Lamacon has created a production cycle optimization model for Geropharm

2024: Creating a Production Cycle Optimization Model

Geropharm has used a mathematical modeling tool to optimize the production of pharmaceuticals. The project was implemented by experts from the consulting company LAMACON, who built an optimization model of the production cycle for the pharmaceutical manufacturer. This allowed GEROPHARM to determine the maximum gross profit possible, taking into account all available restrictions, as well as reduce the time of medium-term planning from several weeks to several days.

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Lamacon

A feature of pharmaceutical production is a complex multi-transfer chain. The company's main products go through 13 redistributions, and the production cycle can last up to 2 months. Pharmaceuticals is an industry with strict regulations and standards, so at each stage a quality check is carried out, and until its completion, the transition to the next step is impossible. An additional challenge is the complex structure of the formulations, as well as the need to take into account seriality, that is, to fully trace the movement from substance to batch.

The manufacturer was faced with the task of using the existing production facilities most efficiently, since the purchase of new lines and equipment necessary for expansion takes quite a long time.

LAMACON experts have studied the specifics of the production cycle in the company, component variations, basic storage parameters and other modeling prerequisites. During the project, it was decided to build two models that complimentary most fully solve the client's problems. The tactical model works in the medium-term planning horizon and allows you to optimize the production cycle, and the model with a short planning horizon makes it possible to accurately track serial.

Thanks to the use of the model, it now takes several hours to calculate one scenario during planning, and earlier it took several days. This allows the manufacturer to calculate more scenarios and schedule production more accurately. The simulation results are automatically loaded into the ERP system, which also saves time. Since an important aspect of pharmaceuticals is accurate compliance with standards, a separate data validation algorithm has been developed. To successfully continue working with the model after implementation, the consultants prepared reporting forms with the results of modeling in the necessary sections and conducted training for GEROPHARM specialists.

Pharmaceuticals are not just a business. Social responsibility plays a decisive role here: we must release on time a certain amount of drugs that are vital for patients. Do we have time to expect the results of manual calculations and numerous plan approvals? I think not. The flexibility of the model, the ability to take into account many prerequisites and the parallel calculation of numerous scenarios allows us to simultaneously take into account the market demand and choose the optimal production plan, prioritizing the necessary finished products, - said Polina Egorova, head of the planning department of GEROFARM.

Large model size, recursive planning, high sensitivity to input data: this was a call for both the command and the computational power of the tool. But as a result, the goals were achieved, so I am sure that the use of optimization modeling will help the pharmaceutical company make effective decisions and grow in the market, "commented Dmitry Krasilov, General Director of LAMACON.