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Medical technology & pharmaceutical industry
The pharmaceutical industry is facing big changes. On the one hand, cost pressure in the health care system is constantly increasing; on the other hand, more and more specific and individually effective drugs are demanded by the market. There is a trend towards personalized medicine. In medical technology, the requirements are similar: technically innovative and complex, but at the same time inexpensive products are expected. Disposables must meet the highest quality standards, and at the same time they are often "cent items". The in-house production parts are rethought and the supplier network carries an increasing part of the added value. Another trend is the increasing convergence of medical and pharmaceutical products.
Regulatory requirements are increasing for both the pharmaceutical and medical technology sectors, which is associated with immense additional costs and considerable additional expenditure on non-value added activities for manufacturers. Due to new editions, the work field of the Regulatory Affairs manager becomes more and more complex. Filling the R&D pipelines with innovative products will be lastingly successful only for those who understand how to manage their external network and information.
"The smart use of information in the medical technology and pharmaceutical industries enables a more effective monitoring of innovations, faster feedback loops and the generation of new business models. So far, the question of which model wins the race in the health sector remains unanswered. What is certain, however, is that after a seemingly endless period of lethargy, the industry is beginning a new era! Existing concepts will barely succeed without further development. Those who first succeed in using the right technologies for themselves will also be at the forefront of global competition. "
Dr. Daniel Wothe
Areas of activity in Medical Technology & the Pharmaceutical industry
We identify your optimization potential. In doing so, our expertise and wide range of effective resources are of great use. We analyze processes, discover weaknesses and thus find optimization opportunities in your company across all interfaces. Due to this, we define concrete fields of action and create the basis for sustainable improvement along your entire value chain. Our knowledge of current market developments, and a supply chain tailored to the market and customer needs, along with procurement strategies aligned with the company’s goals, will help you achieve better results.
MARKET & COMPETITION
Technological trends and innovations |New business models & strategies|Customer value optimization |Competitive & Benchmarking analysis |Turnaround |Due diligence |Red Flag analysis |Risk & opportunity analysis
PRODUCT & INNOVATION MANAGEMENT
Target Costing | Design-to-Cost (DtC) | Value Engineering |Value Analysis| Best Practice Benchmarking | Optimization requirements & specifications | Optimization of the product development process (PDP)
PURCHASING & SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT
Value & Cost Management | Purchasing Strategy & Optimization | Optimization of Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) | Supply Chain Optimization| Overall Supply Chain Effectiveness (OSE) | Bottom-up cost Analysis of part prices, tool costs, development & software costs | Supplier negotiation
PRODUCTION & OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT
Operational Excellence | Optimization of plant network | Optimization of direct & indirect areas | Insourcing & Outsourcing | Design-for-Manufacturing (DfM, EHPV Optimization) | Product relocation & Start-up management |Implementation of Industry 4.0 solutions
LEADERSHIP & CHANGE
Building of new organizational structures | Implementation & monitoring of change projects | Change management | Trainings at the POLARIXACADEMY | Training on the Job | Coaching & transfer of know-how
Face the challenges
In order to equip your company for the requirements of the market and strengthen your position in the face of increasing competition, we at POLARIXPARTNER do not deal with any symptoms - we get to the bottom of the cause! We support you in the development of your full potential. Our deep understanding of the market and extensive project experience in the pharmaceutical, medical, chemical and biotechnology industries help us find the right "therapy" for your area.
HEALTHCARE
We offer solutions for complex conflict areas: increasing cost pressure vs. complex medical products; shift in the depth of added value; optimization of data management processes, and development of additive manufacturing techniques (3D printed medicines).
GLOBAL COMPETITION
We help you to establish and develop new business models and are in the know about the special requirements of the pharmaceutical industry - whether it’s increased pressure on medical supplies prices, big & deep data solutions or R & D innovations.
MARKET REGULATION
We show you how you can use increasing regulatory requirements in a global context as a strategic opportunity and provide you with answers to current challenges.
INNOVATION
We give your company a boost and offer concepts for complex tasks, for example, expiring patent protection for blockbuster drugs, precision medicine and innovation in research and development.
Examples of Medical Technology and Pharmaceutical projects
Controlling innovations in a targeted manner and thus always staying one step ahead of the competition with the use of the right technologies is what we stand for at POLARIXPARTNER. Convince yourself of our know-how in the medical technology and pharmaceutical sectors.
PROJECT
Optimization of strategic purchasing for an international pharmaceutical and chemical company.
THE CHALLENGE
In the current situation, the Group had a large and complex portfolio of materials and suppliers (COGS *, NCOGS **). A proactive supplier management was missing, as well as knowledge about cost structures - internally as well as externally (suppliers). There was no harmonized, cross-divisional communication in procurement, or commodity-based sourcing strategies.
POLARIXPARTNER was commissioned to optimize strategic purchasing and increase efficiency.
SOLUTION
OUR APPROACH
- Implementation of a purchasing management system
- Introduction of supplier management and proactive supplier control based on defined SLAs *** and feedback loops
OUR RESULTS
- Reduction > 50 % of the variety of materials and services to be procured and the number of suppliers
- Improved use of bundling and standardization potential
- Improving knowledge about cost structures internally and with suppliers
*COGS: Cost Of Goods Sold | **NCOGS: Non Cost Of Goods Sold | ***SLA: Service Level Agreement
PROJECT
Increase in productivity and output for pharmaceutical packaging lines for an international pharmaceutical company.
THE CHALLENGE
Productivity improvement and output increase for pharmaceutical packaging lines of an international pharmaceutical company.
