Case Study: Workflow Automation Software for Pharmaceuticals

A huge pharmaceutical company was challenged with the high levels of operational inefficiency due to the presence of manual processes such as papers, emails, and telephone calls. They needed workflow automation software. Solutions to them would include streamlined operations, error reduction, and improved efficiency in decision-making. Our team developed a customized software solution that automated their workflow and brought all stakeholders under one roof.

Challenges

Manual, Inefficiency of Disconnected Processes: The whole process within the departments—from the initiation of orders up to approvals—was on paper forms, emails, and phone calls. It sometimes increased the risk of poor communication, delay, and human error. With over 100 users involved in this process, it became chaotic and challenging to manage tasks across multiple teams (PMO, Purchase, RCD, PPIC, etc.).

Communication in Silos: Departments worked in silos, hence preventing cross-team coordination and collaboration. Without integrated workflow system software, information gaps slowed up project approvals and also curtailed collaboration.

High Software Cost: It was expensive to maintain with SAP licenses. It has become too expensive to scale these systems. Cost-effective scalability of workflow management software became a necessity.

Lack of Visibility and Decision-Making Support: There was no common platform to track which processes were ongoing and which were not, and therefore real-time visibility was also lacking by the stakeholders. Lack of workflow management system software led to uninformed decision-making and not taking the right steps against bottlenecks.

Our Solution:

Developing custom workflow automation software solved these problems while customizing to the organization’s requirements. The principal functionalities were:

• Centralized Workflow Management: All workflows from NCQ to commercial readiness were automated along with PMO, Purchase, RCD, and Costing in one system.
• Dynamic Form Builder: The system provided a dynamic form builder. This allowed the company to create, modify, and manage forms as processes changed. It provided flexibility and future scalability without requiring custom development each time a new requirement arose.
• Dynamic Workflow Builder: The dynamic workflow builder allowed the company to adjust workflows as their business needs changed, without developer intervention. This ensured that the site would scale and accommodate change very easily into the future when processes were new.
• Real-Time Data Integration: The seamless integration with SAP ERP meant that stakeholders always had up-to-date data, hence real-time tracking and visibility of tasks and approvals.
• Automated Task Notifications: The tool eliminated the complex task assignment and delays of manual processes by automatically notifying relevant teams to take action regarding their task, thus keeping tasks in line.
• Reduced Dependency on SAP: Automating most processes that relied on SAP resulted in a lower SAP license count for the company, saving on costs and lowering dependency on external platforms.

Results

Our custom workflow automation software has led to transformational results, such as the following:

• Improved Margins: The automation eliminated most of the manual work and errors that otherwise resulted in considerable escalations of costs and decreased profitability.
• Smooth operations for more than 100 users: More than 100 users from all departments use integrated workflow management system software with smooth operations and no communication breakdowns.
• Informed Decision Making: Real-time data gives actionable insights to the managers, and after implementation of our workflow systems software, they are now able to make quicker decisions.
• Cost savings on SAP licenses: The automation of workflows and reduced dependency on SAP have helped significantly lower licensing costs and thus improve profitability.
• Better Collaboration: Teams that worked in silos are now collaborating much better as all the information and communication are in the same place. Transparency is higher and leads to quicker, more efficient execution of projects.

Conclusion

This custom software automation transformed the pharmaceutical company from chaotic, manual workflows into smooth, efficient automated processes. By lifting the profit margins and also the ability to make quality decisions using real-time data, not to mention decreasing its dependence on costly software licenses, this company operates today with much greater agility and profitability.