👉 1st White Paper on the digitization of plant operational management 👈
February 27, 2024

Maximize Operational Efficiency in the Pharma Sector with Mercateam

In the competitive world of pharmaceuticals, operational efficiency is not just an advantage, but an absolute necessity. Companies face a constant race to innovate, while ensuring regulatory compliance and meeting the ever-increasing demands of markets and patients. In this context, Mercateam is emerging as a revolutionary solution, designed to address these operational challenges head-on. With people at its heart, Mercateam offers a collaborative digital tool that optimizes skills managementand training and operator assignmenttransforming the way industrial operations are carried out in the pharmaceutical sector.

Mercateam survey - pharma sector

Job growth and innovation dynamics in the pharmaceutical sector

The year 2022 saw a significant increase in employment in the pharmaceutical sector, with the number of salaried employees reaching 106,038, marking a major rise of 2. 2% between 2021 and 2022. This positive trend is part of a dynamic of constant innovation, with the French pharmaceutical industry positioning itself as one of the most dynamic industrial sectors.

The challenges of renewing skills and integrating young talent

Despite this growth, the sector is facing significant challenges, including skills renewal and the integration of young talent. The branch agreement signed in July 2021 exceeded its initial target by training over 9,600 young people by 2022, underlining the importance of work-study programs as a means of integration. However, the issue of workforce renewal remains a pressing one, with over 2,300 retirements scheduled between now and 2025, plus almost 11,000 departures linked to natural turnover.

The impact of digitalization and automation on skills requirements

Digitization and automation are radically transforming the skills required in the sector. The growing complexity of scientific disciplines and technological developments demand ever-higher levels of qualification. More than 58% of employees belong to a level equal to or higher than group 6 of the classification, which testifies to this rise in skills.

The need for agile, flexible talent management in the face of rapid market change

In the face of these developments, agility and flexibility are becoming imperatives for talent management. The pharmaceutical industry must not only anticipate future skills needs, but also rapidly integrate innovations and adapt to changing market demands. This is where Mercateamwith its advanced functionalities, is positioned as a key lever to support pharmaceutical companies in this transition, by offering a platform for dynamic and reactive skills and talent management.

Mercateam's key features

Mercateam offers a comprehensive suite of tools designed to meet today's operational challenges in the pharmaceutical sector:

  • Competency and empowerment matrixEnables companies to precisely map the skills and authorizations of their employees, ensuring that the right people are assigned to the right jobs. This feature is a direct response to the increasing skills requirements of the industry.
  • TrainingAutomate training paths to increase team versatility and agility. This is crucial at a time when the industry needs to integrate more than 9,600 young trained talents by 2022, exceeding initial training targets.
  • Automatic schedulingAutomatic scheduling: Integrates skills, authorizations and other operational constraints to efficiently assign employees to positions, a major asset for managing the challenges of renewing skills and integrating young talent.
  • Workforce planningAnticipates future skills and staffing needs, aligning long-term objectives with training and talent development strategies.
Employee training tool - Mercateam

Meeting the Specific Needs of the Pharmaceutical Sector

Mercateam provides an innovative response to the requirements of the pharmaceutical sector, providing a platform that facilitates proactive skills and training management. This enables companies to remain competitive in a rapidly changing market, where efficiency and compliance are paramount. The ability to plan and react dynamically to changes helps minimize downtime and optimize production.

Introducing Unither Pharmaceuticals

Unither Pharmaceuticals, a world leader specializing in Blow-Fill-Seal technology with a presence on four continents and products distributed in over 100 countries, has revolutionized plant team management through digitalization. This French company, with over 30 years' experience, has generated sales of 371 million euros in 2022 and employs 2,000 people.

Background and challenges

Team management at Unither Pharma before the integration of Mercateam relied heavily on Excel, a system that was difficult to maintain and impractical with its numerous macros and filters, requiring the schedule to be reprinted each time it was modified. The challenges were manifold, ranging from planning to skills management, activity tracking and temporary staff organization.

The Mercateam Mission

The adoption of Mercateam has enabled Unither Pharma to simplify and digitize its processes. The solution has provided a single platform for planning, activity monitoring (MOD), skills management (Standard Teams), and organization around the assignment of temporary staff, perfectly meeting Unither's needs.

Notable results

The impact of Mercateam on Unither Pharma:

  • Planning: A 50% reduction in the use of Excel files for planning, with real-time display of planning via touch screens in the plant, accessible to all operators.
  • Activity tracking (MOD): A finer breakdown of activities for improved cost tracking and a detailed history of teams and contracts.
  • Skills management (standard teams): The introduction of a "respect for typical teams" indicator for better management of skills territoriality, linked to production lines.
  • Organization around Temporary Worker Assignments: Setting up efficient data governance, with a single entry point for data standardization.

Operating income

Team leaders benefited from considerable time savings, thanks to improved data organization and the elimination of tedious manual processes. This transformation has resulted in improved collaboration and responsiveness within the teams.

This collaboration between Unither Pharmaceuticals and Mercateam is a perfect illustration of how digitalization can transform industrial operations, not only improving efficiency but also enhancing the ability to adapt and react to operational challenges.

In conclusion, the article highlights how Mercateam is redefining operational efficiency in the pharmaceutical sector. Drawing on a combination of advanced technology and a people-centred approach, Mercateam is responding brilliantly to the complex challenges facing the sector. Job growth, rapidly changing skill requirements and the need for agile, flexible talent management are major challenges for pharmaceutical companies. Mercateam, with its features such as skills matrix, automated training, automatic planning and workforce planning, offers an integrated solution to overcome these challenges.

The example of Unither Pharmaceuticals perfectly illustrates Mercateam 's positive impact on the management of industrial operations , promoting better resource allocation, targeted employee training and a significant improvement in operational efficiency. By enabling proactive management of skills and training, Mercateam helps pharmaceutical companies stay at the forefront of innovation, while ensuring compliance and effectively meeting market expectations.

And so.., Mercateam is not only an indispensable tool for companies in the pharmaceutical sector wishing to maximize their operational efficiency, but also a strategic partner in their quest for excellence and innovation. In a constantly evolving sector, the adoption of collaborative digital solutions like Mercateam becomes the key to turning challenges into opportunities, guaranteeing sustainable competitiveness and the ability to respond effectively to future needs.