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Operational Excellence and Digital Transformation in Pharmaceutical Production

A mid-sized pharmaceutical company faced declining operational performance at four key European sites producing oral solid blister packs. EFESO partnered to implement a structured Operational Excellence program, harmonizing processes, improving efficiency, and embedding a culture of continuous improvement.

Industry: Life Sciences

Service: Factory Planning

Service: Manufacturing

Service: Operational Excellence

Parallaxe

Our Client

A mid-sized pharmaceutical company present in more than 140 countries, with annual revenues exceeding €5 billion. The company operates across multiple therapeutic areas and manages a global production network with plants organized into three divisions: Pharma, Chemicals (API production), and Diagnostics. The focus of this program was on oral solid blister pack production at four strategic European sites.

+€5B

Annual revenue

+140

Countries with presence

“

…We were impressed by how quickly EFESO’s consultants understood the specifics of our business, and by their ability to engage our staff…

“
Corporate Technology Operations Excellence Director
Parallaxe

The Challenge

Rapid growth and multiple acquisitions led to the coexistence of different production systems that were never harmonized. By Q4 2022, the company faced:

  • Declining delivery performance: Average OTIF dropped to 55%, a 20% decrease compared to Q1 2021
  • Rising costs: Unit cost per blister increased by 24% since 2016
  • Operational fragmentation: Lack of harmonized processes and performance metrics across multiple sites

These factors highlighted the need for a structured intervention to improve efficiency, quality, and delivery punctuality.

Real Results Achieved Together

EFESO’s Operational Excellence and Digital Transformation programs delivered measurable operational improvements, cost savings, and cultural change across the organization.

90%

Average OTIF achieved in under two years

969M

Blisters produced (+10% vs 2022)

5–8%

Reduction in unit conversion costs, delivering €10–12M savings

Transformation Impact

  • Embedded a shared culture of continuous improvement across sites
  • Implemented standardized KPIs, dashboards, and visual management systems
  • Strengthened leadership engagement, skill development, and team collaboration
  • Delivered a three-year digital use case roadmap generating estimated benefits of €5–7.5M
Parallaxe

Our Approach

EFESO deployed a multi-phase Operational Excellence program:

  1. Foundation: Workshops analyzed maturity gaps, defined a shared vision, and identified initial improvement areas across corporate and site teams.
  2. Design: Corporate vision translated into site-specific operational plans targeting six key performance dimensions: service level, bottleneck elimination, right sizing, material yield, lean quality, and safety. Governance models and monitoring tools were developed.
  3. Implementation: Improvement worksites activated with structured coaching, audits, and operational support, engaging over 130 people. Initiatives included adoption of the Overall Product Availability index, organizational structure review, and digital tools implementation.
  4. Digital Transformation: EFESO conducted on-site observations and workshops, identifying 20+ digital use cases and selecting 10 priority initiatives with estimated €5–7.5M benefits. Use cases focused on Advanced Analytics, process optimization, and AI-assisted operations. A three-year master plan was defined to maximize synergies and resource allocation.

The program integrated Lean Manufacturing, Change Management, and Performance Management, emphasizing rapid implementation, milestone celebration, and leadership engagement.

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Facing Similar Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Challenges?

  • Experiencing operational fragmentation across multiple sites
  • Seeking measurable improvements in OTIF, yield, and cost efficiency
  • Looking to embed a culture of continuous improvement supported by digital innovation
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