This paper focuses on the importance of information and documentation (I&D) as one of the essential production factors in pharmaceutical industrial activities. The need for and use of I&D services depends far more on such factors as product profile, decision making processes within the organization, and ownership than on the size of the companies concerned. Precise and relevant information increases the reliability of complicated decision-making process. Units with I&D responsibilities should be properly integrated into the company's total information flow; increased integration results in increased effectiveness. Even though I&D is available and often necessary in the decision making process, it is not always put to effective use. Many barriers exist which prevent proper access to the information and its further dissemination, which results in increased problems for the potential user. Trade, industry, and society must cooperate to arrive at a more systematic communication of knowledge if the technological level is to be raised for industry in general and product development stimulated. Copies of charts and figures are appended. (Author/JPF)