A Developer and Marketer of In-Vitro Diagnostic Kits for Virus Identification and Endocrine Diseases
Situation
A diagnostic healthcare solution company with expertise in rapid point-of-care (POC) diagnostic tests recently acquired a complimentary non-infectious and autoimmune disease detection business. To accelerate product innovation and set the stage for growth, the parent company needed to deepen enterprise-wide integration, create new core competencies and build fast, flexible and scalable operational processes in the acquired company’s operations.
Additionally, the acquired company suffered from an underleveraged workforce with functional skill levels below industry standards and a leadership team with limited formal business procedures and performance management experience.
RESULTS AT A GLANCE
25%
Inventory reduction
17%
Productivity Increase
Scrap Reduction
Incremental benefits in scrap reduction
CI
Implemented a Continuous improvement mindset
Created
Scalable platform for growth
Markets & Products
Detection & Diagnosis tests
Rapid Visual tests
Pharmaceuticals
Healthcare
Life Science
Argo’s Actions
- Established planning & scheduling processes in line with industry norms
- Developed area task/activity workflow balancing and productivity standards; establishment of visual controls for visibility and transparency
- Designed a staffing model to leverage temporary employees and updated job descriptions and recommendations for required knowledge and skills
- Deployed an Accountability system, with associated tools, cascading roles / responsibilities, performance metrics and a process for sustaining performance
Production planning: Actions taken in key areas
Forecasting
- Before: a forecast business plan existed at financial level only. There was no direct translation of financials to operational requirements, i.e. material and resource planning
- After: forecast was developed by work area and linked to financial plan with production history tracked via scoreboards
Production Planning
- Before: individual departments planned resources based on their own expectation of demand
- After: implemented a long-range production planning process
Master Production Schedule (MPS)
- Before: no MPS in place and high overage
- After: established a weekly schedule review meeting to review actual production to planned and forecast and align production, scheduling, purchasing and customer service