An insufficient Continual Improvement Process (CIP) resulted in high downtime and loss times with many minor faults. Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) measurements were not available on all lines. The OEE was partially below 30% and no line had an OEE of over 50%. Insufficient resource planning and resource management resulted in low employee productivity. In addition, unrealistic process standards were used, which led to incorrect assumptions in capacity planning, resulting in production residues.
POLARIXPARTNER was responsible for improving productivity and increasing output.
SOLUTION
OUR APPROACH
- Introduction of OEE measurements on all 14 lines
- Reduction of downtime (setup and cleaning)
- Increase in process robustness and employee productivity
- Implementation of an efficient demand planning based on correct process standards
- Implementation of sustainable process control and KPI control
OUR RESULTS
- Increase of OEEs on average of 25%
PROJECT
Increased productivity and higher throughput in the pharmaceutical active ingredient production of an international pharmaceutical company.
THE CHALLENGE
A lacking and unstructured analysis of causes led to high downtimes and dead times of continuous and batch systems. On the one hand, there were delays in delivery and, on the other hand, problems to meet the increasing market requirements without investing in equipment. Effective resource planning and control was scarce. Discarded batches due to quality issues add to the pressure on the supply chain.
Productivity and throughput improvements in production were the goals of POLARIXPARTNER.
SOLUTION
OUR RESULTS
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Implementation and increase of OEEs * in five chemical companies for continuous and batch plants (multi-purpose) by an average of 15% (10% for continuous and up to 30% for batch processes)
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Increase in process stability and employee productivity through structured resource planning and employee flexibility
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Increasing the output of a continuous investment by an additional 15 % (the market demand could be served without further investment)
PROJECT
Value and cost management for a new generation of diagnostic tools using design-to-cost (DTC) & design-for-manufacturing (DFM) technology from a global medical device manufacturer.
THE CHALLENGE
The customer's goals were a significant reduction in product cost to increase competitiveness, restrained by long development cycles and challenging product premises in terms of quality and design. Technical and commercial potentials before and after series production need to be outlined. It was essential to comply with technical standards (ISO 13485).
POLARIXPARTNER had the task to implement value and cost management within three months. The project included more than 20 employees from the areas of R & D, Purchasing and Production.
SOLUTION
OUR APPROACH
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Questioning and extensive analysis of the existing solution
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Deep bottom-up cost analysis of mechanical and electronic components
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Execution of DTC & DFM workshops
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Establishment of alternative design, function and production concepts
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Validation of ideas
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Benchmark analysis of competitive instruments
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Estimation of cost reduction potential for the series
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Development of cost analysis, training in cost analysis, supplier negotiation & nomination
OUR RESULTS
- Determination of the system design for the current series
- Implementation of cost savings in overall system vs. planned costs of > 22%
PROJECT
Effective cost analysis for an international medical technology company in order to uncover and implement savings potential with effective cost analyses.
THE CHALLENGE
An exponential increase in national and international competition and the growing pressure on costs and innovation, coupled with the highest quality requirements of this market segment, are leading to increased competitive pressure.
The task was to uncover potential and create monetary freedom to facilitate innovation projects. The effective POLARIXPARTNER methods for cost reduction with case-related adaptation to the medical sector came into play.
SOLUTION
OUR APPROACH
- Value Engineering
- Cost analyses
- Operations optimization
- Supply Chain Analysis
- Cost reduction workshops
- Implementation
OUR RESULTS
- Savings potential of over 20% will be implemented jointly. Commercial potentials are implemented throughout selection and supplier negotiations.
PROJECT
Optimization of the Overall Supply Chain Effectiveness (OSE) of a German medical technology manufacturer.
THE CHALLENGE
High stock levels, but still poor supplier reliability and a lack of cross-disciplinary, continuous planning and information processes were just some of the challenges of the project. Procurement processes were not tailored to the production’s needs and capacities. Efficient resource planning and control were missing, as well as performance transparency (KPIs).
SOLUTION
OUR APPROACH
- Establishment of cross-sectoral management control cycles and central balance scorecard control of the OSE
- Implementation of a cross-sectoral communication process
- Optimization of material flow (value stream mapping)
- Optimization of supplier management
- Increase in service level and supplier reliability by 30%
- Stock reduction by approx. 20%
OUR RESULTS
- Increase in OSE by 15%
PROJECT
Optimization of processes in planning and work preparation and the relevant interfaces of a Pharma site.
THE CHALLENGE
Very high volume growth leads to planning-related bottlenecks and a "moving bottleneck" situation, as well as a lack of workflow in material management and work preparation. High downtime and dead time due to missing material (in-house bulk and packaging material) are the result: OTIF * remains below expectations, supplier performance is inadequate, OEE ** control cycles are not available.
SOLUTION
OUR APPROACH
- Implementation of a newly designed planning process across all interfaces (bulk, packaging, suppliers) on the basis of valid process standards
- Supplier management and performance monitoring
- New setup of report and control management systems with KPIs for target achievement, performance measurement and structured cause control in case of deviations
- Introduction of OEE measurements on all 10 lines including setup and cleaning
OUR RESULTS
- Increase in delivery performance by 15% with an increase in throughput of 20%
*OTIF: On Time In Full | **OEE: Overall Equipment Effectiveness
POLARIXPARTNER Pharmaceutical Industry & Medical Technology Insights
What changes will the pharmaceutical and medical technology fields be facing? What should the manufacturing industry be prepared for and how can POLARIXPARTNER support you? Our Pharmaceutical Industry and Medical Technology Insights provide answers to current industry developments.
