Immunizing YURiA-PHARM’s Key Business Processes: How the Dynamics 365 Sales Solution Optimized the Company’s International Sales and Customer Engagement

In Ukraine alone, the company runs 41 production lines, with an additional 7 located in Italy, reaching an annual production capacity of over 300 million product units. YURiA-PHARM ranks among the top three domestic and international pharmaceutical companies by turnover and is known for delivering high-quality, safe, and effective pharmaceutical products that meet both consumer needs and international regulatory standards.

The pharmaceutical industry is a critical sector that plays a key role in ensuring public health and quality of life. Market competition is fierce, and expectations are even higher: partners demand precise coordination, consumers expect impeccable quality, and the business itself must remain flexible to swiftly adapt to change.

YURiA-PHARM is not just keeping pace with industry trends – it’s setting the standard for sector development through its commitment to innovation. Since its inception, the company has adhered to a core principle: reinvesting over 90% of its profits into new initiatives. This strategy enables it to allocate over $25 million annually to expanding its R&D and other strategic efforts. YURiA-PHARM has been actively investing in building up its R&D potential, which has served as a foundation for developing unique products and innovative therapeutic solutions. However, the company’s continued growth and expansion also require modern business tools to efficiently manage relationships with clients and partners. Recognizing this need, YURiA-PHARM took an important step by implementing Dynamics 365 Sales—a solution that supports systematic partner engagement, transparent contract management, and effective collaboration between internal departments. How was the system introduced, what challenges were overcome, and what results were achieved? Learn more in this new case study from SMART business.

How Did Business Processes Operate Before the Implementation of Dynamics 365 Sales, and What Factors Prompted the Search for a Digital Solution?

YURiA-PHARM’s business processes followed a traditional structure: partner search, negotiations, sales or procurement potential analysis, contract signing, and so on.

The implementation of a digital solution was not aimed at completely reorganizing the existing workflow, as it had proven effective and consistently delivered results over the years. The goal was to migrate manual operations into a digital environment, create a space for data consolidation, strengthen existing business processes, automate key stages of customer engagement, reduce the operational workload on teams, and ensure seamless business scalability amid rapid growth. That’s exactly what the Dynamics 365 Sales solution helped us achieve

Viacheslav Marikutsa

Project Manager, Business Process Analyst
YURiA-PHARM

YURiA-PHARM did not have a centralized CRM system, which created a number of operational challenges. Key information about clients and partners was stored in various places: on local devices, in spreadsheets, in email, and so on. This complicated access to communication history, analytics, and the status of deals. Sales analysis had to be done manually, which was not only time-consuming but also introduced a risk of inaccuracy.

In addition, as the client noted, one of the peculiarities of the pharmaceutical business is the complexity of entering new markets. For example, when a company brings a medicinal product into a new country for the first time, it must go through a local registration process via a local distributor. This process can take a long time and requires precise coordination and ongoing monitoring of registration and delivery statuses. As the company expanded its global reach and distribution volumes grew, managing these processes became increasingly difficult – prompting the need for automation.

Considering the above, the client identified several key factors that drove the search for a new solution:

• Lack of a unified mechanism for evaluating the effectiveness of marketing strategies – this factor made it difficult to make timely decisions in international markets. Information about marketing campaigns, product promotion, expenses, and results could be stored across different sources (spreadsheets, presentations, reports, and so on). The lack of a consistent approach to collecting and storing this data complicated the overall picture. Furthermore, each region could operate based on its own marketing model. Having a unified mechanism to compare their effectiveness would enable the company to respond more quickly to market changes, improving its competitiveness. A CRM system could provide such a unified approach.
• Fragmentation of client data and communications – the lack of centralized information posed a risk of losing important contacts and interaction history. For example, when a manager resigned or moved to another department, valuable information about the client, contacts, or cooperation specifics could be lost. Correspondence or important notes might be saved in a manager’s email rather than a shared system. If a client reached out again, other managers might be unaware of prior requests, making communication more difficult. In some cases, several managers could be working with the same client simultaneously, unaware of each other’s actions. This could lead to duplicated requests, confusion during negotiations, and so on.
• Absence of a centralized contract database – in the pharmaceutical business, contracts may include exclusive terms, meaning the company agrees to sell its products only through certain distributors, or partners have the right to distribute products only in specific regions. If multiple company units (for example, from different countries or regions) operate in the same market without clearly coordinated terms, one unit may end up selling a product in breach of an exclusive contract. This can result in contract violations and negatively affect the company’s reputation. In this context, a centralized contract management system helps prevent such situations, ensures compliance with agreement terms, and supports the company’s reputation as a reliable market partner.

In view of these challenges, YURiA-PHARM made a strategic decision to implement a CRM system. This marked the beginning of its transformation journey with Dynamics 365 Sales, enabling the optimization of sales and partner relationship management processes.

What Were the Company’s Requirements for the Solution, and Why Did They Choose Dynamics 365 Sales?

YURiA-PHARM had clearly defined requirements for the future solution, shaped by the following needs:

1. Systematizing partner engagement – the company considered systems capable of creating a unified information database to store all data about clients, communication history, and key contract-related details. Such a system needed to organize data in a way that ensured easy access to up-to-date information and enhanced the efficiency of working with clients and partners.
2. Providing a reliable client data repository – the requirement stemmed from the need for centralized data storage, as information had previously been stored in a scattered manner, making access difficult. The system had to offer secure, convenient, and fast storage of important information in a single environment, with real-time access for all responsible parties.
3. Improving collaboration between structural units – preference was given to a system that could provide a unified data management mechanism, so that various company departments would always have up-to-date information regarding client and partner interactions. Therefore, the ability to improve communication and alignment across departments was a key factor.
4. Simplifying the process of finding new partners – to support the company’s rapid growth, it was important to quickly identify new partners in both new and existing markets. Automating related processes would help accelerate partner search, ensure better organization, and provide easy access to all necessary data.
5. Transparency in contract management processes – the company sought a system that would enable centralized contract storage, convenient tracking of contract statuses and terms, and timely notifications to responsible parties about important changes.
6. Seamless integration with Microsoft products – since YURiA-PHARM specialists were already actively using a range of Microsoft tools – such as Teams, Outlook, SharePoint, and OneDrive – the company looked for a solution that would support seamless integration with the familiar tools employees were already using.

