Indirect channel with no 24/7 coverage and adverse events detected days late via WhatsApp
We have four reps answering WhatsApp eight hours a day and indirect-channel revenue hasn't moved.
Every time a hospital pharmacist asks about stock outside business hours and nobody answers, we lose that month's order.
Regulatory affairs told us no rep should answer technical questions on WhatsApp, and now we barely answer anything.
Three months ago a customer reported an adverse event on WhatsApp and we found out four days later by chance.
When we relaunch an OTC brand, the commercial team gets swamped with questions the bot doesn't understand and reps can't keep up.
The channel only responds during business hours and it's slow; outside those hours there's no response and the order is lost.
And an adverse event that comes in through WhatsApp can take days to reach pharmacovigilance, against regulatory deadlines measured in hours or a few days (the FDA requires initiating action on a Class I recall within 24 hours, 21 CFR Part 7; expedited PV reports run 15 or 30 days depending on severity).










