Operational Excellence in the Pharmaceutical Industry

Since 2004, the Institute of Technology Management at the University of St.Gallen (ITEM-HSG), Switzerland, and the Transfer Center for Technology Management at the University of St Gallen (TECTEM), Switzerland, are conducting an international research project in the Pharmaceutical Industry in the field of Operational Excellence. This continuous benchmarking project deals with the implementation of Lean Thinking and the principles of Operational Excellence in the Pharmaceutical Industry. The results provide participating companies the opportunity to position their production sites against a broad range of pharmaceutical production sites and show possibilities to improve productivity, quality and the reduction of lead time. Since 2008 companies can enter our continuous benchmarking process at any time. Our OPEX database includes more than 270 pharmaceutical manufacturing sites (API, Formulation & Packaging, Biotech) of more than 120 different companies ranging from small and medium-sized companies to Big Pharma.