Management of External Manufacturing Networks

The realities of competition and market pressures mean external manufacturing networks are a necessity, especially in production of generics. Celerant’s view is that external manufacturers can be a serious asset to the core operation. Learning can be two-way, with the centre acquiring flexibility and pragmatism while the external manufacturers become sustainably consistent in terms of approach, quality and output all the way through the value chain.

The key is effective roadmaps, first to support decision making and execution on acquisitions and in-licensing and then to manage critical aspects of external manufacturing relationships. These include: governance and organisational structures, MCRS®, metrics, and business processes. They all underpin fundamentally new behaviours within the external manufacturers. They support significant mutual value creation. And over time, they transform ‘suppliers’ into partners.