{"id":78306,"date":"2024-07-23T11:28:30","date_gmt":"2024-07-23T09:28:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.veeva.com\/eu\/?post_type=resources&#038;p=78306"},"modified":"2026-05-18T16:37:57","modified_gmt":"2026-05-18T14:37:57","slug":"the-commercial-content-taxonomy-for-life-sciences","status":"publish","type":"resources","link":"https:\/\/www.veeva.com\/eu\/resources\/the-commercial-content-taxonomy-for-life-sciences\/","title":{"rendered":"The Commercial Content Taxonomy for Life Sciences"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>³Ô¹Ï±¬ÁÏ creates a new industry standard<\/h2>\n<p>The life sciences industry currently maintains over 300,000 types of content.<br \/>\nThe historic absence of a standardized taxonomy means there is no common language to classify content globally.<\/p>\n<p>Instead, existing content lists frequently mix up channels, intent, and format.<br \/>\nAdding to the complexity, regulatory bodies tend to follow different approaches.<br \/>\nEach authority classifies content distinctly: an internet banner in the U.S. might<br \/>\nbe considered a \u2018banner ad\u2019 in Canada, a \u2018banner advertisement\u2019 in the U.K., or<br \/>\n\u2018un bandeau internet\u2019 (or \u2018une banni\u00e8re\u2019) in France. Some authorities require a<br \/>\ncontent type to be defined but many don\u2019t. Others specify exact metadata or the<br \/>\ntype of document needed.<\/p>\n<p>As a result, each life sciences company adheres to a customized naming<br \/>\nconvention. This inconsistency slows down our industry. For example, there are<br \/>\n68 ways to describe an electronic detail aid. Given that 60% of document subtypes<br \/>\nare used only 10 times or less, end-users don\u2019t fully understand how content has<br \/>\nbeen categorized.<sup>1<\/sup><\/p>\n<p>Many of these subtypes were established before content tagging strategies and<br \/>\ntechnologies became available. Administrators are trying to maintain these legacy<br \/>\ndata models, some of which are too high level, leading to millions of documents<br \/>\nbeing classified in all-encompassing categories (such as \u2018Promotional piece\u2019,<br \/>\n\u2018MLR material\u2019, or \u2018Other\u2019). Other models are too granular and result in thousands of<br \/>\nunused labels. All of this impacts business productivity.<\/p>\n<p>Did you know?<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>68 different ways to describe an electronic detail aid<\/li>\n<li>Legacy tags include \u2018Fax templates\u2019, \u2018Bag stuffers\u2019, and \u2018Variable verbiage\u2019<\/li>\n<li>7,000 labels have never been used<\/li>\n<li>60,000 subtypes used 10 times or less<\/li>\n<li>14 acronyms beginning with \u2018P\u2019<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"img-responsive mw-700\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.veeva.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Screenshot-2024-10-16-at-15.11.15.png\"><\/p>\n<p>To address these industry pain points, ³Ô¹Ï±¬ÁÏ is creating a standardized taxonomy<br \/>\nfor \u2014 and with \u2014 life sciences. Our vision is that by 2030, the Commercial Content<br \/>\nTaxonomy will be the established way of working and help the industry to be<br \/>\nmore efficient.<\/p>\n<p>This global, industry-specific taxonomy will be published on our website so it is<br \/>\nfreely available to all. Our approach will make it as easy as possible for ³Ô¹Ï±¬ÁÏ<br \/>\nPromoMats customers to adopt the new taxonomy.<\/p>\n<p>This white paper provides an overview of the taxonomy and explains how ³Ô¹Ï±¬ÁÏ<br \/>\nwill enable industry adoption.<\/p>\n<h2>How will standardization help?<\/h2>\n<p>Most exciting innovations, including AI, are only feasible at scale when companies move from a customized system to a<br \/>\nstandardized approach. The Commercial Content Taxonomy will yield long-term benefits by:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"img-responsive mw-700\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.veeva.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Screenshot-2024-10-16-at-15.11.40.png\"><\/p>\n<h2>Three-phase approach: From concept to reality<\/h2>\n<p>There are three phases to developing and rolling out the Commercial Content<br \/>\nTaxonomy <strong>[Figure 1]<\/strong>. First, ³Ô¹Ï±¬ÁÏ will establish a comprehensive taxonomy by<br \/>\nanalyzing more than 475 customer configurations and reviewing regulatory<br \/>\nterminology. Once the output has been developed and published, ³Ô¹Ï±¬ÁÏ will work<br \/>\nclosely with customer advocates to raise awareness across the sector. From 24R2<br \/>\nonwards, new and existing ³Ô¹Ï±¬ÁÏ PromoMats customers will be able to adopt the<br \/>\ntaxonomy within the product.