Solving the operational drag in fragmented pharma site

Challenges

Duplicated systems slow teams down

Each country maintained its publishing platform. That means separate vendor contracts, hosting arrangements, feature development cycles, and support teams. When the same functionality needs to be rebuilt five or six times, it impacts security and performance.

Content management became disconnected

Without a central system, teams are left to copy content between markets. Campaigns were manually adapted, clinical updates had to be re-entered, and translations were handled outside the platform.

Inconsistent platform. Inconsistent experience

The old system couldn’t handle regional needs properly. Disclaimers, product details, and navigation changed from site to site, which left users confused. The platform just wasn’t built for consistency or clarity.

Compliance is harder to track

Approval workflows and documentation standards vary across markets. When content is scattered across platforms, it's difficult to monitor what’s live, what’s approved, and what needs to be reviewed.
In therapeutic categories, this opens the door to regulatory gaps and reputational risk.

The approach

Every market had its own technical setup, regulatory process, and publishing workflow. Instead of imposing a new structure all at once, we audited each implementation to understand what was still working, what was redundant, and what created unnecessary delays.
The goal was not to force uniformity but to reduce friction. That meant identifying which features could be reused, what content needed to migrate, and where we could simplify operations without disrupting what teams relied on.

Rollouts were phased. We prioritised minimal disruption by testing in stages and keeping existing publishing operations intact. This gave teams time to adjust and reduced the pressure of switching systems overnight. Because the implementation followed the actual rhythm of each team’s work, adoption was quicker and more stable.

We also rethought how approval flows were handled. Instead of creating a new global structure, we mapped the platform to match each country’s medical, legal, and regulatory process. The tooling supported how teams already worked. That made it easier to track content, reduce manual oversight, and meet audit requirements without extra effort.

The solution

Built-in localisation and translation tools

Translation workflows were embedded directly into the CMS. Local teams could manage language versions, metadata, and disclaimers without using external tools. This improved accuracy, reduced delays, and kept local content aligned with regulatory requirements.

Faster, more reliable platform performance

The platform was rebuilt to be lightweight, mobile-optimised, and easy to maintain. Load times improved across all regions. Publishing became more efficient, and support tickets dropped as common technical issues were removed at the source.

Shared analytics to track performance at every level

We implemented standard analytics across all markets. Teams could measure what content was published, how it performed, and where updates were needed. Everyone worked from the same data, without needing separate tools or reports. 
Every implementation decision focused on reducing operational drag, removing redundant effort, improving time to market, and lowering long-term costs.
The result is a single platform that makes global content operations more efficient, more consistent, and easier to manage.

The outcome

The right technology, tied to clear outcomes, helped solve key operational issues for the multinational pharma.
Solving the problem of operational drag isn’t unique to one company. It applies across healthcare, where systems should match the urgency of the decisions they support. When people search for help, it shouldn’t be seen as just another interaction or data point on a customer journey map. It’s a turning point, where their decision, mindset, or health outcome might shift direction. They need information they can trust, delivered quickly, in their language, and within their local regulatory context.

In the case of nicotine replacement therapy, smoking cessation, like many life-changing healthcare decisions, happens in minutes. The commitment is quick. People might take weeks to get there, but once they decide, they want to act immediately.
This is where disconnected digital systems fall short. They can’t keep up. People drop off. And the original intent to give people the right information and access to the product at the right time falls apart.
Motivation doesn’t wait. Anything inaccurate or slow became an expensive delay for both the pharma company and the people it’s meant to serve.