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September/October 2009
Welcome to the latest issue of Nutraceutical
News from IFS. We are delighted to introduce you to
another great IFS
client – Advanced Bio-Technologies, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company
based in Suwanee, Georgia. The Marketing
Column addresses the importance of using accurate
advertising messages regarding the quality and safety of your product.
In the Customer Service
Corner,
we discuss the importance of maintaining an adequate product inventory.
And Nutraceutical testing is the subject of our Industry Update.
For more information about the content found
here or about any of our products and services, you can always visit
our website, www.ifssolutions.com.
To share your feedback about this newsletter, please click here.
To unsubscribe, please use the link at the end of this issue.
IN THIS ISSUE:
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Client Profile: Advanced Bio-Technologies, Inc.
(ABT) is a biopharmaceutical company that was founded in 1999
on its flagship product Kelo-cote, a 100 percent silicone gel or spray
used to help prevent and treat hypertrophic and keloid scars caused by
trauma, burns or surgery. Kelo-cote, the first FDA approved silicone
scar treatment available in a spray, is sold in more than 25 countries.
Additionally, ABT offers a physician-only brand, bioCorneum+, which is
the only silicone gel which incorporates the silicone technology of
Kelo-cote and an SPF of 30.
In 2009, the company purchased Belli Skin Care, a company focused on providing skin care products that
address the needs of pregnant and nursing mothers, and their babies.
The Belli Skin Care line contains 22 different products, including the
best-selling Belli Elasticity Oil which is used to help prevent stretch
marks from developing as a mother moves through the later stages of
pregnancy and the Acne Clearing Facial Wash, which is safe to use
through all stages of pregnancy. All Belli Skin Care products are
screened by an in-house physician to exclude ingredients with even
remote links to birth defects or other problems with pregnancy.
As the company has continued to grow, management became concerned about
its ability to continue providing customers with a high level of
service without a significant increase in personnel. So they began to search for a fulfillment provider.
“We had three very distinct attributes we were looking for in a fulfillment partner,” explained
Zubin Mesginpoosh, ABT director of commercial operations. “It was
imperative to have the ability to scale services based on our growth,
the capability to “kit” products as needed and, above all, we were
looking for a partner with a passion for delivering the highest quality
customer services to our patients and consumers.”
According to Zubin, from the first meeting ABT had with IFS, company representatives
knew they had found what they were seeking. “The questions that Keith,
Karla and other IFS employees asked showed us that the entire company
had one goal in mind – not just to provide unparalleled service to our
customers, but to truly serve as an extension of the ABT business,” he said.
“The IFS team really showed a deep interest in our
products; and as such, they truly know the product lines as well as
full-time ABT employees do – they don’t just take and place orders,
they consult with the caller to ensure they have what they need. This
has resulted in a significant increase in our consumer business.” Zubin
continued, “In the four months since outsourcing our fulfillment to
IFS, our consumer business for Kelo-cote is up 42 percent, versus the
last four months prior to making the move.”
For more information on Advanced Bio-Technologies, visit www.advancedbiotech.com. To learn more about its products, visit http://www.kelocote.com or www.belliskincare.com.
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Marketing Tip
Does Your Product Live Up to Your Advertising Claims?
MorePixels
According to the Federal Trade Commission, the following rules apply to advertisers:
- advertising must be truthful and non-deceptive;
- advertisers must have evidence to back up their claims; and
- advertisements cannot be unfair.
An advertisement is deceptive if it contains a statement – or omits information – that:
- is likely to mislead consumers acting reasonably under the circumstances; and
- is “material” – that is, important to a consumer’s decision to buy or use a product.
An advertisement is unfair if:
- it causes or is likely to cause substantial consumer injury which a consumer could not reasonably avoid, and
- it is not outweighed by the benefit to consumers.
As news of recalls and warnings about products containing dangerously high
levels of lead and highly flammable materials or tainted pet and baby
products have increased, so have instances of consumers checking with
customer service representatives before ordering certain items to get
reassurance that they are getting products that are safe for their
families.
For a product manufacturer or marketer, product
quality and safety should always be a top priority. Nothing will cause
customers to flee to a competitor faster than to learn that a product
they are using is unsafe, or whose quality has been questioned. Beware
advertising that carries any hint of deceptive or untrue information.
It is a company’s responsibility to prove a claim is true. And,
unfortunately, if an investigation ever gets that far, you may lose
more than customers – your reputation and that of your product could be
destroyed.
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Customer Service Corner
Insufficient Inventory Can Harm Your Business
As the holiday shopping season nears, consumers are getting serious about
how to spend their gift dollars. And even though many experts believe
that holiday spending amounts will be down this year, shoppers will
still be buying gifts and expecting to find the items they select in
stock. When they place an order on your Web site or through the
catalog, will they be told that the item they have chosen is on back
order or no longer available?
According to an August report by The National Retail Federation that tracks import levels, volumes are
at their lowest since 2002. Imports for October, usually the heaviest
month when holiday merchandise arrives, are projected to decline 18.8
percent over last year. Clearly the recession is affecting everyone.
However, IFS customer service professionals note that a major concern reported
by online shoppers is learning that an item they are interested in is
on backorder. And while everyone realizes that this happens from time
to time when demand for an item is higher than anticipated, companies
that habitually maintain low inventories on popular items run a serious
risk of losing long-time customers, as well as any potential shoppers
who hear of long back-order waits and stock shortages.
While inventory represents the largest expense for retailers, “it is also the
single most important asset for most small retailers,” according to a
column by Ted Hurlbut in Inc. magazine. “If you don’t have it, you
can’t sell it.” And if customers can’t get it from you…they’ll find
someplace else to make the purchase. This hurts your business now as
well as in the future.
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Industry Update
Nutraceutical Testing
DNY59
Industry experts agree that testing will continue to be an
important and ever-present part of the dietary supplement business as
consumer demand for safe, quality products and new FDA guidelines have
raised the bar for the manufacturing and production of supplements.
Quality assurance requires several levels of testing, according to William
Neumann, vice president Quality & Regulatory Affairs, Consumer
Product Testing Co., Inc., Fairfield NJ. “Good Nutraceutical companies
perform sufficient testing to assure that quality requirements are met
at all stages up and down the supply chain,” he said.
On the flip side, Mr. Neumann predicts companies that fail to offer an
effective quality assurance program will be pushed out of the market
entirely. “Just as we have seen in the pharmaceutical industry, the
testing of quality into products will eventually yield to a more
proactive 'quality by design’ approach whereby the emphasis shifts to
‘up front’ quality assurance activities such as vendor qualification,
supply chain quality management, science-based product development and
the validation of critical manufacturing processes.”
According to the information, some industry professionals predict the
Nutraceutical industry would undergo a transformation similar to that
of generic and over-the-counter (OTC) drug manufacturers in the late
1980s and early ‘90s, when stakeholders saw significant consolidation
of market share into a handful of larger companies.
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IFS is a world class, full service fulfillment operation with a track record of success. A woman-owned business, we proudly serve some of the country's most respected corporations. With a special expertise in the fulfillment of nutraceuticals, we can help you run your nutraceuticals business more efficiently and more cost effectively.
Innovative Fulfillment Solutions
4346 Belgium Blvd
Kansas City, MO 64150
www.ifssolutions.com
Toll Free: 1-888-275-3000
Local: 816-587-5880
Fax: 816-587-5881
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