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GSK global QC operations: a revolution empowered by Binocs

At the 2024 Binocs Community Day, Stefano Temperini, Global QC Project Manager at GSK Vaccines, detailed how the organization leveraged Binocs to unify and streamline its quality control (QC) operations worldwide. Through the “Project BIG” initiative, GSK transformed its fragmented processes into a centralized, efficient, and scalable system, setting a new standard for digital QC management in life sciences.

The challenge: Disconnected and inefficient QC operations

GSK’s QC landscape spanned 10 global sites, over 100 teams, and 800 users. Despite this scale, operations were hindered by:

  • Fragmented visibility: Siloed systems made it difficult to forecast and align QC activities with supply chain demands.
  • Inefficient scheduling: Teams relied on spreadsheets and manual methods to plan and track activities.
  • Inconsistent processes: Different sites used varied workflows, limiting the ability to compare performance or share best practices.

Stefano summarized the challenge:

We saw that we had, in the QC teams, a great lack of visibility, loss of time in tracking data to perform the scheduling, and such a lack of alignment with the supply chain that we didn’t have sufficient overview on the short and the long term.

The solution: Harnessing Binocs to standardize and optimize

To address these challenges, GSK partnered with Binocs to implement a global scheduling and capacity planning solution. Here’s how they achieved it:

  • 1. Configuration templating for global alignment

    Binocs served as the backbone for GSK’s global configuration template, enabling standardization across all QC sites. Through Binocs:

    • Dynamic business rules were implemented to accommodate diverse QC demands, from release and stability testing to microbiology and environmental monitoring.
    • Standard workflows were developed, ensuring consistent prioritization and scheduling of tests regardless of the site or region.
    • Site representatives collaborated to ensure the global template captured real-world nuances while aligning with corporate standards.

    “With this global template [in Binocs], we built a standard way to schedule QC tests across all the labs that we have in the network. […] So we now have alignment on how we want to schedule the test across all the sites,” Stefano noted.

  • 2. Seamless integration with GSK’s IT architecture

    Binocs integrated seamlessly with GSK’s IT ecosystem, including SAP QM/EM and data lakes. Key benefits included:

    • Automated data updates: Daily API calls ensured real-time synchronization of demand and scheduling data.
    • Future demand forecasting: By pulling production plans directly from supply chain systems, Binocs enabled GSK to plan for both current and future sample needs.

    Stefano highlighted this game-changer: “With Binocs, we are now able to schedule different demands, like release tests, stability tests, and our microbiology labs, which are the most challenging. […] We have also connected Binocs to the production plan coming from Supply Chain and, based on this information, we are able to schedule both the received tests and the future tests, which is a significant improvement for optimizing our lab campaigns.”

  • 3. End-to-end implementation for comprehensive scheduling

    The project extended beyond core testing teams, incorporating lab support roles into the Binocs scheduling framework. This ensured:

    • A holistic view of lab operations, including auxiliary activities.
    • Full integration of all QC teams at the pilot Wavre site before scaling to 32 waves of global rollout.

    As Stefano explained: “We have not only put the testing team [in Binocs] but we have also added the lab support team into the scheduling model—and we’re talking about 400 [support] team members at the Wavre pilot site.”

The results: Transformative impact on QC efficiency

Binocs played a critical role in delivering measurable improvements across GSK’s QC network:

  • Enhanced visibility: Centralized dashboards provided real-time insights into lab activities and capacity.
  • Optimized resource allocation: Dynamic scheduling improved the use of personnel and equipment across sites.
  • Faster lead times: By aligning QC and supply chain planning, GSK reduced delays in delivering vaccines to market.
  • Consistent performance monitoring: Binocs enabled standardized KPIs and reporting, ensuring actionable insights across all sites.

“We have integrated Binocs automatically with the demand sources from the GSK system, including SAP and LIMS. […] This integration allows us to forecast which samples we will receive in the future, while we can also use the global production plan to estimate GSK production volumes for the next two or three years,” Stefano shared.

What’s next: Expanding the reach of Binocs at GSK

Having achieved 90% of the planned rollout, GSK is now:

  • Extending Binocs to its medicines network, encompassing 13 additional sites.
  • Enhancing data integrations to support real-time updates and new functionalities.
  • Collaborating with OMP to create an even more interconnected supply chain ecosystem, with full Binocs integration.

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