A Different Approach to Inventory Management

Various factors drive a business to increase efficiencies in business operations. During the past two years, the state of the economy has caused many companies to examine their books very carefully and reallocate, eliminate, or re-evaluate where necessary.Such was the case for the Printed Components business of Catalent Pharma Solutions (www.catalent.com), a global, full-service printed component supplier with an integrated network of packaging operations. "The current state of the economy is forcing businesses to look at cost savings opportunities," says Adrian Stoch, general manager, Moorestown Printed Components. "In addition, the pharmaceutical industry has seen a shift to smaller order quantities." These two factors, he adds, have led Catalent to investigate operational and supply chain improvements and provide mechanisms for easier order processing. The result of this impetus is a new approach to an overall integrated supply chain between Catalent and its customers that includes inventory management, quote requests, product configuration, order processing, quality data management, billing data access, and artwork management—its eMagineering™ Suite.