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C h a i n D r u g s t o r e D a i l y 3 7 S a t u r d a y, A p r i l 1 6 , 2 0 1 6 defining Omni Channel and how online shopping connects to brick-and-mortar retail stores, and the challenge of making shopping experiential and fun again. These trends present complexity in defin- ing go-to-market strategies for CPG ven- dors. CDD: You talk about trends for the retail industry. Are there are trends specific to the drug industry that present a chal- lenge? SV: Significant trends in healthcare are creating a rising tide. We are moving from a treatment culture to a wellness culture, driven by Millennials. The wave of Baby Boomers with increased health needs is also upon us, as thousands of people in the U.S. turn 65 years old every day and will for the next 15 years, according to the U.S. Census. The Affordable Care Act, insurance man- dates, consumerism and a physician shortage will all drive a need for services and in-store support for retailers ready to provide them, along with suppliers ready to engage. In addition to these market forces, consolidation in the drug industry will further compound the complexity of supplier/retailer engagement. At CROSSMARK Drug, our retailer teams have been supporting our CPG vendor clients by helping them think through potential impacts to their business that these trends may bring. CDD: With trends causing this ever- changing environment, how does CROSSMARK stay connected to pro- vide a differentiated level of expertise in the industry? SV: Today, insights are our main curren- C R O SSMA R K (C o nt'd. fro m p. 1 ) cy. The ability to effectively and effi- ciently glean insights and drive a plan to activation and measurement is what truly creates differentiation. CPG ven- dors hire CROSSMARK to help them develop a smarter way to faster growth for their business. We develop strategies across the drug and drug wholesale channel to capitalize on market trends and drive differentiation, as well as pro- vide unique and thoughtful activation for each retailer. With our world-class capabilities in analytics and insights, shopper and experiential marketing, and merchandising and execution, we deliv- er solutions to CPG vendors to solve for their challenges in today's dynamic, ever-evolving environment. CROSS- MARK Drug can help to develop win- ning strategies and activate plans through tools and execution capabilities that master challenges and engineer growth opportunities. CDD: What are your recommendation to suppliers on how to navigate through this change? SV: With change comes opportunity. The CROSSMARK teams help our CPG clients understand how to benefit from change where possible and how to mitigate risk where necessary. For example, our retail teams can be deployed to ensure optimal retail exe- cution, even where retailers are squeezed for labor dollars. The CROSSMARK Drug sales teams can help vendors develop retailer-specific plans that optimize the benefits of available resources. If you feel your sales team is having difficulty navigat- ing through the sea of change, we'd be happy to help. For more information, visit www .crossmark.com. strategy and the significant investments in R&D and infrastructure. Our commit- ment to delivering value to our customers is rooted in the company's core principles of high-touch customer service, trans- parency, integrity and quality. We believe in developing meaningful business rela- tionships rather than transactional ones, a belief that runs across the company from our Chief Executive Officers all the way through to the individual who picks, packs and ships an order to a customer. Gaining a deeper understanding into what keeps our customers up at night allows us to provide them with creative and innova- tive solutions. This is what customers have come to appreciate from us. Of course, it's critical to have superb R&D, efficient and effective production, strategic sourcing and fine-tuned sales operations/logistics to complete the cycle. From the start, Amneal has reinvested heavily, with a disproportionate percent- age of its revenue, in growing and broad- ening our product portfolio across all dosage forms and therapeutic categories. Simultaneously, we've continued to expand and enhance our infrastructure to plan for future growth, ensuring our capacity is able to meet our anticipated product approvals. With more than 800 scientists driving our development, and with superb scale-up success, that pipeline is quite formidable in both size and speed. CDD: How has Amneal been able to maintain its impeccable inspection record? JL: As I mentioned earlier, from the early days of the company, there's been an unrelenting commitment to quality, both measurably by FDA criteria and atti- tudinally throughout our organization. Since the beginning, we've had 45 inspections without any significant 483s A mneal (C o nt'd. fro m p. 1 ) across our nine FDA-approved facilities. This commitment to quality stems from our guiding principle to view the consumer of our products like a family member. Would you give your family anything but the very best? This belief permeates throughout the organization, instilling great confidence among our customers in the organization. CDD: With the expansion into injectable forms this year, and biosimilars on the horizon, is the company shifting its focus to other markets? JL: I wouldn't say shifting, but rather expanding. We've been strategically devel- oping products across all dosage forms. Injectables, both small molecules internal- ly and biologics with our partner, are a nat- ural extension. As we've done in both R&D