Pharma companies must capitalize on leading software solutions to compete in today’s digital environment. Whether in research, manufacturing, distribution or any other pharmaceutical niche, you need reliable software to stay efficient and maximize your data.
Pharmaceutical software comes in many forms, each with unique purposes and advantages. Here is a closer look at the most significant categories and best products to help you make a more informed decision.
Pharmaceutical Compliance Tools
Compliance tools are among the most important types of software for pharmaceutical companies. While regulations may not explicitly require specific digital tools, meeting complex requirements can be challenging without them.
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), the FDA’s Current Good Manufacturing Practices (CGMP) and more impose strict and often complicated process and reporting standards. When done manually, knowing which regulations apply and ensuring all workflows comply is time-consuming and difficult. Software solutions can ease the burden for greater assurance and lower risks.
Compliance tools take several forms. Learning management systems (LMS), quality management software (QMS), governance, risk and compliance (GRC), enterprise resource planning (ERP), customer relationship management (CRM), and laboratory information management software (LIMS) are some of the most advantageous.
Best LMS for Managing Compliance Training in Pharmaceuticals
The ISOtrain platform from Softek Export LLC is the best LMS for managing pharmaceutical compliance training. ISOtrain offers customizable training programs and interactive learning experiences to help train your staff to follow all regulatory guidelines. The importance of this education is hard to overemphasize, as human error is a leading cause of noncompliance.
ISOtrain is 21 CFR Part 11 compliant, meeting FDA requirements for electronic records. It also includes automated compliance tracking to further reduce human errors, and it can certify employees when they pass training thresholds for added visibility. Softek holds its software to lofty standards, too — including vendor audits and standardized operating procedures — solidifying its spot as the best LMS for pharmaceuticals.
Best Pharmaceutical Quality Management Software
Quality management software tracks regulations and keeps all quality-related data in one place to streamline compliance. The best QMS for pharmaceuticals is Qualio, which says it enables five times faster audits and 30% quicker quality control processes. More importantly, it complies with 21 CFR Part 11, ISO 27001 and SOC 2.
Qualio consolidates supplier management, documentation, design control and more into a single platform. Auto-generated dashboards and reports take this visibility further, making it easier to perform audits or verify compliance. It is particularly useful for pharmaceutical manufacturers, but any pharma company can benefit.
Best Governance, Risk and Compliance Software for Pharmaceuticals
GRC software is similar but focuses on centralizing and automating risk management processes. The best GRC solution for pharmaceuticals is Ethico, thanks to its extensive functionality and personalization. Ethico enables screenings, license verifications, anonymous reporting tools and more to maximize organizational transparency.
As its name suggests, Ethico also includes ethics management tools, such as an employee resource portal and entry and exit interviews. These features help you align teams with company-specific ethical guidelines that may not be strictly related to legal matters. Cutting-edge functions like omnichannel intake and advanced data analytics offer more convenience by expanding data gathering and minimizing human error.
Pharmaceutical ERP Software
ERP is another key category of pharmaceutical software. These platforms provide a single point to view and manage your core business practices, including manufacturing, financial reporting and supply chain operations.
While many industries rely on ERP, it is most crucial in pharmaceuticals. As many as 74% of health care companies have sped up digital transformation efforts after the COVID-19 pandemic, and ERP is a great way to bring multiple processes into a digital environment simultaneously.
Pharma ERP must also meet higher standards than ERP in other sectors. Regulatory compliance, closer data-tracking and industry-specific insights are critical to a reliable pharmaceutical ERP solution.
Best ERP for Enterprises
The cloud-based SAP S/4HANA is the best pharmaceutical ERP for large companies. Its relatively high costs and complexity may make it less accessible for small and medium businesses, but its range of functions and flexibility are crucial for enterprises.
SAP S/4HANA can integrate with multiple existing software solutions, track Internet of Things (IoT) endpoints and deploy artificial intelligence (AI) to optimize operations and predict future trends. It is also among the most customizable solutions available and offers industry-leading levels of detail in data monitoring. These functions can be difficult to set up, but organizations with appropriate expertise have much to gain from them.
Best ERP for Small Pharma Companies
Small and medium-sized pharma companies may prefer SYSPRO for their ERP solutions. Its limited data sharing may not be ideal for enterprise-level operations, but its ease of use and fast deployment times make it a good fit for smaller organizations. That simplicity does not come at the cost of reliability, as SYSPRO still offers FDA compliance and detailed data analytics.
SYSPRO provides helpful material breakdowns, planning and scheduling tools, AI forecasting, and automated estimates to maximize visibility with minimal complexity. Expert advice from a dedicated support team and flexible implementation and pricing options make it even more accessible for small and medium-sized pharma operations.
Best ERP for Supply Chain Operations
All ERP solutions include some supply chain management features, but Microsoft’s Dynamics 365 Business Central is the best for in-depth supply chain optimization. It integrates with many popular third-party tools, offers end-to-end product traceability and has multiple warehouse-specific features to streamline pharma supply and distribution networks.
Now that Microsoft has unveiled Copilot — its generative AI assistant — Dynamics 365 Business Central has deeper AI functionality, too. Copilot can automate reports, enable conversational control to get deep supply chain insights and identify anomalies for better long-term planning. Regardless of the size of your operations, Dynamics 365 Business Central is the ideal choice when your supply chain is your biggest area of concern.
