Global Pharmaceutical Manufacturer
The Project
Our client is leading pharmaceutical company with a global presence, specialising in the development and manufacture of high-quality generic medicines. With operations in over 50 countries, they have a broad portfolio of products across a range of therapeutic areas, including oncology, cardiovascular, and respiratory, among others. Within our client’s operations, there is a real need to ensure that they are sourcing high-quality materials and services at competitive prices, while also complying with strict regulatory requirements and maintaining a secure and reliable supply chain.
The client engaged us to conduct a detailed spend analysis process and identify opportunities for cost savings for their UK operations. The objectives of the project were:
- To validate and categorise the client's supplier spend data;
- To prioritise cost-saving opportunities and create a roadmap for future sourcing activity;
- To explain how we would deliver and optimise the category procurement for these potential cost-saving projects; and
To develop a plan for capturing and sustaining value achieved on these projects.
Methodology
We received supplier spend data which covered our client’s UK operations. This included four different data sets.Once we received the supplier spend data extract from our client’s financial system, our team of experts quickly got to work on the data. We used a range of tools and techniques to cleanse and validate the data to get this into a workable format ready for categorisation. We applied our own categorisation structure to the data which presented a different perspective on the supplier spend, allowing for an aggregation of similar spend area categories.
Our category experts conducted various pieces of analysis on the data and identified categories of potential saving opportunities through their knowledge of the market and level of spend with suppliers across the data. We used a combination of spend segmentation, supplier profiling, and market analysis to identify opportunities for optimisation and consolidation.
This spend analysis and category experience was combined to produce a comprehensive spend analysis report.The report was split into 3 main sections. These focused on:
- Investigating, categorising, and prioritising the opportunities;
- Optimising category procurement; and
- Capture and sustain value.
The investigating, categorising, and prioritising opportunities section contained a full breakdown of analysis on the supplier spend data. This included an analysis of the total spend, an analysis and review of each category spend, and an investigation into the tail end spend.
The spend analysis and category examination provided a basis for identifying a list of projects for potential cost saving opportunities. To prioritise these cost saving opportunities, we developed a sourcing activity matrix that provided a visual representation of the potential projects for cost savings delivery. This matrix provided a prioritised opportunity roadmap for future sourcing activity.
The optimising category procurement section explained to the client how we would deliver and optimise the category procurement for the potential cost saving opportunities. This talked the client through our own "Sourcery Approach". This provides a structured approach from confirming the business requirements, to developing the sourcing strategy, through to implementing the new supplier agreement in order to realise the project benefits. It ensures that all aspects of the sourcing cycle are completed in a consistent and best practice manner across the organisation, whilst confirming that the business requirement and sourcing strategy are fully understood prior to approaching the market to negotiate improved commercial terms.
The final section of the report focused on capturing and sustaining value. This outlined our approach for ensuring that the value gained from the optimising category procurement phase would not be lost. We explained to the client how we would achieve this through contract management, supplier relationship management, category management, spend compliance management, and training and development processe
Results
The methodology and approach we used to conduct the spend analysis and develop a procurement optimisation strategy impressed the client, as did the level of detail in the report presented in a clear and easy to understand format. The feedback received highlighted how much they appreciated being guided through the process and receiving a comprehensive breakdown of the analysis, a roadmap for future cost-saving initiatives, and a detailed plan to capture and sustain value for the long term. The client expressed satisfaction with the journey they were taken on, and the effective roadmap and plan we provided for delivering the identified cost savings while maximising value capture.
