Case Study
Private Equity Owned European Pharmaceutical Manufacturer Restores >30% EBITDA Margin and Production Stability Through SIOP, Process Control, and Crop-to-Plant Yield Optimization
30%+
EBITDA Margin Achieved
Strategic Imperative
To build on prior improvement efforts by creating a roadmap to deliver a predictable EBITDA margin in excess of 30% and a sustainable revenue growth plan - restoring the business to prior performance levels
Client Background
- Leading European pharmaceutical manufacturer and supplier of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API) to global pharmaceutical customers
- 45-year track record of best-in-class industrial operations in a tightly regulated, high-barrier subsector niche
- Business performance depended on coordinated demand planning, crop yield management, laboratory release, and production execution to convert crop-derived inputs into reliable API output
- Operating model combined agricultural yield variability, laboratory quality control, and asset-intensive manufacturing operations
- Market demand was disrupted by the suspension of non-urgent surgeries, creating uncertainty around volume recovery and production requirements
- Private equity ownership required greater predictability, stronger local execution, and a credible path to sustained EBITDA margin recovery
Key Issues & Barriers
- Demand planning, supply management, and production priorities were not sufficiently integrated, limiting control over output and margin predictability
- Poor coordination between farm yield management, laboratory, and production created weak flow calibration across the operating model
- High downtime and lost hours reduced throughput, creating underutilized production assets
- Laboratory and quality control workflows lacked clear short-order work assignments and sample prioritization protocols, slowing turnaround on production-critical decisions
- COVID-19 caused the suspension of non-urgent surgeries, creating market uncertainty around demand visibility and revenue recovery timing
- Missed commitments and limited performance predictability weakened private equity owner confidence in local management execution
Key Implementation Components
- Established a locked production schedule to stabilize priorities, minimize costly changeovers, and reduce downtime exposure
- Structured short-order QC assignments to accelerate laboratory releases tied to immediate production requirements
- Developed critical sample prioritization protocols to keep production-critical testing aligned with throughput needs
- Fully implemented an integrated SIOP process aligning demand assembly, supply management, and production, all driven by financial targets
- Implemented Daily Performance Reviews to reinforce production standards, surface gaps, and support corrective action
Benefits & Results
30%+
EBITDA Margin Achieved
12%
Daily Production Increase
80%
QC-Associated Downtime Reduction
22%
Lost Hours Reduction