and operations, we've brought industry experts on board to lead the com- pany into those markets. The Amneal Biosciences team will focus on these prod- ucts, which will be distributed primarily to the institutional segments. We expect to have our first injectable product launched by the time this article goes to print. CDD: Even with all the consolidation, there are still a large number of generics manufacturers in the U.S. What does Amneal offer the retail segment that makes it stand out? JL: It isn't any one part of Amneal that drives our value. It takes a village – the scientists, engineers, operations, sales – to create the most value for our cus- tomers. We believe by focusing on our customers and patients, and standing by the values of quality and integrity, this path will allow us to continue sustaining our growth for years to come. Visit Amneal at booth #202 or go to www.amneal.com to learn more. President of Lang Pharma Nutrition, a leading supplier of science based own brand supplements based in Rhode Island. "We see that as an opportunity." The changing regulatory environment, media attention and increased consumer protection litigation have all greatly height- ened consumer scrutiny and the need for retailers to focus on increased quality and compliance to protect their brands. "We truly believe the standards that have been adopted by our retail partners have positioned their products to be of the highest quality and value of any prod- uct in the marketplace," says Hockstad. Lang has none of its own brands. "We are never about owning the most real estate on the shelf," says Chairman and Founder David Lang. "Our goal and our strength has always been to partner with our retail customers, listen to their needs and provide customized solutions to help them co-create best in class products which rise above a crowded field. It's cer- tainly not the quickest and easiest path to the market, but it is what we are best at L ang P harma (C o nt'd. fro m p. 1 ) and what we are really passionate about." Established in 1984, and still family owned and run, all of the company's key executives – in sales, R&D, commercial- ization, regulatory and manufacturing – have decades of experience in the natu- ral, specialty and mass markets and have been on the ground floor of many of the market changing trends over the years. Today's supplement section can be very confusing for consumers. They are faced with a huge variety of SKUs, dozens of ingredients in differing forms, dosage and quality levels and a tremen- dous range of benefit statements. "Consumer sophistication has also increased exponentially," says Hockstad. "People do their research on the web, get informed about quality and options, and then have one click access to dozens of retailers to find the best values." "The way we see it, in this dynamic and demanding environment, your brand promise has an opportunity to evolve," says Phil Luetkemeyer, Vice President of Sales at Lang. "Retailers can harness the power of their own brands to lead the market instead of following it." between the supplier and the retailer; that there was a need for stronger col- laboration to speak in one language. That early foundation on the other side of the desk has given DowellGroup a competitive advantage. Our vision is to be a successful partner that adds value to the equation every day. To be a com- pany that doesn't just report the news, but a partner that helps fill in the miss- ing local and global insights that can change the conversation from: 'yes, we can do' to 'this is what we could also do.' We get our joy from helping our partners shape their goals and strategies for long-term growth. CDD: How has DowellGroup addressed the unprecedented pace of change in today's marketplace? JD: Today's shopping dynamics have made our role more valuable than ever. As manufacturers seek not only to increase efficiencies, but effectiveness in their go-to-market strategy, we've con- tinued to expand our services in shopper insights, ROI, data analytics, marketing and merchandising to provide a more holistic solution. When I started DowellGroup, we were referred to as brokers. Today, we are much more. We're a sales and marketing company with multi-discipline teams that inspire inno- vative thinking. D owellG ro up (C o nt'd. fro m p. 1 ) CDD: How can a sales and marketing company make the biggest impact? JD: At DowellGroup, our philosophy extends beyond the traditional four 'Ps' in marketing: product, price, promotion and placement. We believe there's a fifth one: 'people.' By helping CPG and retail teams work together as partners, only then can they realize their full potential. While our expanded tools like data, insights, merchandising, etc. are critical, it's really about how they are leveraged. It's what happens by sitting across the table with each other and creating per- sonal ties. We ultimately are in the rela- tionship business. While that may sound commonplace, it's truly where we focus our energy. By developing trust, both parties can begin to connect their compli- mentary skills and foster an environment where the real creative solutions emerge. The other impact area is knowledge. It's having a deep understanding of our client's business and how the consumer thinks and feels. For example, we have extensive experience in the personal care and beauty categories and a deep under- standing of women and how they shop. This understanding helps us discover rel- evant experiences for our partners that align to meet the needs of women in their personal wellness journey. For more information, call 717.761.1990 or go to www.dowellgroup.com.