Lorenzo Pirrone
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Pirrone
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Lorenzo
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lorenzo.pirrone@unisg.ch
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+41 71 224 72 74

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Integrate or separate: lean and digitalization programs through the lens of boundary work management

2024 , Pirrone, Lorenzo , Grothkopp, Mark , Budde, Lukas , Friedli, Thomas

Purpose-Although benefits are promising, many companies face problems leveraging synergies between Lean and Digitalization at the program management level. This paper aims to identify activities to manage the boundaries of Lean and Digitalization programs. Design/methodology/approach-The research design follows a cross-industry multiple-case study approach. A total of 14 interviews were conducted with Lean and Digitalization experts from 10 companies. Interview quotes were mapped on a pre-defined list of descriptive codes and iteratively merged and excluded. Findings-We identified 12 activities by which companies manage the boundaries of their Lean and Digitalization programs. Three distinct boundary management approaches could be identified: collaborative, configurational, and competitive. A collaborative approach fosters governance, the belief in synergies, and the development of combined artifacts. A configurational approach creates combined responsibilities, assesses areas of collaboration, and fosters interaction across the organization. A competitive approach creates unclear responsibilities and exchange, perceives no added value in integration and follows separated implementation of Lean and Digitalization programs. Originality/value-This study sheds light on the boundaries of Lean and Digitalization programs and identifies activities to manage them. We derive propositions for the Lean and Digitalization program management. Moreover, this study positions itself at the forefront of research investigating how integration of Lean and Digitalization actually occurs or does not occur.

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Benchmarking Pharmaceutical Quality Control Labs - Holistic assessment of operational excellence in pharmaceutical companies

2022 , Gian-Andri Erich Steiger , Lorenzo Pirrone , Marten Ritz , Thomas Friedli

Through the years pharmaceutical companies have managed to apply Operational Excellence (OPEX) and Lean-thinking to their operations. Nevertheless, the majority still lacks behind when incorporating an end-to-end perspective. A first step to holistically assess the performance of pharmaceutical companies necessarily incorporates quality control (QC) in addition to manufacturing. Therefore, the St.Gallen QC Lab Benchmarking helps to position pharmaceutical QC labs from a broad range of pharmaceutical companies against each other.

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The Link between Plant Performance & Maturity - Seeing the whole picture

2021 , Bernasconi, Matteo , Grothkopp, Mark , Pirrone, Lorenzo , Friedli, Thomas

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Investigating the role of digitalization in operational excellence programs - a case study from the pharmaceuitcal industry

2023 , Lorenzo Pirrone , Matteo Bernasconi , Thomas Friedli

For years, manufacturing companies have been implementing Operational Excellence (OPEX) programs with the goal of effectively and sustainably improving their performance. Now, companies are also gradually recognizing the possibilities of Digitalization for advancing their operational processes. Even though both OPEX and Digitalization are directed towards the same goal of improved operational performance, there is neither an answer in research nor in practice on how they are or can be interlinked. That is, how processes and the organization to align and reconcile should look like? To address this question, we conducted 25 interviews with pharmaceutical companies. Thereby we interviewed corporate OPEX functions and Digitalization experts over a timespan of three years. That way we also examine whether companies have adapted and investigate patterns in their development. Our findings acknowledge that pharmaceutical companies aim to exploit synergies between OPEX and Digitalization for achieving higher operational performance. We further applied a dynamic capabilities perspective to identify how companies align OPEX and Digitalization. Our limitation is that we conducted interviews only within the Pharmaceutical Industry and that each company is unevenly reflected over the duration of the investigation. However, we mitigate that limitation by considering a rather large number of cases reflected in a sample size (16 companies) with a good balance of different company sizes (2.000 –110.000 employees) and business areas (generics, labelled, and contract manufacturing).

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Future of OPEX in Pharma

2022-10 , Mark Grothkopp , Lorenzo Pirrone , Thomas Friedli

What is the future of OPEX in Pharma? We look back at our series of publications in Pharma Focus Asia and provide an overview of how OPEX evolved in the industry during the past decades. Moreover, we suggest four propositions of future pathways of OPEX in Pharma.

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Development of a Procurement-4.0-PMS using the Balanced Scorecard

2021-09 , Pirrone, Lorenzo , Meyer, Dennis

Purpose: Performance measurement systems (PMS) are multidimensional, indicatorbased systems that form the basis for performance evaluation and management. In management research and in corporate practice, the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) is the most established PMS. In principle, the BSC can also be used in Procurement, but there is a lack of studies on its suitability or adaptation in digitalized Procurement 4.0. To close this gap, this paper develops an initial concept of a PMS geared to Procurement 4.0 with help of the BSC. Methodology: For data collection, a systematic literature review is conducted according to Durach et al. (2017). The results will be systematized in the development of a general Procurement-BSC and taken into account in the adaptation of the model to Procurement 4.0. Subsequently, the model will be validated by expert interviews. Findings: The results show that the holistic performance evaluation of Procurement 4.0 will become even more important in the future. As part of its new understanding, the BSC supports the development of Procurement into a value and strategy driver of the organization. Originality: To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first study of its kind. As such, it represents the starting point for further research.

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St.Gallen OPEX Benchmarking for Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Sites

2022-01 , Mark Grothkopp , Lorenzo Pirrone , Thomas Friedli

An understanding of own performance compared to a meaningful peer group is key to launch and sustain the Operational Excellence (OPEX) journey. The St.Gallen OPEX Benchmarking approach supports companies in that undertaking. This article illustrates how it differs from other benchmarkings and takes a look at the historical development of OPEX in pharma.

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