One of the oldest pharmacist cooperatives in Germany is one of the leading companies in pharmaceutical wholesale. It has branches throughout Germany. One of the branches was in an outdated plant and operating condition. Constant productivity could not be achieved in this situation. For this reason, the interim manager stabilized the branch during ongoing operations by making technical changes to the existing system in order to install new warehouse and conveyor technology as well as adapted work processes in coordinated steps.
Reduction to a warehouse system as a prerequisite for a new start during ongoing operations
After the analysis, the interim manager determined that the infrastructure, which had grown over the years from various mixed technical systems (IT and hardware), did not offer a starting point for technical optimization. Among other things, there was a combination of several different warehouse management systems that could only be kept running with considerable administrative effort and unnecessary complexity. The connection between the systems was partly based on data communication, while a further link was created by a mechanical structure. This set-up made it impossible to carry out a refurbishment during ongoing operations. The interim manager then developed a project plan that made it possible to dismantle one of the old storage systems in operation. This status served as the plan basis for the conversion to a new system during ongoing operations.
Resource bottlenecks identified - schedules and milestones defined
In workshops with the team, the interim manager worked out the dismantling and conversion measures, identified resource bottlenecks, drew up schedules and defined the individual milestones. He developed and monitored key performance indicators (KPIs) for ongoing operations and the parallel conversion measures. This enabled permanent monitoring of ongoing activities, necessary adjustments and ultimately consistently high warehouse productivity despite the "open heart" conversion.
The interim manager kept both the plant management and the cooperative management informed with regular reports. Steering committee meetings were held at longer intervals, at which the next upcoming measures were discussed and approved by the steering committee.
Successful restructuring within the planned mandate period
The restructuring of the warehouse management systems and the conveyor system was successfully completed within 12 months. The warehouse system now has a homogeneous and stabilized logistics system, which contributes significantly to the stabilization of the technology and thus also to productivity. Nothing now stands in the way of the further refurbishment of the branch.
