Executive Summary
The CRO (Contract Research Organization), a mid-sized biotech firm specializing in oncology and rare disease trials, faced mounting pressure to scale revenue while maintaining lean operations. Its commercial infrastructure was fragmented across six countries, with seven different CRM systems and largely manual Revenue Cycle Management (RCM) workflows. These inefficiencies created blind spots in pipeline visibility, delayed contract renewals, and contributed to forecasting errors exceeding 35%. Sales teams lacked the tools to prioritize leads effectively, resulting in missed opportunities and revenue leakage.
To address these challenges, the CRO partnered with OTLEN to deploy the ClariMedIQ platform, an AI-Powered RevOps solution. The platform unified the disparate CRM systems, automated RCM processes, and embedded predictive analytics to enhance forecasting and territory planning. Within nine months, the company unlocked $14.2M in net new pipeline, improved forecast accuracy by 31%, and reduced the sales cycle duration by 22%. The transformation earned board-level endorsement and strengthened investor confidence, positioning RevOps as a strategic growth engine.
At a Glance: Client Overview
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Client: Mid-Market Biotech CRO specializing in oncology and rare disease trials
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Industry: Biotechnology / Clinical Research Services
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Scope: 6 global sites, 12 therapeutic programs, 400+ commercial and clinical staff
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Annual Encounters: 1.2 million clinical trial participant interactions
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Annual Gross Revenue: $850 Million
Mid-Market
Biotech CROSpecializing in oncology and rare disease trials
Global
Footprint6 sites, 12 therapeutic programs, 400+ staff
Annual
Performance1.2M clinical trial, $850M revenue
The Challenge: When Scientific Excellence Meets Commercial Inefficiency
While recognized for its scientific rigor, the CRO’s commercial infrastructure had not evolved in parallel with its clinical capabilities. This created significant operational friction.
7 fragmented CRM systems
Seven CRMs created inconsistent data, poor visibility, and lead duplication.
Manual RCM Workflows
Manual RCM processes caused invoicing delays, errors, and significant lost renewals.
Inconsistent Pipeline Forecasting
Manual forecasting led to a reactive strategy that was not data-driven.
35%+ Forecasting Errors
High forecasting errors undermined strategic planning and investor confidence.
The Strategic Imperative: RevOps as a Catalyst for Scalable Growth
To remain competitive and meet rising investor expectations, the CRO recognized the urgent need to modernize its commercial infrastructure. Leadership understood that scaling revenue without expanding headcount demanded a strategic overhaul. The imperative was clear: build a unified RevOps framework to support long sales cycles and complex regulatory environments. This required harmonizing CRM data, automating RCM processes, and embedding predictive analytics to drive smarter decision-making. OTLEN was selected for its proven expertise in AI-powered RevOps for life sciences, offering an integrated solution to deliver measurable ROI within a fiscal year.
The Solution: OTLEN’s ClariMedIQ Platform
OTLEN deployed its purpose-built ClariMedIQ platform to power the CRO’s transformation.
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OTLEN’s ClariMedIQ Platform:
The AI-powered RevOps platform unified seven disparate CRM systems into a single, global view to consolidate data and improve visibility.
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AI-Powered RevOps Tailored for Biotech Complexity:
The solution automated RCM workflows and embedded predictive analytics to streamline billing, improve renewals, and enhance forecasting.
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9-Month Phased Rollout:
A strategic implementation that started with key therapeutic areas (oncology and rare disease) before expanding across six countries to ensure controlled adoption and alignment with regional stakeholders.
Results and Impact
The implementation of OTLEN’s platform marked a turning point in the CRO’s commercial performance, delivering substantial results within just nine months without expanding headcount.
Key Results
$14.2M
in Net New Pipeline Value Unlocked
2.6x
Increase in Qualified Lead Conversion
31%
Improvement in Forecast Accuracy
22%
Reduction in Average Sales Cycle Duration
19%
Increase in Renewal Velocity across strategic accounts
Operational Impact
3.4x
increase in CRM visibility, giving teams real-time access to account histories and pipeline status
41%
reduction in manual follow-ups, freeing up time for strategic engagement
22%
drop in cost-per-sale as manual processes were replaced with automation
18%
improvement in billing cycle efficiency
28%
increase in time commercial teams spent on strategic selling activities
Cultural & Strategic Transformation
The transformation extended beyond systems and reshaped the company’s commercial culture.
RevOps as Strategic Growth Engine
Evolved from back-office function to central pillar of commercial strategy with metrics embedded in executive dashboards.
Cross-Functional Collaboration
Harmonized CRM environment fostered alignment between sales, marketing, finance, and medical affairs teams.
AI Adoption
Mindset
Cultural resistance faded as teams experienced tangible workflow improvements, leading to board endorsement for continued AI investment.
Key Takeaway: Unified RevOps is a Strategic Growth Engine
The success of the deployment underscores a powerful lesson: harmonized data and AI-powered workflows are essential for scalable growth. Disjointed CRM and manual processes were a significant barrier to scaling revenue. By implementing a single, integrated platform, the CRO fixed these inefficiencies, unlocked $14.2M in new pipeline, and drove scalable growth without increasing headcount, thereby boosting investor confidence.
Fragmented Systems Cripple Growth
Disjointed CRM and manual workflows created a significant barrier to scaling revenue.
Unified AI RevOps Solution
A single, integrated platform fixed inefficiencies by harmonizing data and automating processes.
Rapid and Substantial Results
Unlocked $14.2M in new pipeline and improved forecast accuracy by 31% in just nine months.
RevOps Transformed Growth Strategy
Without increasing headcount drove a scalable growth, boosted investor confidence.
Harmonized data + AI-powered workflows = Scalable growth without expanding headcount. RevOps is a Strategic Growth Engine.
Future Roadmap
Building on this success, the CRO plans to expand its RevOps capabilities into new areas of commercial intelligence:
- Clinical Feasibility Analytics: To be integrated to support early-stage trial planning and site selection.
- Generative AI for Proposals: To speed up proposal development and automate responses to Request for Proposals.
- Predictive Trial Enrollment: Dashboards will be launched to help business development teams identify high-performing sites and optimize recruitment strategies.
These initiatives will further embed RevOps into the company’s growth engine and position the CRO for long-term success.