The problem

Why could AstraZeneca not trace how an incentive payout was calculated?

AstraZeneca's pharma sales force was paid on incentives calculated in spreadsheets. Several teams, sales incentive plan admins and business units each held part of the work. When someone asked how a number was reached, there was no complete record of the changes behind it.

The field had no view either. Incentives were calculated once, at payout, so reps could not see their targets or earnings during the cycle. The incentive team relied on the MIS team for sales data and calculations, which slowed every run and every incentive query.

Why spreadsheets broke

What made pharma incentive KPIs hard to run in spreadsheets at AstraZeneca?

The number of moving parts. Each position had its own KPI calculations and incentive rules, and several people managed them. Keeping data consistent across databases and systems was a job in itself, and errors delayed payouts.

Then COVID-19 changed the business month to month. KPIs had to change more often to keep pace, and new tools were brought in to track them. The spreadsheets could not be rebuilt as fast as the KPIs changed.

The buying concern

What did AstraZeneca need to know before moving incentives off spreadsheets?

The first question was integration. During COVID-19, AstraZeneca had brought in several new tools to track its KPIs. The team doubted that a new incentive system could connect to all of them.

The second was complexity. AstraZeneca was unsure a system could handle its complex KPIs. In a regulated industry, every calculation also needed a record behind it that auditors could rely on.

How Kennect solved it

How does Kennect keep an audit trail for every pharma incentive change?

The principle Kennect built around: every change to a plan or a calculation is logged when it happens, not pieced together later.

• We connected Kennect to the tools AstraZeneca brought in during COVID-19, and finished the integration in 10 days.
• We configure every team's KPIs in the calculation engine, so each position's rules run in one place instead of separate sheets.
• We log every change or adjustment to plans and calculations, building a complete history of incentive activity.
• We update audit logs in real time, so auditors and compliance teams see the latest incentive data as it changes.

Onboarding to go-live took 2 months. Compliance teams can now watch incentive data as it moves, and step in early if something looks wrong. Automation has also cut calculation errors, which matters where a small error can carry serious consequences. That record is what makes these audit-ready incentive payouts.

Edge cases handled

How did AstraZeneca grow from 5 incentive KPIs to 25?

At go-live, AstraZeneca ran about 5 KPIs and was unsure the system could take complex ones. Once the calculations proved out, that concern went away. The team now adds a KPI when it is good for the business, however complex, and runs 25 today on the same engine.

Across roles:

• Sales reps see their incentives in real time and use simulation to see what more sales would earn.
• The incentive team works from live data in Kennect, instead of waiting on the MIS team for sales data and calculations.
• Finance uses accurate, real-time reports to simulate scenarios and prepare projected payouts.
• Compliance and auditors read real-time audit logs, with a full history of every change.