+€100M
Annual revenues
Operations Strategy Optimization, Enabling 30% Growth
A pharmaceutical manufacturer wanted to achieve ambitious growth targets across three European factories, without massive capital expenditure. Working together with the company’s in-house team, we redefined its industrial footprint and optimized existing operations to accommodate forecasted demand. This transformation freed up cash flow for strategic priorities while building capacity for the future.
Industry: Life Sciences
Service: Manufacturing
Service: Operations Strategy and Transformation
Our Client
A pharmaceutical manufacturer specializing in widely used products, including aspirin formulations. The company operates as part of a larger pharmaceutical group and maintains a strong presence in the European market. Its manufacturing network spans multiple facilities across Europe, producing essential pharmaceutical products for consumer healthcare markets.
€3B
Parent group turnover
3
European factories
The Challenge
The company faced a critical strategic inflection point with ambitious growth targets that its existing facilities couldn’t accommodate, and that seemed to require massive capital investments.
- Growth-capacity mismatch: The company targeted 30% growth over five years, but its facilities were insufficient to meet these targets, creating pressure for immediate expansion
- Investment constraints: Meeting growth projections appeared to require over €300 million in capital investments within five years, tying up resources needed for other strategic initiatives including potential acquisitions
- Operational complexity: Three European factories needed strategic alignment on product portfolio allocation, determining where and how each product should be manufactured while optimizing performance, productivity and flows
Real Results Achieved Together
The operational transformation enabled the company to achieve substantial growth through optimization rather than expansion.
By enhancing production capabilities and redefining its industrial strategy, the company gained both immediate capacity improvements and long-term strategic flexibility
20%
Growth achieved without new investments
€300M
Investments postponed by three years
€60M
Reduced first-phase expansion cost
Transformation Impact
- Freed up significant cash flow for strategic initiatives including acquisitions
- Created flexibility to delay major capital expenditures while maintaining growth trajectory
- Established a scalable industrial footprint aligned with five-year strategic plan
Our Approach
We re-examined the entire product portfolio to determine optimal manufacturing locations and methods across the three facilities.
We identified opportunities to expand one plant while improving performance, productivity and flows throughout the network.
The team developed a new industrial footprint with a phased investment strategy supporting targeted growth. We assessed improvement potential in current performance, identified where expansions would eventually be needed and pinpointed opportunities to optimize and enhance productivity.
This comprehensive analysis revealed that optimization could delay major investments while still achieving significant growth.
We continue to support the company in implementing its strategic industrial plan, ensuring sustainable transformation through knowledge transfer and capability building.
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Facing Similar Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Challenges?
- Struggling to meet growth targets while avoiding massive capital investments that strain your balance sheet
- Seeking ways to optimize existing facilities before committing to expensive expansions or new sites
- Ready to transform operations and free up cash for strategic priorities such as acquisitions or innovation
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