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"img-responsive mw-700\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.veeva.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Screenshot-2024-10-16-at-15.12.07.png\"><\/p>\n<h2>Phase 1: Establish<\/h2>\n<p>The guiding principles for the Commercial Content Taxonomy are that it<br \/>\nshould be simple, specific, and useful to life sciences. To create a taxonomy that<br \/>\ndelivers on these principles, ³Ô¹Ï±¬ÁÏ will first analyze customer configurations in<br \/>\n³Ô¹Ï±¬ÁÏ PromoMats spanning over 300,000 document types <strong>[Figure 2]<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Given the majority of commercial content in life sciences is managed in<br \/>\n³Ô¹Ï±¬ÁÏ PromoMats, this analysis will yield helpful conclusions for the industry.<br \/>\nGlobal regulatory and industry body terminology (i.e., from the FDA, ABPI, ANSM,<br \/>\nPAAB, etc.,) will inform the new standard, as will insights from discussions<br \/>\nwith industry experts.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"img-responsive mw-500\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.veeva.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Screenshot-2024-10-16-at-15.12.51.png\"><\/p>\n<p>The content hierarchy will extend to two levels:<br \/>\ntype and subtype. It will be based on content type<br \/>\n(e.g., email, website) and have an accompanying<br \/>\ndescription so there is clarity for users when<br \/>\nclassifying content. Companies will also be able<br \/>\nto capture the intended use and audience in the<br \/>\ndocument fields.<\/p>\n<p>The taxonomy will span terminology used to<br \/>\nclassify documents (materials) and the building<br \/>\nblocks used by life sciences companies to create<br \/>\nthese documents \u2014 including references used to<br \/>\nsubstantiate claims, components key to digital asset<br \/>\nmanagement, and templates for creating content.<\/p>\n<h2>Phase 2: Publish<\/h2>\n<p>For simplicity, the Commercial Content Taxonomy will be a three-column<br \/>\nExcel document covering Document Type, Document Subtype, and Description<br \/>\n<strong>[Figure 3]<\/strong>. It will be published on the ³Ô¹Ï±¬ÁÏ website so that the industry can<br \/>\ndownload it and begin communicating in the same language immediately.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"img-responsive mw-500\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.veeva.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Screenshot-2024-10-16-at-15.13.05.png\"><\/p>\n<h2>Who can access the Commercial Content Taxonomy?<\/h2>\n<p>The taxonomy will be available on ³Ô¹Ï±¬ÁÏ.com to:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Partners, agencies, and those working in life sciences content (including, but not limited to, ³Ô¹Ï±¬ÁÏ partners)<\/li>\n<li>New and existing ³Ô¹Ï±¬ÁÏ PromoMats customers, directly within the product (planned for 24R2)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Phase 3: Adopt<\/h2>\n<p>The Commercial Content Taxonomy will appear in ³Ô¹Ï±¬ÁÏ PromoMats in 24R2 as a<br \/>\ndrop-down list of items when classifying a document.<\/p>\n<p>For new customers, this drop-down will be set to \u2018Active\u2019 by default. Existing ³Ô¹Ï±¬ÁÏ<br \/>\nPromoMats customers will also be able to access it directly within the product<br \/>\nbut the drop-down will be set to \u2018Inactive\u2019 by default and end-users won\u2019t see it.<br \/>\nThis way, customers can adopt the taxonomy at the right time for them.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"img-responsive mw-500\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.veeva.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Screenshot-2024-10-16-at-15.13.15.png\"><\/p>\n<p>Our ambition is for most of the industry to use the model by 2030 <strong>[Figure 4]<\/strong>.<br \/>\nTo ensure we\u2019re on the right track, we have launched a customer advisory group<br \/>\nin North America and Europe, spanning from the largest biopharma to small and<br \/>\nmidsize companies. We also intend to educate global regulatory bodies on our<br \/>\nproposed approach. New product features aligned to industry needs will be added<br \/>\nincrementally as momentum grows.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"img-responsive mw-700\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.veeva.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Screenshot-2024-10-16-at-15.13.28.png\"><\/p>\n<h2>How will ³Ô¹Ï±¬ÁÏ support industry adoption?