Global demand for the COVID-19 vaccine created immense pressure on manufacturing operations to rapidly scale production, with an initial target of approximately 800 million doses per year. Achieving this required building a prioritized portfolio across Chemistry Manufacturing Controls (CMC), rapidly enhancing capabilities, strong cross-functional collaboration and embedding key elements of process excellence.

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Our Approach:

Commissioned to identify and lead Operational Excellence initiatives aimed at driving rapid improvements across manufacturing, operations, and facilities. We focused on:

Strategic Coordination: Identified and aligned initiatives across functions to maximize throughput, improve material yield, and enhance production quality

End-to-End Process Mapping: Conducted workshops that uncovered over 40 improvement opportunities. Initiatives were prioritized based on their impact on cycle times, yield, and quality

Standard Work and Tools: Developed standard processes and enabling tools to ensure consistency and efficiency

Rigorous Oversight: Established rigorous oversight with senior executives, supported by weekly and daily calls across work centers and project teams to monitor progress

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Results:

The cross-functional efforts paid off, achieving significant outcomes within six months:

- 50% reduction in production cycle times

- 10-15% improvement in material yield

- 60-70% decrease in deviations per batch

Developing standard work processes and enabling tools were critical to achieving and sustaining portfolio objectives amidst the company's rapid growth.

By maintaining a daily focus on operational metrics and implementing standard work practices, we successfully met our targets, contributing to the organization’s critical mission during the pandemic.

This approach not only ensured rapid scale-up but also established a framework for ongoing operational excellence across the rapidly expanding operations.

A leading manufacturer of high-quality pharmaceuticals sought support for the acquisition and integration of 16 established consumer healthcare (CHC) brands.

The initiative encompassed 250+ SKUs, 51 markets, and over 20 suppliers, with the goal of ensuring a seamless acquisition process and achieving day-one distribution in priority markets.

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Our Approach:

Commissioned to partner with the Post-Merger Integration team to build and execute a lean PMO to drive efficiency and manage the complexities of this large-scale acquisition. We focused on:

Comprehensive RAIDD Framework Development: Leveraged initial due diligence outputs to create a RAIDD (Risks, Assumptions, Issues, Dependencies, Decisions) framework, enabling proactive identification of risks and opportunities. This approach went beyond traditional risk tracking, embedding risk management into the broader portfolio, leading to additional commercial value and new opportunities

Integrated Risk Management: Expanded the risk management process to be a central component of the PMO, embedding it across multiple functions and governance boards, which made risk management a key factor in portfolio reviews and strategic decision-making

Extensive Coordination and Governance: Managed core program reporting and coordination across functions, including M&A, legal, trademarks, supply chain, commercial, regulatory, quality, finance, and tax. This involved leading buyer/seller project update reviews and cross-functional calls, with 20-50 participants per meeting, ensuring comprehensive integration efforts

Post-Deal Operational Oversight: Focused on 51 markets across regions from Latin America to Australia/New Zealand, enhancing integration activities to ensure a smooth post-deal transition

Process Optimization and Opportunity Creation: Implemented efficiencies in master data management, commercial analysis, and process improvements, contributing to value creation throughout the integration

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Results:

The lean PMO program delivered significant outcomes, including:

On-time deal completion and day-one distribution readiness for priority markets

Streamlined legal and operational processes, which improved integration efficiency

Successful mitigation of multi-million-dollar risks, ensuring a smooth transition

C-Suite support for footprint expansion, driven by the program’s success in managing a complex, multi-market acquisition

Strategic Value Creation: Transformed risk management into a proactive, strategic driver that unlocked new opportunities and supported long-term growth.

This approach not only secured the successful acquisition of the 16 CHC brands but also established a strong foundation for sustainable growth and operational excellence.

A leading pharmaceutical company aimed to deploy a new commercial model for facilities management (FM) across its make and non-make sites in EMEA, with the objective of standardizing its service model and transforming the workplace experience for its employees. The program, which operated under a Vested agreement, covered 27 countries and over 136 sites.

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Our Approach:

Commissioned as a trusted partner to both the supplier and buyer, with the program management of the transformation across EMEA.

Our support focused on key areas to achieve the desired outcomes:

Stakeholder Mapping and Engagement: Conducted a detailed stakeholder mapping exercise to identify key influencers, assess concerns, and tailor communication strategies.

Structured Communication Planning: Developed a communication plan specifying the types of communication, target audiences, channels, and frequency to maintain clarity and consistency across multiple countries.

Managing Sensitive Communications: Collaborated with senior leads to handle sensitive communications, ensuring alignment with broader organizational messaging and the careful handling of delicate information.

Vested Model Implementation: Facilitated the relationship between the buyer and supplier, ensuring alignment on the outcomes-based contract

Robust Program Governance: Established a comprehensive governance model, providing weekly reports to C-suite leadership on performance, milestones, and risks. Coordinated biweekly program status calls with over 50 site and functional leads to manage local complexities effectively

Risk Management and Milestone Tracking: Designed a risk management framework and optimized the project schedule for tracking milestones, resource allocation, and scenario planning, allowing for proactive risk identification and mitigation

Developed a Playbook for Future Deployments: Created a comprehensive playbook that captures best practices, governance models, and standardized procedures to support future FM deployments, setting the foundation for consistent and efficient rollout strategies.

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Results:

The FM transformation delivered substantial results over a 12-month period:

FM service deployment across 27 countries, ensuring consistent service quality and transforming the workplace experience.

Value case of $11.5 million delivered, demonstrating a strong return on investment.

Aggressive timelines met without major delays, ensuring operational efficiency and service continuity.

Upskilling of deployment PMOs in transformation processes, equipping the organization with long-term program management capabilities.

Adoption of the governance model as a standard for future deployments, setting a benchmark for the company’s global rollout strategies.

The combination of the Vested model, robust governance, and strategic communication ensured the successful execution of the FM transformation, driving sustainable improvements in workplace experience and operational performance across the organization.