Collaborating on a connected platform journey, with Alexander Alex and Florian Schnappauf

This video provides an in-depth exploration of Bayer's strategic migration to Veeva Vault CRM and the broader implications of a connected platform journey within the pharmaceutical industry. Featuring Alexander Alex, Head of Veeva Platform at Bayer, and Florian Schnappauf, VP of Enterprise Commercial Strategy at Veeva, the discussion centers on how this transition elevates Bayer's customer engagement model, integrates core business functions, and leverages artificial intelligence to drive innovation and efficiency across its value chain.

The conversation begins by detailing Bayer's decision to move from its previous Salesforce partnership to Veeva's proprietary Vault CRM, a move necessitated by Veeva's strategic shift. This migration was not merely a technical upgrade but a foundational step towards a "next-generation customer engagement model" focused on empowering field teams and prioritizing customer insights. Bayer's goal was to evolve from a traditional "system of records" to a "customer insights platform," laying the groundwork for a new operating model. The speakers highlight the successful go-live of Vault CRM in the US and APAC markets, acknowledging the unique challenges and collaborative efforts involved in these complex rollouts.

A central theme is the concept of the "Veeva Universe" at Bayer, where Veeva platforms are deployed across commercial, R&D, and quality functions, effectively serving as Bayer's "SAP in pharma." This integrated ecosystem aims to break down data silos, create a unified architecture and data layer, and enable end-to-end strategic processes. An illustrative example cited is the significant overlap (up to 50%) between individuals visited by R&D for studies and those engaged by commercial and medical teams, underscoring the critical need for data quality and shared insights. The discussion also delves into the power of embedding AI directly into the Veeva platform, with Veeva AI introducing "agentic AI" to accelerate workflows and enhance efficiency, moving towards a "system of insights."

The speakers emphasize the importance of a committed bilateral partnership, a strong, trusted team, and a user-centric approach to transformation. Bayer's methodology included a bottom-up sourcing of challenges, leveraging Large Language Models (LLMs) to process unstructured user feedback into actionable user stories, and conducting a 3-day workshop with Veeva's product team to integrate these insights into the Vault CRM roadmap. Looking to the future, the vision is to create an "agentic sales rep experience," where AI acts as a catalyst for a dual transformation—both technological and business-oriented—to empower field forces as "mini-CEOs" of their territories. The ultimate ambition is to accelerate the entire journey from pipeline to patient, making drug development faster, trials safer, and information more valuable through connected platforms and AI.

Key Takeaways:

• Strategic Shift to Customer Insights: Bayer's migration to Vault CRM signifies a move from a traditional "system of records" to a "customer insights platform," aiming to empower field teams and enhance customer engagement through data-driven intelligence.
• Unified Platform for End-to-End Processes: The "Veeva Universe" concept illustrates the integration of Veeva platforms across commercial, R&D, quality, and regulatory functions, enabling seamless data flow and strategic processes across the entire pharmaceutical value chain.
• Breaking Data Silos is Crucial: A unified architecture and data layer are essential to connect disparate systems and leverage data effectively, as demonstrated by the 50% overlap in customer interactions between R&D and commercial/medical teams.
• AI as a Core Platform Enabler: Veeva is deeply embedding AI, including "agentic AI," directly into its Vault platform and applications, moving beyond superficial AI integrations to create truly intelligent automation within workflows.
• Specific AI Agents for Commercial Operations: Upcoming AI agents for Vault CRM include pre-call planning assistance, a voice agent for natural language interaction, and a compliance agent to analyze free text for potential regulatory infringements, enhancing efficiency and adherence.
• User-Centric Transformation Approach: Bayer adopted a bottom-up strategy for platform transformation, actively soliciting feedback from end-users, processing unstructured data with LLMs to generate user stories, and directly collaborating with Veeva's product team.
• Leveraging LLMs for Requirements Gathering: The innovative use of LLMs to analyze 170 pages of unstructured user feedback and distill it into 45 prioritized user stories highlights a powerful methodology for capturing user needs at scale.
• Bilateral Partnership and Trust are Paramount: The success of the migration is attributed to a committed bilateral partnership, mutual trust, and transparent communication between Bayer and Veeva, allowing for frank discussions and shared problem-solving.
• Fostering Bottom-Up Innovation: Bayer encourages innovation through initiatives like the "Veeva Hackathon," bringing together cross-functional teams to solve problems using platform capabilities and AI, leading to scalable blueprints.
• "Missions" for Focused Innovation: Bayer has established "missions," such as the "AI Readiness Mission Team," to create governance, connect teams, and foster an environment for rapid, small-scale experiments (90-day proof-of-value projects) around Veeva and AI.
• Future Vision: Agentic Sales Rep Experience: The long-term goal is to move beyond CRM as a component to an "agentic sales rep experience," transforming reps into "mini-CEOs" who are empowered by insights and AI to understand and lead their territories.
• Accelerating Pipeline to Patient: Connected platforms and AI are seen as catalysts to significantly accelerate the entire drug development and commercialization journey, leading to faster drug development, quicker clinical trial startups, safer trials, and ultimately, quicker access to medicines for patients.

Tools/Resources Mentioned:

• Veeva Vault CRM
• Veeva AI
• Large Language Models (LLMs)
• VIP coding

Key Concepts:

• Veeva Universe: Bayer's term for its extensive deployment of Veeva platforms across its entire value chain (commercial, R&D, quality, regulatory, content), functioning as an integrated enterprise system.
• System of Insights vs. System of Records: A conceptual shift from merely recording data to actively generating actionable intelligence and recommendations from that data.
• Agentic AI: AI systems designed to act autonomously or semi-autonomously within workflows, performing tasks and making decisions based on learned patterns and goals.
• Agentic Sales Rep Experience: A future vision where sales representatives are augmented by AI agents, providing proactive insights, automating routine tasks, and enabling more strategic and personalized customer engagement.
• AI Readiness Mission: A dedicated internal initiative at Bayer focused on establishing governance, connecting teams, and creating an environment conducive to innovative AI experimentation within the Veeva ecosystem.

Examples/Case Studies:

• Bayer's Vault CRM Migration: The core example, detailing the strategic decision, implementation challenges (US and APAC go-lives), and the benefits of moving to a unified Veeva platform.
• Customer Data Overlap: An assessment revealed up to a 50% overlap between individuals visited by Bayer's R&D teams for studies and those engaged by commercial and medical teams, highlighting the need for integrated customer data.
• Veeva Hackathon: An internal event where cross-functional teams from regulatory, quality, commercial, and content squads collaborated to solve problems using AI and VIP coding on Veeva platforms, fostering bottom-up innovation.
• LLM-Driven User Story Generation: Bayer utilized LLMs to process 170 pages of unstructured user feedback into 45 prioritized user stories, which then informed a 3-day workshop with Veeva's product team to shape the Vault CRM roadmap.