<\/h2>\n<p>³Ô¹Ï±¬ÁÏ will support the industry to adopt the taxonomy over time through:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Education and enablement for partners (agencies, product, services, AI partners)<\/li>\n<li>Change program support (e.g., communication templates, analytics)<\/li>\n<li>Business process expertise to complement the technical aspects of the taxonomy<\/li>\n<li>Best practice documentation with specific recommendations<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>To help customers standardize their taxonomy, ³Ô¹Ï±¬ÁÏ will offer a comprehensive<br \/>\nfour-step adoption program [Figure 5]. Our approach is designed to get<br \/>\ncustomers up and running with the taxonomy quickly and easily while minimizing<br \/>\nimplementation resources.<\/p>\n<p>During the assessment phase, our dedicated team will evaluate customers\u2019<br \/>\ncurrent taxonomy, establishing similarities and differences with the new<br \/>\nstandardized taxonomy.<\/p>\n<p>Next, there will be a deep dive into the core Vault configuration with impact<br \/>\nanalyses completed in a wide range of areas (e.g., document types, metadata<br \/>\nfields, lifecycles and workflows, etc.)<br \/>\nDocument types are core to the configuration, impacting workflows and<br \/>\nintegrations. The ³Ô¹Ï±¬ÁÏ team deeply understands the considerations and<br \/>\nimplications and will make any required adjustments, configuring existing<br \/>\nintegrations to work with the new taxonomy.<\/p>\n<p>During the reclassification phase, our team will provide customers with specific<br \/>\nrecommendations for reclassifying content to align with the standardized<br \/>\ntaxonomy before enabling end-users in Vault through training and change<br \/>\nmanagement support.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"img-responsive mw-700\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.veeva.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Screenshot-2024-10-16-at-15.37.00.png\"><\/p>\n<h3>Next steps for using<br \/>\nthe taxonomy within<br \/>\nyour organization<\/h3>\n<p>A standardized content taxonomy will accelerate and simplify content<br \/>\nmanagement. It will also improve the user experience. ³Ô¹Ï±¬ÁÏ\u2019s 2030 vision<br \/>\nis that the taxonomy helps life sciences to become more efficient and<br \/>\nenables industry-specific content technology, such as AI.<\/p>\n<p>The Commercial Content Taxonomy for Life Sciences will save your<br \/>\norganization significant effort in defining the document hierarchy and<br \/>\ntaxonomy. To facilitate this process, we will help customers build the<br \/>\nbusiness case, while our services team will run a dedicated four-step adoption<br \/>\nprogram including specific recommendations to align reclassified content<br \/>\nwith the new taxonomy.<\/p>\n<div class=\"outline-box\">\n<p>\n³Ô¹Ï±¬ÁÏ is the global leader in the cloud software life sciences industry. Committed to innovation, product excellence,  and customer success, ³Ô¹Ï±¬ÁÏ serves more than 1,100 customers, ranging from the world&#8217;s largest biopharma companies to emerging biotechs. As a Public Benefit Corporation, ³Ô¹Ï±¬ÁÏ is committed to balancing the interests of all stakeholders, including customers, employees, shareholders, and the industries it serves.\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><footnotes><\/p>\n<hr>\n<p><sup>1<\/sup> Based on data from ³Ô¹Ï±¬ÁÏ PromoMats <br \/>\n<\/footnotes><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Life sciences companies lack a common global language to classify content. ³Ô¹Ï±¬ÁÏ is creating a new industry standard.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":78316,"parent":0,"template":"","class_list":["post-78306","resources","type-resources","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","resource-area-20-commercial","resource-product-20-commercial-content-promomats","resource-type-white-papers"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.veeva.com\/eu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resources\/78306"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.veeva.com\/eu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resources"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.veeva.com\/eu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/resources"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.veeva.com\/eu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resources\/78306\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":92850,"href":"https:\/\/www.veeva.com\/eu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resources\/78306\/revisions\/92850"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.veeva.com\/eu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/78316"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.veeva.com\/eu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=78306"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}