Considering these requirements, the YURiA-PHARM team evaluated several solution options and ultimately chose Dynamics 365 Sales – a solution from Microsoft that automates sales management processes, facilitates working with clients and partners, and helps analyze sales and upcoming deals. The key factors that influenced YURiA-PHARM’s decision to choose this software product included:

• Integration with existing Microsoft products – the system supports seamless integration with other Microsoft solutions. This eliminated the need for extra integration efforts and ensured convenient access to familiar Microsoft tools within a single IT ecosystem.
• Centralized sales and client data management – Dynamics 365 Sales enables structured storage of customer information, communications, and contracts in one unified system.
• Process automation – the solution allows for standardizing key business processes such as deal approvals, order processing, and contract tracking, reducing the workload on managers and increasing operational speed.
• Advanced analytics and forecasting – the built-in analytical tools in Dynamics 365 Sales help assess sales performance and make informed decisions based on real data rather than assumptions.
• Fast scalability – for YURiA-PHARM, it was critically important to have a stable, proven solution that could be quickly implemented and scaled with minimal customization. The out-of-the-box version met this requirement, as Dynamics 365 Sales makes it easy to add new users, work with new markets, and adapt business logic without requiring major system changes.

SMART business – a company with over 16 years of experience in developing proprietary solutions, as well as localizing and extending the functionality of Microsoft software products – was selected as the vendor to implement the solution.

How the Implementation of Dynamics 365 Sales Went: Migration of YURiA-PHARM’s Processes to the New System, Challenges Faced, and Whether the Goals Were Achieved

SMART business deployed the out-of-the-box version of Dynamics 365 Sales, provided the client with user guides and necessary documentation, and introduced the key aspects of working with the system. On the customer’s side, a strong implementation team was assembled, consisting of a project manager, a system analyst, and representatives from relevant company departments. Customer, organization, and product data were migrated from pre-prepared Excel files. Contracts active at the start of the project were entered manually, allowing them to be structured in the system from the outset.

Next, the YURiA-PHARM team began actively mapping the system’s capabilities to real business cases – this made it easier to pinpoint where the solution already fit existing processes and where fine-tuning was required. For example, in the two Sales International departments, the solution covered key needs, since the system was originally tailored to sales processes. However, for Business Development – the department responsible for finding suppliers and partners – the out-of-the-box version sometimes fell short. Therefore, the YURiA-PHARM team compiled a list of enhancements to make the system more convenient and effective for that department as well.

One of the initial challenges was the broad interface of the out-of-the-box solution – some fields, buttons, and elements turned out to be unnecessary for current workflows, which we identified thanks to user feedback during system usage. However, due to the solution’s flexible interface customization capabilities, efforts are underway to simplify it and retain only the essential UX elements. This is a crucial step – because the system’s convenience, supported by positive user experience, influences trust in the tool and employee engagement with the new software.

Anastasia Komar

System Analyst
YURiA-PHARM

As the client noted, the SMART business project team was deeply and responsibly involved in the implementation process: they responded promptly to requests, offered solutions in non-standard situations, and supported the effective execution of changes. This case became an example of genuine teamwork.

After the implementation, we’ve already organized the customer database, eliminated the risk of losing client contacts, correspondence, or agreements. Several managers may be working with a single client, and now it’s easy to see the current customer status in the system exactly when needed, without waiting for a handover from a colleague. This helps avoid conflicts where two managers might run separate communication threads with the same client. It’s also very easy to return to previous engagements and immediately see the interaction history: who was in touch, what was offered, and how best to restart the conversation at a given stage. This significantly saves time for both the manager and the client.
We’re starting to track priority tasks based on the sales funnel – from opportunity to deal closure – and we see this as a real opportunity to shorten our sales cycle

Serhii Iskra

Executive Director of the Global Health Commercial Unit, YURiA-PHARM LLC

At the same time, the YURiA-PHARM team is not resting on its laurels. A gradual shift toward a CRM-driven work culture is underway: moving away from notebooks, personal spreadsheets, and old habits. Naturally, this takes time and a high degree of interface personalization. Drawing on their experience, YURiA-PHARM emphasizes that the need for adaptation should not be underestimated. The client recommends allocating resources for additional iterations and thoroughly analyzing whether an out-of-the-box solution is sufficient for your business processes or if a custom CRM is the better fit. After all, implementation is only the first step. The true impact comes when the system becomes convenient and truly feels like “yours” to every user.

Choosing a Microsoft solution is a strategically sound move. These products already embed the global best practices in business operations, and their evolution is future-focused.

Very soon, every Microsoft solution will be powered by AI agents – built-in artificial intelligence that will help employees plan, make decisions, and automate complex routine tasks.

So, it’s no surprise that YURiA-PHARM has been choosing these solutions to automate its processes for many years – a testament to the company’s foresight and focus on long-term, stable success

Kyrylo Rudniev

Co-Founder and Managing Partner at SMART business

If you’re looking for a CRM system that doesn’t just exist but truly works for your company – aligned with its rhythm, logic, and workflows – SMART business will help you find the right-fit solution.
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