Munich, August 10, 2026
Merck × Retorio · Pharmaceuticals
There is a limit to how far generic training travels. A rep in Boston does not face the same conversation as a rep in Madrid or São Paulo, and a scenario built for one product rarely fits another. Merck works with Retorio on something more powerful than off-the-shelf practice: the ability for its commercial teams to build their own realistic role-play, shaped around the products, stakeholders and situations they actually face. Retorio supports that work across 19 markets, including the United States, where Merck operates as EMD Serono.
Relevance is what makes practice stick
The teams that get the most from coaching are the ones whose practice mirrors reality. A generic exercise is easy to dismiss; a scenario that sounds exactly like next week’s meeting is impossible to ignore. But building relevant, high-quality practice used to require experts and weeks of work, so most teams settled for generic.
Merck’s commercial teams wanted more control: to turn their own materials and personas into practice that reflects their market and their language. A US field team preparing for a payer conversation and a European team preparing for a hospital specialist need the same coaching standard, not the same script.
Coaching teams can shape themselves
Teams create custom scenarios with virtual stakeholders, and the platform delivers instant, behavioral feedback based on the Warmth and Competence framework. Reps rehearse their approach, adapt to different conversation styles and refine how they communicate value, in a private, on-demand environment.
The result is practice that feels real because it is theirs, tuned to the specific conversations a team is about to have.
Consistency and control together
For a global science and technology company, adapting scenarios per market and language while keeping one consistent coaching standard is exactly what makes the approach scale across 19 markets.
The platform runs on EU-hosted infrastructure that is GDPR and DSGVO compliant, EU AI Act aligned and ISO 27001 certified, which is the bar pharmaceutical teams have to meet.
A partnership we are proud of
As Merck’s commercial teams keep raising the bar, the ability to build their own realistic practice puts capability in their hands. Retorio is glad to give them the tools.
Retorio is an AI coaching platform for enterprise commercial teams in insurance, pharmaceuticals, telecommunications, food and automotive. GDPR and DSGVO compliant, EU AI Act aligned, ISO 27001 certified, hosted on Google Cloud Platform with EU data residency.
