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SC-QC integration

How AstraZeneca QC attained supply chain synchronization with Binocs

At the 2024 Binocs Community Day, Eric Barnett, Director of Quality Control Capacity and Modelling at AstraZeneca, shared how the company’s adoption of Binocs transformed its quality control (QC) operations by integrating them into the broader supply chain (SC) framework. This groundbreaking initiative unlocked unprecedented collaboration and efficiency across AstraZeneca’s global network.

The challenge: AstraZeneca QC’s disconnect from SC

AstraZeneca’s QC operations, spanning 17 laboratories across 24 production facilities worldwide, faced critical challenges:

    • Lack of visibility: Without access to forward-looking demand data, QC teams relied on manual reports, delaying decision-making.
    • Missed alignment opportunities: QC lacked representation at AstraZeneca’s monthly supply consensus meetings, preventing it from influencing SC priorities.
    • Inefficiencies in resource planning: Limited data-sharing resulted in bottlenecks, increased costs, and avoidable overtime.

Eric reflected on the situation:

QC always wanted a seat at the table [in supply consensus meetings] and we could go but we weren’t getting any value from them because we didn’t have the capability to show what our capacities were.

The solution: Integrating AstraZeneca QC into SC with Binocs

Through its collaboration with Bluecrux, AstraZeneca deployed Binocs to embed QC processes within the SC framework, ensuring alignment and operational efficiency. Key steps included:

  • 1. Establishing a single source of truth

    Binocs consolidated QC and SC data into a unified platform, offering a clear view of demand and capacity:

    • Standardized reporting: “If you’re in Supply Chain, the QC outputs are all going to be the same reports no matter where in the globe you’re seeing capacity being presented from,” Eric explained. This consistency streamlined global discussions.

    • Long-term visibility: “What we have is a two- to three-year horizon of demand, so we can use that to analyze our capacity in the long run. With these data and insights, we can really collaborate and facilitate the conversations between supply chain and QC at our monthly supply consensus meeting,” Eric noted.

     

  • 2. Integrating QC into supply consensus meetings

    Binocs empowered QC to contribute meaningfully to AstraZeneca’s monthly SC meetings:

      • Capacity visualization: “Sites would know that they had overloads but they would have to look at multiple Excel reports, then try to figure out what’s driving the capacity challenges. […] So they would spend hours and days looking at that but now, in Binocs, we can look at those reports and get the information within minutes,” Eric said.

    • Scenario planning: Teams simulated the impact of adding analysts or equipment and quickly reprioritized workloads to address capacity constraints.

     

  • 3. Empowering data-driven decisions

    Binocs simplified the process of identifying and addressing capacity issues by providing clear insights into the root causes of constraints:

      • Late work analysis: Delays could now be traced back to specific drivers, such as equipment limitations or analyst competencies, allowing AstraZeneca to implement targeted solutions.

    • Demand pain points: Binocs enabled QC to share spikes or overloaded areas with supply chain and work together to evaluate flexibility or move products.

     

The results: Aligning QC and SC

AstraZeneca’s adoption of Binocs resulted in significant improvements across QC and Supply Chain operations:

  • Improved transparency: QC became an active participant in SC discussions, providing visibility into capacity constraints.
  • Proactive planning: The enhanced visibility also enabled proactive planning, allowing teams to allocate resources for non-routine work like validations or additional projects based on clear timelines.
  • Operational efficiency: Optimized resource planning reduced overtime and minimized budget variances. As Eric noted, “we can make sure that we have the right analysts with the right training capabilities and the right number of instruments at the right time so that we can meet our lead times and get our patients the medicines that they need.”

    What’s next: Embedding QC-SC collaboration

    AstraZeneca aims to build on its success with Binocs by:

  • Establishing a resiliency framework: Setting capacity caps to manage volatility while supporting new product launches.
  • Cross-functional education: Training QC and SC teams on each other’s processes to strengthen collaboration.
  • Enhanced KPIs: Developing Binocs-based metrics for productivity, sustainability, and operational effectiveness.

    • “Binocs is the key enabler that allowed us to see that data and really have great conversations with Supply Chain,” Eric emphasized.

    Curious to hear more?

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