The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly accelerated digital transformation in the pharmaceutical industry. Consumers increasingly prefer purchasing medicine online, creating tremendous opportunities for businesses in the sector. Join us in exploring GONSA’s successful journey as a pioneer in driving digital transformation in the pharmaceutical industry.
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Challenges and difficulties of GONSA in the digital transformation journey
High standards in management
The pharmaceutical industry is highly specialized, requiring meticulous management of drug quality and raw materials at every stage, from production and import/export to storage, circulation, distribution, and, ultimately, usage (Gov). This complexity demands strict management oversight. Additionally, GONSA has developed a distribution strategy involving multinational partners, which requires a transparent and reliable data technology platform to ensure timely information delivery. One of GONSA’s key challenges is the need to build a seamless technology system that offers high synchronization and accuracy.
Repetitive processes in the accounting, finance, and purchasing departments
At GONSA, processes in the accounting, finance, and purchasing departments often require significant processing time (ranging from dozens to hundreds of work hours per month), with tasks being carried out continuously from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Additionally, manual operations not only limit efficiency to working hours but also introduce risks of errors. Depending on the complexity of the processes, these departments require 2-5 dedicated staff members to handle tasks, leaving no resources for other activities or responsibilities.
This results in inefficient resource allocation, with employees engaged in repetitive manual work, negatively affecting employee experience and increasing the risk of human error. Therefore, GONSA requires a technology solution that enhances operational efficiency, ensures 24/7 operations, and provides fast, automated financial reporting.
Increasing productivity, accuracy and ensuring operational continuity with intelligent automation
Determined to build 5 software systems
To address the challenges mentioned above, GONSA is determined to invest in 5 software systems simultaneously. This marks an initial success for GONSA in transitioning the company’s operations entirely to a digital platform. It also serves as a stepping stone for GONSA to confidently move into the second phase of digital transformation, gradually working towards becoming a nationwide distributor of health products on a modern technology platform.
The 5 operational system software solutions were transformed at GONSA, including WMS, ERP, OCS, TMS, Data Warehouse, and Middleware, with the core being the sales and purchasing management system and credit management system RISE with SAP S/4 HANA Cloud, implemented by FPT IS. akaBot – An automation platform Made by FPT, was also integrated into parallel to enable end-to-end automation for tasks such as data entry, information reconciliation, invoice storage, and order creation within the RISE system with SAP S/4 HANA.
Transforming with intelligent automation
To optimize operations, GONSA has implemented process automation solutions, with the akaBot virtual assistant replacing business staff to perform manual tasks on the SAP S/4 HANA system. This has helped increase productivity, improve accuracy, and ensure continuous operation. The solution has been applied to 4 key processes, achieving the following results:
| Incoming Invoice Processing | Outgoing Invoice Processing | Automated Sales Order Creation | Creating Outbound Delivery for Backordered Items | |
| Workload automated | 3.000 invoices/month | 6.000 invoices/month | 6.000 orders/month | 500 orders/month |
| Working hours saved | 200-225 working hours saved per month (equivalent to 80-90% of working time) | 200-350 working hours saved per month (equivalent to 50-70% of working time) | 400-500 working hours saved per month (equivalent to 80-85% of working time) | 26-37 working hours saved per month (equivalent to 60-65% of working time) |
| Accuracy rate | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| 24/7 operation | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Automated & quick reporting | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Strategy for implementing automation & comprehensive digital transformation with akaBot – FPT IS
The successful results achieved today are the result of the collective efforts of GONSA, from leadership to employees. Only with determination and unity can results exceed expectations.
Based on the cooperation history between GONSA and FPT in the digital transformation journey to optimize business operations, Mr. Dinh Huu Hung – Deputy Director of Software Production, Southern Region, FPT IS mentioned the orientation in the coming time: “FPT will offer more solutions to GONSA, including continuous automation for current processes, and powered-by-AI automation solutions.”
Building on successful digital transformation, GONSA will continue its partnership with FPT IS to create a platform connecting Vietnam’s pharmaceutical manufacturers to global markets, as well as businesses, distributors, pharmacies, hospitals, and end customers. By leveraging process automation, AI, Chatbots, and optimizing employee activities, cash flow, and goods flow, GONSA aims to enhance operational efficiency and scalability for future growth.
akaBot (FPT) is the operation optimization solution for enterprises based on the RPA (Robotic Process Automation) platform combined with Artificial Intelligence, Process Mining, OCR, Intelligent Document Processing, Machine Learning, Conversational AI, etc. Serving clients in 21+ countries, across 08 domains such as Banking & Finances, Retail, IT Services, Manufacturing, and Logistics…, akaBot is featured in “Voice of the Customer” for Robotics Process Automation” by Gartner Peer Insights, G2, and ranked as Top 6 Global RPA Platform by Software Reviews. akaBot also won the prestigious Stevie Award, The Asian Banker Award 2021, Everest Group’s RPA Products PEAK Matrix® 2023, etc.
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