I-Flow Online Store
SITUATION
In 2003 the I-Flow Corporation was seeking to increase their market share of their unique post-op pain pumps by hiring a national sales force to demonstrate their product in hospitals and clinics across the US. Through product innovation and strategic acquisitions, the company was emerging as a leader in pain management by offering highly effective therapies for physicians and their patients. I-Flow’s pain management products provide reliable and simple regional anesthesia techniques that eliminate many of the side effects customarily associated with narcotics and general anesthesia which then results in shorter hospital stays and reduced costs.
SOLUTION
TPI presented a unique solution to build and manage an e-commerce website that would allow the I-Flow sales reps to buy branded products delivered to their homes to use as memorable “give-aways” to the medical facilities they were calling on in every state in the country. The solution was cost effective and unique because TPI purchased and held inventories of over 75 different products that reps could buy ONE at a time, and which I-Flow only paid for what was used each month.
CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS
I-Flow reps were given monthly budgets to use for their own sales promotions and client conferences, which we based on a use it or lose it criteria. Reps could order as many products as needed each month and have them delivered to their homes at the start of each week. From 2004 to 2008 TPI processed and delivered over 12,900 orders and never missed a deadline, except two…an amazing statistic! The two missed deadlines were to reps in New Orleans during hurricane Katrina. The program was discontinued in 2008 due to the Pharma law regulating branded “give-aways”.
KEY BENEFITS
The program was such a huge success that it enabled I-Flow to build their sales team from 75 to 300 reps from 2004 to 2009, and increase their market share by such a large percentage to make the Kimberly-Clark corporation recognize a great opportunity and acquire I-Flow for $276 million in October 2009, which added a valuable asset to their healthcare division.
Total investment with TPI exceeded $2.5 M over 5 years
