Over 60% of Surveyed Pharma Companies Position High-Level Executives to Support KAM Groups

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC--(Marketwired - April 04, 2017) - The largest percentage of surveyed pharmaceutical key account management (KAM) teams report to a director, according to a recent benchmarking study by business intelligence firm Cutting Edge Information.

The study, Pharmaceutical Key Account Management: Forging a Unified Relationship with External Stakeholders, found that 38% of KAM teams are led by directors, and another 31% are led by vice presidents. The data also reveal that just under one-quarter (23%) of surveyed general KAM groups report into a department head, and only 8% of these surveyed teams report to a manager with ultimate KAM oversight.

General KAM groups act as a single point of contact between key accounts – including large hospital systems and physician networks as well as government and private payer organizations. Additionally, general KAMs ensure that messaging from across the organization is synthesized and consistent for their accounts, and that the organization is working toward a long-standing, mutually beneficial relationship with their targets.

"Because key account management is a relatively new trend within the pharmaceutical industry, approaches to KAM team responsibilities, as well as where these groups best fit in their organization, vary across the industry," said Adam Bianchi, senior director of research at Cutting Edge Information. "The ongoing discussion of KAMs' place within the organization is indicative of key account management's evolving role within the industry."

KAM groups are advantageous to both sales and market access teams. Like traditional sales teams, these field representatives certainly drive commercial goals and product revenue. But unlike traditional sales groups, KAMs are also typically able to take on roles associated with managed markets account managers and health outcomes liaisons (HOLs). With such a wide range of skills and responsibilities, KAM teams can easily be positioned under any number of existing internal structures. The largest percentage of pharmaceutical companies (44%) houses general KAM groups under the sales umbrella. Nearly one-third position these groups under market access (31%). The remaining groups are divided evenly between commercial operations and managed markets teams, each at 13%.

Pharmaceutical Key Account Management: Forging a Unified Relationship with External Stakeholders, available at https://cuttingedgeinfo.com/product/pharma-key-account-management/, details how KAM teams combine sales proficiency with managed markets knowledge to create a single point of contact for diverse customers who have different and challenging needs. It examines life science companies' hiring and training practices for key account managers. The study includes:

• Surveyed firms' preferred professional background for new KAM managers.
• Examination of profiles belonging to real-world KAM teams to benchmark your internal operations.
• The prevalence of specific previous positions among key account management staff.
• The format and duration of key account management training for both new hire and veteran KAM staff.
• Surveyed pharmaceutical companies' average KAM compensation – both annual salary and potential bonuses – across all levels of employee experience.

To learn more about key account management team strategy, download the study summary at https://cuttingedgeinfo.com/preview/pharma-key-account-management-data/

Image Available: http://www.marketwire.com/library/MwGo/2017/4/3/11G134914/Images/PH218_-_April_2017_-_Over_60_Percent_of_Surveyed_P-5d585daf51c6a07f8355a6f49e37f9b0.jpg