Life sciences companies face mounting pressure to deliver impact in increasingly complex markets. Launch timelines are shorter, brand lifecycles are more dynamic, and engagement expectations vary widely across geographies. Success now depends on the ability to scale resources strategically and tailor engagement to local realities without slowing down execution.

Global teams may define the strategy, but impact happens in the field where reps engage directly with healthcare professionals (HCPs). Regulatory constraints, market access dynamics, and HCP preferences differ by region, making one-size-fits-all approaches ineffective. The challenge is enabling this flexibility at scale while maintaining speed, compliance, and consistency.

Adapting Field Deployment to Market and Channel Realities

Building and maintaining a high-performing field force across geographies is a significant challenge. HCP engagement preferences vary widely by market, shaped by HCP expectations and channel familiarity. Based on the IQVIA ChannelDynamics Global Reference Report 2025, in Italy and Spain, face-to-face engagement remains a dominant preference, with over 39% of HCPs favoring in-person interactions. Meanwhile, in the UK and Nordics, digital and hybrid models are gaining traction, with promotional investment in omnichannel formats growing rapidly.

These variations in channel preference highlight a critical truth: even as digital engagement grows, HCPs still expect personal interaction. That makes flexible expert field sales teams indispensable, and when supported by AI-driven intelligence, they can deliver more relevant, informed, and impactful engagement.

Field Sales Models That Adapt by Design

To compete effectively, field sales models must adapt to geography, specialty, and lifecycle stage while maintaining quality and compliance. For many organizations, achieving this level of agility with fixed field structures is challenging. Scalable deployment models provide a way to add expert resources where and when they are needed, whether for a new launch, a mature brand, or shifting market dynamics. Delivering this responsiveness requires more than technology. It calls for an operating model where teams can be mobilized quickly, adjusted dynamically, and supported with embedded intelligence.

AI-driven territory intelligence makes this adaptability actionable. When integrated into the operating model, it provides real-time visibility into prescribing patterns, market dynamics, and access challenges. These insights help prioritize territories and engagement strategies so field teams can pivot quickly, act with confidence, and deliver impact from day one.

AI as a Strategic Enabler of Field Excellence

More than 80% of life sciences organizations are past the pilot stage for AI in sales enablement, with many reporting measurable ROI within a year. AI addresses long-standing pain points that slow execution and limit impact: automating manual tasks, surfacing hidden HCPs, and guiding dynamic engagement planning.

AI drives value in three key areas:

• Efficiency and focus: Automating call prep, scheduling, and follow-ups
• Dynamic engagement planning: Recommending the right HCPs, channels, and timing
• Compliance assurance: Embedding local regulations into every interaction

These capabilities are critical across all major segments of commercial engagement, including specialty care, oncology, and primary care. Each presents distinct challenges, but all benefit from deeper visibility, smarter targeting, and more adaptive execution. By integrating multiple data sources such as CRM, prescription, trial, digital, and behavioral data, AI helps uncover overlooked HCPs, tailor outreach to individual preferences, and optimize engagement strategies that resonate across therapeutic areas and geographies. The result is smarter, more agile field execution that aligns with both local realities and strategic priorities.

From Fragmentation to Intelligent Orchestration

Data granularity varies widely across markets. In the United States, prescription-level data enables deep segmentation. Elsewhere, insights may only be available at the territory level. AI-embedded workflows bridge these gaps, enabling intelligent territory management that aligns with regional conditions and market dynamics.

Some of the most impactful applications include:

• Micro-segmentation: Identifying HCP subgroups with distinct needs
• Persona-based engagement: Using behavioral models and digital twins
• Omnichannel orchestration: Adjusting engagement across face-to-face, virtual, and digital channels
• Real-time coaching: Supporting reps and managers with next-best-action insights

When executed well, AI-driven orchestration transforms reps from following static call cycles to acting as strategic drivers of brand performance. Combined with the flexibility of expert field sales teams, this creates a powerful commercial engine that accelerates impact.

The IQVIA Advantage: Strategic Field Deployment at Scale

Life sciences companies need more than generalist field models or bolt-on technology. IQVIA Contract Sales offers a differentiated approach which combines domain-expert field teams with AI-embedded workflows embedded directly into the operating model.

Our teams are selected for therapeutic precision and regional fluency, trained to deliver clinically relevant engagement from day one. Powered by IQVIA Field Force Agent, these teams operate with real-time insights, dynamic targeting, and built-in compliance, enabling smarter, faster, and more personalized interactions.

This is not augmentation. It’s transformation. IQVIA gives life sciences organizations the ability to deploy highly skilled reps where they’re needed most, supported by intelligence. The result is faster execution, optimized resource utilization, and stronger brand performance.