Pfizer's scheduling solution starts small before going global
Staff -- Manufacturing Business Technology, 8/1/2004 6:00:00 AM
Until recently, at Pfizer's manufacturing and R&D center in Sandwich, England, materials were received, tested, qualified, and released to manufacturing without benefit of an overall view of product flow.
Because the end product "miraculously" arrived at the last stage—i.e., the pharmacy—"no one even saw the need for more than minimal interaction between groups," explains Jayne, a Pfizer systems integrator in Sandwich.
But improvements were necessary. So rather than start with a global vision, Pfizer first enhanced its supply chain practices at Sandwich by getting demand and scheduling information flowing between the eight autonomous operations.
"Basically they couldn't see demand in their internal supply chains, let alone across multiple plants," says Mike Novels, CEO of U.K.-based Preactor, an advanced planning & scheduling vendor. Preactor's software connects with Pfizer's existing ERP system, which by itself didn't have the flexibility or scheduling capability Pfizer needed, says Novels.
Preactor's Web-based Gantt chart solution—showing project progress in relation to time—mounted on Microsoft's Project software, was easy for both scientists and shop-floor employees to work with, says Jayne. To start, each of the eight operations installed Preactor for its own use. Then the operations were linked.
While Pfizer won't discuss projected ROI, "even a minor improvement in a company's demand visibility can have a dramatic effect on its customer responsiveness," says a Boston-based AMR Research May 2004 report on advances in demand accuracy in supply chain strategies.
Last summer, this homegrown proof of concept—called the "Sandwich model"—became part of Pfizer's Global Transition Initiative, aimed at achieving a worldwide view of what is in its supply chain pipeline.
