Boehringer Ingelheim Japan: 2019 – 2024

Boehringer Ingelheim (BI) is one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies focusing on developing therapies for Human pharma and Animal Health. The organisation operates globally across 130 markets and more than 53,500 employees. This case study focuses on the Japanese country division, Nippon Boehringer Ingelheim (NBI).

The Challenge

Many pharma organisations have struggled with the transformation from the sector’s traditional marketing model to an omnichannel approach that embraces digital technologies. The digital transformation program at BI aimed to address the duplication of effort and lack of consistency across its global markets. The program sought to establish a common methodology and approach for omnichannel engagement with healthcare professionals, patients, and other stakeholders.

The Approach

We led a global strategic review, creating a comprehensive digital transformation strategy for BI’s marketing, cascading it from global to regional levels. Our focus on Japan included a deep assessment of local practices, identifying gaps between the global vision and local execution. We developed a custom roadmap to address issues, particularly around an underperforming and fragmented web channel, to enhance user experience for healthcare professionals and patients.

The Work

In the discovery phase, we conducted a comprehensive Current State Analysis through an Organisational Review across three key areas:
Business: Evaluated structure, roles, methodologies, and processes.
Technology: Analysed architecture, policies, and deliverables.
Stakeholders: Assessed markets, customers, and partners.
Our approach included stakeholder interviews, surveys, usability studies, workshops, requirements gathering, design thinking sessions, and focus groups, capturing valuable insights to guide the digital transformation strategy.

The Success

In the Innovate phase, we successfully implemented a human-centric strategy to redesign the web channel, focusing on user experience and organisational capabilities. Collaborating with business partners, we aligned the redesign with the omnichannel strategy, streamlining the platform for efficiency and usability. We also built critical digital capabilities within the local team and drove the cultural and organisational changes needed to support and sustain the transformation, ensuring long-term success.

Web Channel: https://pro.boehringer-ingelheim.com/jp/