Speaker Preview
Jim Velez
Merck, Operational Excellence Group
In 2004, Merck & Co., Inc. had developed a basic model for a major vaccine product but the software application was limited. With the use of ProModel and ProModel’s consulting services, Merck now has a fully functional production level simulation that has been used as the basis of design for two new production facilities, totaling more than $400 million in capital. In addition, the simulation is being used by Operations Management to track the use of commodities/consumables, optimize the current batch size/production schedule and to improve resource utilization & maximize production output. The presentation will focus on flexibility & expandability of the application, the use of automating importing/exporting data, and examples of standard/custom reports.
Alan Poirier
Pfizer, Portfolio Management & Analytics, Director
Resource Forecasting - The Simplified Process
Any approach to resource forecasting must be robust, and sometimes robust can translate into “very complicated”, which becomes a large problem when you want to make forecasting part of ongoing operations and planning. A method will be shown for simplified resource forecasting that does not sacrifice quality, and is easy to create and to use. We will address the unnecessary complexity which may be built into resource algorithms (sometimes not necessary), and the benefits of simplification.
We will discuss several ways to understand future workflow – and the limitations of each forecasting approach.
• How complex do resource algorithms need to be
• The benefits of simplification
• Workflow: How many clinical studies will be delivered
• How to deliver an easy-to-use Resource Forecast
Erin Petty
Pfizer, Portfolio Management
Resource Forecasting for Development Therapeutic Areas
The Development Therapeutic Area (TA) organization at Pfizer Inc needed to assess resource requirements based on future portfolio projections. Business goals were to validate and refine demand versus onboard capacity; to align dollar and FTE targets using scenario assessments; and to assess the relative change (trends) in demand based on changes in candidate kinetics.
A resourcing forecasting solution was developed using ProModel’s Portfolio Simulator. The model provided consistent standards across TAs for modeling, for resource algorithms and for the application of current and future portfolio workload demands, enabling resource trade-off decisions at the portfolio level. The methodology can be summarized as creating templates based on cycle times and resource algorithms in Portfolio Simulator then populating the templates with the candidate and study portfolios. The data prompted engaging discussion within TA leadership and provided confidence in estimates of current and future resource demand.
Other speakers include:
Matthew Gabriel
Manager, Process Technology
Sanofi Pasteur
Robert Monty
Associate Director
Pfizer
Arun Kejariwal
Strategic Analysis & Planning
Merck |
