The AIOCD Pharmasofttech AWACS, an electronic infrastructure creation firm connected to the All Indian Origin Chemists and Distributors Ltd (AIOCD Ltd), is all set to add two more products to its portfolio, to offer the pharma companies more simplified online tools to reach the bottom level of the drug distribution channel.

The company is planning to launch an online tool, Stockist Monitor, by the end of June to help the companies to zero in on the right stockists they can appoint in the market. Another product, Retail Reach, for the companies to communicate information about their latest products and offers abiding the existing rules to the retailers in various parts of the country online would be introduced by July 1, 2010, said Ameesh Masurekar, director, AIOCD Pharma AWACS.

The Stockist Monitor is designed as an online tool to help the pharma companies verify the status of the stockist, for instance, in a district, and will also support them to decide on new stockist appointment decisions. It would also help the companies to judge whether they are well covered with an A Grade stockists in a particular district or whether there is inadequate coverage only through B and C grade stockists along with guiding them to to choose an A grade stockist.

"The product will help the companies to appoint the right stockist for a particular area and thus optimise their market reach without simply appointing more stockists for the same area," said Ameesh. The client companies can also assess whether they have well covered the area with the existing stockists and take an account of the potential of their current distribution links. The company already has a database of stockists in various parts of the country, which was compiled to launch its pharma market surveillance product, PharmaTrac.

The Retail Reach is a product to help companies to build a retail panel of its choice, for sending retail communication to the chosen retailers at 7 per cent of the current costs by reducing the time to communicate by 99 per cent, claims Pharma Awacs.

Through the network, the companies can pass over the latest information on their products and new offers, according to the regulatory norms, to retailers within an hour to a day's time. At present, the companies has to spend more than a month to reach the retailers with such information. Pharma Awacs is compiling a massive list of retailers, including the current subscribers of its existing information dissemination product - Mobile Drug Database (DrugInfo) - to make the new product a success.

With the launch of the two products, the company will have a basket of 5 products including Electronic Secondary Sales, PharmaTrac and Mobile Drug Database (DrugInfo) online tools. PharmaTrac analysis, launched in October 2009, is a monthly product providing key information about the rank, size, share and growth of top pharma companies, top brands, top therapy areas and top geographies in the country.