+50M
Employees worldwide
QC & QA Opex Program Boosts Productivity 30% Across 40+ Labs: Turning Complex Lab Operations into Predictable, High-Performance Workflows
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.
$30B
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.
36%
Productivity and capacity increases
70%
On-time delivery improvement
75%
Improved 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.
Related Services
Lean Lab
Volatile workloads create productivity troughs and lead-time peaks. We stabilize lab operations through capacity modeling, dynamic resource allocation, and lean process optimization.
Manufacturing
Aging equipment meets rising costs and technology disruption. We transform operations through smart factory integration, predictive maintenance, and workforce capability building.
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
Discover More Clients Results
45K m²
Optimized factory layout (reduced from 52K m²)
Industrial Manufacturing
Restarting a Greenfield Factory Planning Process: Reassessing a Multi-Story Plant Design Under Extreme Time Pressure
Creating a solid, structured plan for the material flow of its production and validated the static forecast, enabling the factory to increase the output with the existing machinery.
$12M
Projected annual savings
Retail
Redesigning Warehouse Operations to Cut Cycle Time by 87% and Boost Throughput by 30%
Redesigned omni-channel warehouse operations, cutting order-to-ship cycle time by 87% and increasing throughput capacity by 30%.
$6.5M
Annual margin gain through increased crude throughput
Oil & Gas, Sustainable Energy
Improving Crude Throughput by 25% via Lean Process Optimization
Eliminated naphtha bottleneck through lean optimization, accelerating crude throughput 25% and capturing $6.5M margin gain.
60%
Reduction in start-up time
Food & Beverage
Vertical Start-Up Reduces CAPEX Project Time by 60%
Accelerated CAPEX execution through Vertical Start-Up methodology, reducing project timelines by 60% across European operations.
$750K
Validated savings achieved
Life Sciences
Packaging
Turning Cost Pressures Into Sustainable Profitability
Packaging manufacturer achieved $750K savings through optimized labor ratios, reduced scrap, and material efficiency improvements.
+$8M
Annual EBIT improvement
Transportation, Logistics and Services
Turnaround of Two Plants for Major Logistics Company: Building Operational Independence at Scale
Logistics provider needed warehouse optimization and service improvement. We redesigned warehouse layouts, implemented automation, and enhanced picking processes, increasing throughput by 35%.
+25
Percentage points Line OEE improvement at a key site within 6 months
Food & Beverage
Transitioning To Opex 4.0: A Significant Evolution
An initiative that improved Line OEE by 25 percentage points and positioned the organization to recover a $15M investment within 18 months.
81%
Reduction in breakdowns
Food & Beverage
Transforming Wine Production Excellence Through Total Productive Maintenance: Building Operational Excellence from Vineyard to Bottle
Wine producer struggled with quality consistency and rising costs. We implemented Total Productive Maintenance, optimized production flow, and enhanced quality systems, achieving 81% OEE improvement.