Automation accelerates AstraZeneca's mission to save millions of lives by releasing 20 new medicines by 2030

Overview

AstraZeneca partnered with ServiceNow to replace manual research and administrative tasks with the ServiceNow AI Platform as part of its goal to launch 20 new medicines by 2030. A digitized, automated, AI-powered equipment and supplies ordering system on the AskAZ employee portal cut tasks that previously took up to 30 minutes, such as handwritten lab supply orders, down to seconds; more than 60,000 requests across 400+ categories now flow through the platform annually, saving an estimated 30,000+ hours per year. AstraZeneca also built "Onboarding 2.0" on the ServiceNow AI Platform, with personalized portals for new hires; automating roughly 10% of the 50+ hours managers previously spent onboarding each employee is projected to save over 90,000 hours as the company recruits more than 20,000 new employees.

The challenge

AstraZeneca employees were handwriting supply orders for essential laboratory supplies like test tubes in a notebook, a process that took up to 30 minutes each time. Managers were also spending more than 50 hours onboarding each new employee, as the company works toward launching 20 new medicines by 2030 and recruiting more than 20,000 new employees.

The solution

AstraZeneca partnered with ServiceNow to build a digitized, automated, AI-powered end-to-end equipment and supplies selection and ordering system on the company's AskAZ employee portal, providing access to pre-selected items from approved suppliers so orders can be completed in seconds. ServiceNow teams shadowed AstraZeneca colleagues to understand the precise requirements of a world-class research laboratory. AstraZeneca also built Onboarding 2.0 on the ServiceNow AI Platform, a streamlined onboarding experience with personalized portals for each new hire, automating roughly 10% of the transactional elements of onboarding.

Reported business value

More than 60,000 requests across 400+ categories now flow through the ServiceNow AI Platform annually, with an estimated 30,000+ hours saved every year as tasks that previously took up to 30 minutes now take seconds. Automating roughly 10% of the 50+ hours managers previously spent onboarding each employee is projected to save over 90,000 hours as the company recruits more than 20,000 new employees.