Site visits have always been a crucial marketing tool in the manufacturing and logistics sectors. But the travel disruptions caused by COVID have made visits nearly impossible, threatening business growth. In response to this challenge, SEQENS has deployed Avatour to enable 360° remote on-site tours of their facilities.
About SEQENS
SEQENS is a world leader in pharmaceutical synthesis. With 24 industrial plants and three R&D centers across Europe, North America and Asia, the company’s physical plant is an important part of the value they offer customers, and tours of those facilities have been a crucial part of the sales and contracting process. With these visits on hold, sales have become much more challenging. After evaluating a number of options, SEQENS chose Avatour as the best solution to this problem.
SEQENS uses Avatour for virtual site visits
We spoke with Jean-Noël David and Julie Cattier from SEQENS to hear about their experience with Avatour.
Jean-Noël David, Managing Director CDMO North America at SEQENS.
Julie Cattier, Business Development Administrator at SEQENS.
What is your position and what are you responsible for?
David: “I manage a research and development center, a GMP operation and a Sales and Marketing team. Because of COVID-19, the sales team is currently not travelling.”
Cattier: “I support sales & business development, and manage the tours for our plant. I walk with our prospective clients and help them with the process of using Avatour.”
How are you guys using Avatour?
Cattier: “We are offering site visits so prospective customers can visit our facilities. We also use it in terms of internal tours and audits. It’s pretty user-friendly and easy to use.”
What were you using before Avatour?
Cattier: “In-person tours were happening but due to COVID, those were put on hold.”
What is the #1 problem Avatour solves for you and your team?
Cattier: “It replaces in-person meetings and gives us another option to offer our prospective clients. We can give a tour without having to risk their health and help them ensure that we’re the right choice.”
Will you use Avatour after COVID-19?
Cattier: “Yes, we will still use it. It’s very helpful to avoid traveling and we can use it for other purposes as well.”
David: “She is absolutely right. The scope might change but it’s not going away. This is where I see it going – people are going to want to have options; to travel or to use Avatour. When we have a vaccine… there will be some that want to travel and others will not want to. We are getting used to these virtual solutions.”
Would you recommend Avatour?
David: “Yes, it’s very good to have this 360° view, and it makes a big difference vs Skype or Zoom. That 360° experience reduces any doubts on their end. They can trust we’re not hiding things and that’s a really valuable aspect during business development.”