Case Study: Pharmaceutical Business Unit
Client requirement
This business unit in a major pharmaceutical company produced Tablets and Capsules for subsidiaries of the parent organization, as well as external customers. Its reputation within the organization was not high, largely because its delivery service levels hovered around the 50 % level.
A new Business Unit director had been appointed, who quickly saw that there was a clear need to establish a formal process for planning and managing the business. There was little formal use of the planning systems, and there was constant firefighting and disruption to the schedule. The Business Unit Director well recognized the issues, but needed external facilitation to kick off a programme of action.
Solution proposed and delivered
Richard Watkins tailored a course around the concepts of the Integrated Enterprise Leadership model, and carried out a workshop over three days. All of the Senior Team of the Business Unit were involved, as well as their direct line reports. The group identified the formal process that they needed to establish, and the key policies and procedures that needed to be implemented.
Over the coming weeks, these were established. Performance Measures were put in place. A key policy was that no changes for whatever reason could be made to the plan for the next week without the Business Unit Director’s approval. This enabled him to identify the root causes of the problems behind many of the changes. Soon they became fewer and fewer. The establishment of a formal forecasting and demand management process, and a stable master schedule allowed the Business Unit Director to get in control of the business.
Costs and Benefits
- The costs of the exercise was around £10,000.
- Customer service [delivery to promise] climbed from around 55% to 98% plus. More importantly the site was rewarded with increased business from the group, and the business unit was not closed, which was the original intention behind the Business Unit Director's appointment.