Case study: A Fortune 500 pharma manufacturer

The issue

A US-based global Fortune 500 pharmaceuticals manufacturer engaged in sourcing materials from Asia was experiencing product quality and intellectual property protection problems with several major suppliers. Suppliers were unable to meet delivery requirements due to quality issues, and in order to help defray the costs associated with fixing its quality problems, sold the inferior "off-specification" materials to unauthorized customers.

Our approach

A joint PricewaterhouseCoopers team from the US and Asia was engaged to identify weaknesses in the client’s existing controls related to sourcing. The team assessed supply chain processes in the US and Asia and developed improved risk identification, prevention, and mitigation processes for the four key sourcing activities: strategy, set-up, execution, and termination.

The outcome

By implementing PricewaterhouseCoopers recommendations, our client realised significant improvements in managing the risks associated with their supply chain.