+50M
Employees worldwide
QC & QA Opex Program Boosts Productivity 30% Across 40+ Labs
A leading pharmaceutical company faced challenges in meeting commitment dates across 48 laboratory and QA groups. Working alongside its in-house team we implemented leveling, flow and standard work solutions to optimize efficiency and achieve consistent lead times. The transformation enabled a key site to take on additional global raw material testing without increasing headcount.
Industry: Life Sciences
Service: Lean Lab
Service: Manufacturing
Our Client
The company is one of the world's largest privately owned pharmaceutical manufacturers, with operations spanning human pharmaceuticals and animal health. It operates three large manufacturing locations in Germany and major production sites across the US, Japan, Spain, France, Austria, Italy, China, Mexico and Greece. The facility in question houses both small molecule and biologics operations, handling routine batch release testing alongside development project work.
€26B
Annual turnover
+600
QC lab and QA staff at the key site
The Challenge
The quality functions at the site needed to achieve short, consistent lead times while managing complex operational demands.
- Mixed workload complexity: The same laboratories processed both clinical and commercial batch releases alongside carrying out development work for clients, creating competing priorities and unpredictable capacity demands
- Reliability gaps: Teams struggled to make and meet accurate commitment dates for projects and batch releases. This is particularly critical for CDMO operations where reliable delivery drives additional business
- Capacity visibility constraints: Limited understanding of true laboratory capacity versus demand, from routine release and commercial project work, made accurate planning and commitment setting difficult
Real Results Achieved Together
The operational excellence implementation transformed laboratory and QA operations across multiple sites, delivering measurable improvements in productivity, lead times and reliability. The engagement expanded from human pharmaceuticals into animal health divisions across France and Italy.
+10-36%
Productivity and capacity increases
+30-70%
On-time delivery improvement
-10-75%
Routine testing lead-time
Transformation Impact
- Enabled the site to absorb global raw material testing for three additional sites, without headcount increases
- Established robust capacity and demand planning capabilities using "role days" methodology
- Created sustainable performance management processes with digital tools for enhanced coordination
Our Approach
- Collaboration with the company’s teams from 2020 to early 2022 to implement comprehensive operational improvements despite COVID-19 disruptions.
- Development of leveling, flow, and standard work solutions tailored to each laboratory and QA group’s specific needs.
- Creation of capacity and demand planning tools using a unified “role days” metric (one person working for one day), enabling accurate capacity–demand mapping across all groups.
- Introduction of short interval controls and performance management processes, supported by digital tools to enhance lab and group coordination.
- Focus on building robust processes that:
- Balance short interval workloads,
- Minimize throughput times through flow optimization, and
- Support task standardization.
- Reinforcement of these processes through best practice short interval control and performance management implementation.
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Facing Similar Laboratory Operations Challenges?
- Unlock consistent lead-times and predictable delivery dates that build client trust
- Stop struggling with capacity constraints and missed commitments that frustrate your teams
- Join pharmaceutical leaders who've achieved breakthrough productivity without adding headcount
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