Premium

Salesforce Reveals Work.com Will Help Distribute Vaccines At Scale

Earlier this year, SaaS giant Salesforce created Work.com a platform to help companies develop and organize a safe way to begin returning to work during the pandemic.

Now, the company is hoping to adapt Work.com to assist in distributing vaccines. The platform will help cities, states, and healthcare groups track vaccine inventory levels, create online appointment portals, and track how patients feel after being vaccinated.

The company also plans to use Salesforce tools to resolve any logistical problems around vaccine distribution, use data to understand where vaccines are most needed, and determine the effectiveness of the drug, according to Bill Patterson, Vice President and General Manager for CRM applications at Salesforce.

With public health notifications set up, the platform also helps public health officials organize education and outreach campaigns and communicate directly with providers and individuals via their preferred messaging channel. For example, the platform can automate recurring communications to remind someone to come in for their second vaccine dose.

While there aren’t any approved vaccines for the novel coronavirus right now, numerous vaccines are being developed around the world. The world’s largest maker of vaccines, GlaxoSmithKline’s Chief Executive Officer, Emma Walmsley said that she was optimistic the industry will be able to make vaccines widely available next year.

"It's an opportunity to modernize bespoke systems," explained Patterson. “The next wave of the virus phasing, if you will, will be [when] a vaccine is on the horizon, and we begin planning the logistics. Can we plan the orchestration? Can we measure the inventory? Can we track the outcomes of the vaccine once it reaches the public’s hands?”

This wouldn’t be the first time Salesforce has created a product that falls outside of its usual business realm. Last year, Salesforce also developed a tool to help companies measure their sustainability.

Salesforce's Tableau and Mulesoft sectors will be part of the operation. At the same time, Work.com for Vaccines will be a platform for more custom apps built by partners like Accenture, Deloitte, and Infosys, who will address issues like last-mile delivery.