When PHARMAQ became a reality after a management buyout from Alpharma, we were suddenly facing a situation where we needed a whole financial department which was to deliver on a day-to-day basis. As a part of a bigger group, we could always rely on support functions being available and delivered by Alpharma ASA. Therefore we were used to an established service level and were concerned about quality from day one. We are 74 employees and operate in three different countries. Our business is rather complex with elements of the whole spectrum of the supply chain, various currencies, spread warehouses, extensive R&D projects, etc. To build an in-house financial department seemed to be both time-consuming and risky. Therefore we made an invitation to tender and a requirement specification which we presented in front of several selected external service providers. The services we wanted included were accounting, payroll and financial management.

About Pharmaq
	No. of Employees: 74 Production: Overhalla, Norway PHARMAQ offices: Norway, Chile, UK Distributors and sales agents: Canada, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Sweden, Faroe islands, Taiwan, Turkey, USA

What was the crucial point when choosing an external service provider?

We were quite interested in the implementation phase and how quickly and smoothly an external provider could support us in our current activity. We chose a company with whom we felt safe on the quality of the people that would be involved, and where we knew that we would be highly prioritized and get customer orientation from day one. The fact that we became a big client for AccountOnIt, which at that point was a smaller company, was seen as advantageous by us.

How does PHARMAQ ensure the current service level and quality of its financial functions?

Close follow-up is important even if one has an external service provider with clearly defined responsibility. We used a lot of time to reach an agreement with AccountOnIt which regulated the areas we were interested in, in a practical and good way. Many items had to fit on their place. Clear deadlines and quality goals were set on the different services, and at the same time some routines for ongoing follow-up and further development were stipulated.

Among other things we have quarterly meetings to go through target numbers, give feedback on the co-operation, as well as discuss and agree upon further progress on the mutual development projects. In this way we ensure among other things that our outsourcing of services is at any given time fitted to the needs that PHARMAQ may have.