Our solutions are easy to use, quick to deploy, and deliver significant and immediate return on investment.

Drawing on the expertise of both a software publisher-integrator and a consulting firm, Nomadia’s teams provide tailored support, from data consulting to the deployment of mobile devices. Finally, our technical support team is available 24/7 to assist you.

Who Are Nomadia Solutions Designed For?

Nomadia solutions support the digital transformation of all mobile professionals: field sales representatives, delivery drivers, technicians, auditors, healthcare workers, inspectors, service providers, security patrol officers, experts, and more.

Whether for SMEs or large enterprises, our solutions adapt to businesses of all sizes and across all industries.

How Much Does It Cost?

Nomadia Delivery offers transparent and flexible pricing, which primarily depends on the number of users (for example, planners and dispatchers) rather than a fixed cost per parcel.

Thanks to this model, you can control your delivery costs based on the number of resources (users) involved in route management, providing great flexibility to adjust your subscription according to the size of your fleet and your operational needs.

Is It Compatible with My Current ERP System?

Yes! Nomadia Delivery has been designed to integrate quickly and easily into your existing environment thanks to our powerful and secure APIs. Our solution is compatible with most ERP systems on the market. API integration enables the automatic synchronization of your transport orders, customer orders, and customer information, ensuring smooth and error-free delivery tracking. The solution also offers user-friendly import capabilities with data validation controls, as well as export options in multiple customizable formats.

Is It Suitable for Our Delivery Volume?

Yes, Nomadia Delivery is ideal for companies that manage a high volume of deliveries and want to optimize their routes, create balanced territories for their drivers, and ensure precise tracking of every parcel. Nomadia Delivery adapts to fleets of all sizes!

Can Multiple Warehouses or Depots Be Managed?

Yes, our solution allows you to manage multiple warehouses or depots. It centralizes data and optimizes routes or service operations for each of them.

Is There a Limit to the Number of Stops in Route Optimizations?

No, there is no strict limit to the number of stops in route optimizations. Our solution can handle large volumes of stops and quickly calculate optimized routes.

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