Pharmaceutical CRM Software
Another popular software group many pharma businesses can benefit from is CRM. CRM tracks client interactions across the customer life cycle. These insights are crucial to building a loyal customer base and carving out a niche in the competitive pharmaceutical market.
CRM may be most common in business-to-consumer circles, but it has also seen rising adoption in business-to-business markets. As industries like pharmaceuticals grow increasingly crowded, learning more about your customers and how to nurture these relationships becomes all the more important.
CRM often does not need pharma-specific configurations to work in this sector, unlike other software categories. However, a few CRM providers stand out among the rest for pharmaceutical companies because they align with relevant sector-specific trends.
Best User-Friendly Pharmaceutical CRM
Software giant HubSpot offers the most user-friendly CRM available. Ease of use is a prominent concern in pharmaceuticals, as tech talent can be difficult to acquire in this sector, and many pharma employees already manage high workloads. Consequently, HubSpot’s accessible user interface and flexibility make it an optimal choice for those with strained workforces or minimal tech experience.
HubSpot has in-depth reporting tools and regulatory compliance features, which are especially crucial in pharmaceuticals. It also offers flexible implementation, extensive automation and even a free tier, so anyone can set it up and use it, regardless of their expertise or available time. Multiple integrations further amplify its convenience.
Best CRM for Digital Transformation
Digital transformation is a priority for many pharma businesses, and Creatio is the best CRM for that goal. It is an AI-native platform, so automation and data analytics come baked into every one of its features. Despite that advanced functionality, it is also no-code, so it remains easy to implement and scale for a faster return on investment.
In addition to customer tools, Creatio includes product breakdowns to ensure pharma products remain ahead of regulatory changes and identify unmet marketing opportunities. It can also track adverse events related to drugs on the market, which is helpful for both regulatory compliance and managing PR issues.
Best CRM for Larger Pharma Companies
While HubSpot and Creatio are ideal for smaller and growing companies, Veeva is the optimal CRM for enterprise-level operations. It is a life sciences-specific solution, one of the few CRMs unique to this industry. As a result, it has extensive compliance features, sector-specific insights and data alignment tools.
Veeva is also cloud-based and AI-centric, so it can scale quickly and automate complex workflows. Its sheer size and complexity may make it less accessible for smaller businesses or less experienced users, but global companies with more complicated customer considerations will appreciate its depth.
Laboratory Information Management Software
Pharmaceutical researchers and manufacturers can also benefit from LIMS. A LIMS platform is similar to warehouse management systems but for lab operations instead of supply chain processes. It gathers data from across the lab and provides one place to view, use and respond to this information.
Sample tracking is the most common LIMS function, but many modern solutions offer far more. Equipment maintenance, electronic data exchange between tools, workflow management and billing typically fall under the LIMS umbrella.
LIMS platforms have become essential in labs as attention around human error and demands for accuracy and efficiency have risen. However, as with other software groups, which LIMS is best depends on the use case.
Best Customizable LIMS
Personalization is a useful characteristic for a modern LIMS, and QBench is the best solution if that is your aim. The platform has an impressive array of customization options, from software configurations to reporting and tracking processes. Virtually every feature within the program is adaptable so that you can tailor it to your exact needs.
QBench can generate custom reports with just a few clicks, sync data from your instruments for streamlined analytics and create audit trails based on company-specific protocol. Encryption and role-based access restrictions add a layer of security to the solution, which is crucial in labs dealing with sensitive projects.
Best LIMS for Efficiency and Simplicity
While Labguru may not offer the same level of personalization as Qbench, it is one of the easiest LIMS solutions to deploy and scale. Its interface is intuitive, requires minimal time and resources to set up, and offers extensive automation features to streamline lab workflows.
Labguru goes beyond the scope of a normal LIMS to include note-taking features and inventory management. Keeping these once-separate capabilities in one place further accelerates lab operations, making it an excellent choice for pharma companies facing tight deadlines or frequent bottlenecks.
Best LIMS for Complex Lab Operations
Being on the market for more than 30 years, LabWare is one of the most well-established LIMS solutions available. It is also the best one for complex operations, as it supports many integrations and has its own programming language to enable ultra-specific configurations. These features come at the cost of ease of use, but they are valuable for larger pharma companies.
Over 29,000 labs across more than 125 countries have deployed LabWare to a 98% satisfaction rate. Those numbers alone make it a worthy contender for the best LIMS platform in pharmaceuticals, but it also has the functionality to back them up.
Methodology
Which pharmaceutical software is the ultimate best in each category largely depends on your needs, budget and goals. Consequently, each of the platforms on this list is the leading solution for its specific use case or target audience.
ISOtrain, for example, is the best LMS for pharmaceuticals, but it does not have CRM functions, so it cannot qualify as the leader in that category. Likewise, SAP S/4HANA is the best ERP for those who can manage and afford it, but it may be inaccessible to some, so SYSPRO is a better ERP for a smaller-cap pharma audience.
Each solution earned its spot as the best in its specific class through a combination of feature variety, reliability, regulatory compliance, user reviews, cost, scalability and convenience.
Find the Right Pharmaceutical Software for Your Business
Pharmaceutical companies may need several software solutions to fill all their business needs. Use this list to find the best one for your operations along each key category and transform your digital journey. Taking advantage of the right software will make it easier to accomplish your goals and become as operationally efficient as possible.
