Mission Pharmacal speeds time-to-market with Ross Systems
“The pharmaceutical industry generates intense competition,” says Max Martin, COO for Mission Pharmacal.
By on Oct 11, 2006The pharmaceutical industry generates intense competition, says Max Martin, COO for Mission Pharmacal. New drugs are being introduced into the market each day, which makes it important for Mission Pharmacal to meet demands and maintain efficiencies throughout the enterprise.
With limited visibility between manufacturing processes, the company sought to institute the absolute control required to manage materials throughout production. And since costing is critical to a company selling its products into the consumer packaged goods market, Mission Pharmacal also focused its process improvement on product costing, pricing and margin management.
The company needed a rapid lot trace for its products in the event of a recall or audit by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). With several new products requiring approval from the FDA coming to market, Mission Pharmacal knew improvement of its lot-trace capabilities was of paramount concern.
So to effectively compete and address its problems with integration and inventory control, Mission Pharmacal decided to replace its existing enterprise software. The company evaluated leading enterprise resource planning (ERP) vendors and selected Ross Systems for its expertise in process manufacturing and focus on the life sciences industry.
As we continue to evolve our products, we needed a solution that had the ability to mirror our business processes, says Tom Johnson, IT Project Manager for Mission Pharmacal. The Ross ERP provided a tailored solution, based on a shared set of business challenges for the life sciences industry.
Upon implementation, the Ross ERP solution enabled Mission Pharmacal to streamline operations, drive efficiencies and improve productivity. The company gained measurable improvements across the board, including an overall competitive advantage in the market, enhanced visibility and increased inventory control.
Competitively, the company has grown, decreasing time-to-market through improved operational efficiencies. Martin says Mission Pharmacal can more easily collaborate with suppliers and customers to align fulfillment expectations and reduce costs through comprehensive planning. And with streamlined operations, he says, the company has been able to support new and existing products.
By integrating disparate information systems throughout the company, Johnson says, Mission Pharmacal was able to gain 100 percent visibility into the manufacturing side of the business. Ross ERP is helping the company make better informed, real-time decisions leading to increased plant throughput, contained costs and improved delivery performance.
Gaining visibility into the manufacturing pipeline with a fully integrated system, Martin says, has allowed Mission Pharmacal to achieve tighter controls over the sales-order process, enabling better decision-making.
In addition, with inventory control processes in place, the company has been able to accurately manage the complete product lifecycle from raw materials to finished goods. With a centralized information repository, Johnson says, Mission Pharmacal now has the ability to execute detailed product costing, just-in-time planning and fulfillment, and the analysis of yield.
Prior to implementing Ross ERP, a team of people worked an entire weekend each year to do physical inventory. In contrast, the company now can run a complete check of inventory in three to five hours.
And for regular audits by the FDA, Mission Pharmacal can now conduct bi-directional lot traces. One person can complete end-to-end traces in minutes, greatly simplifying a task that previously took several man hours with the assistance of four people.
The Ross ERP solution has enabled us to monitor and manage critical manufacturing processes for overall IT efficiencies, which is key to staying ahead of the competition, says Martin.
Ross ERP provides a tailored solution, based on a shared set of business challenges in the life sciences industry, ideally suited for companies like Mission Pharmacal, says Michael Webster, director of life sciences for Ross Systems. The ability to optimize productivity and deliver high-quality products on time while meeting regulatory requirements has enabled Mission Pharmacal to gain a strong foothold in a highly competitive market.