Tips to Improve Efficiency and Quality in Pharmaceutical Businesses

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article |Improve Efficiency|Tips to Improve Efficiency and Quality in Pharmaceutical BusinessesTo remain relevant and record notable growth in the pharmaceutical industry, companies need to make productivity enhancement a priority. But what does this entail? well, driving productivity in a pharmaceutical company involves seeking more efficient processes, equipment, and recruitment strategies.

More so, it is advisable that pharmaceutical companies keep track of the Standard Operating Procedures relevant to their industry and consistently match their current processes to what is expected. This will ultimately enable them to measure and know how much improvement is needed to maintain the standard. In this article, we’ll be looking at four ways to improve your pharmaceutical business’ efficiency and quality.

1. Evaluate Processes

The benefit of evaluating your processes lies in identifying and analyzing key areas in your company that need improvement. In manufacturing, this is referred to as identifying your pain points. For instance, you simply need to take a look at the flow chart of responsibilities in each department and ensure employees are aware of what is expected of them to operate at a high standard.

A good way to start this is through the implementation of process mapping. In a nutshell, this enables you to execute improvements in your process which will, in turn, improve your overall quality and efficiency.

2. Schedule Maintenance

Since a lot of things are subject to wear and tear, your equipment should be routinely checked. Go over their warranty timeframes, evaluate the equipment, and schedule maintenance in the areas it’s needed.

If you notice that any equipment needs a replacement, make sure you carry out extensive research before buying new specimens and SMC products for pharmaceuticals. This can undoubtedly be quite complicated and costly and the implication of buying the wrong one can affect your business for quite some time. In this vein, you should consider purchasing equipment with energy-saving capabilities.

3. Invest in Employee Training

It is no secret that one of the greatest assets a business can have is the people so, ensure that your employees are knowledgeable by providing training programs that educate them on processes, safety, and quality sustenance in terms of production. One important thing to note here is that, whenever the FDA carries out an inspection, they often look at the training programs offered to employees as well as quality standards to ensure that each Standard of Operation Procedure is in accordance with their guidelines.

In the case that it’s not, they may issue a warning letter or a form 483. Based on this, it is important to stay consistent when it comes to employee development programs because its a sure way to set your business up for success.

4. Promote Team Work

It takes the pooled effort from different departments working together to manufacture products and keep a business running. As such, it is imperative that strong communication across departments and between employees is maintained for a steady workflow and to build team spirit.

A good way to encourage teamwork is by incorporating team-building exercises and acknowledging good performance. This will help to boost employee morale, and high morale amongst employees does not only encourage them to perform better but it also boosts performance and brings success to the business.

Managing a Dropshipping Business Requires a Few Tricks of Its Own

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article | Managing a Dropshipping Business Requires a Few Tricks of Its OwnMost people reading this probably has a decent idea regarding how profitable and hassle-free dropshipping can be as a business model, which is undeniably true. However, as it is with any type of business model, there are a few tricks to it that a shrewd businessperson needs to be well aware of if they hope to make it all work in perfect synchronization.

Evaluation of Supply/Manufacturing Partners

The whole idea of dropshipping being a profitable, hassle-free business model depends on the assurance that you have a reliable and diligent supply/manufacturing partner. Therefore, it is critical that you evaluate the companies properly, before partnering up with them. The following tips could help in getting it right.

  • Order product samples to first check the quality
  • Check their history with previous partners
  • Look closely at the company policies regarding shipping timelines and how strict they are with maintaining them
  • Go for a “loose” or trial contract for 3 – 6 months to know if they are indeed true professionals

Those that end up with long partnerships with the wrong supply partner are likely to lose business credibility, reputation, and money. Every time their supply partner makes a mistake or does not bother to conforming to the dropshipping business’s standards, it’s their brand in front of the customers that lose out in every department.

Understand that Your eCommerce Website is the Only Asset You Own and Act Accordingly

Your dropshipping site is the only business asset you own and need to manage. Due to the nature of the business model, a website is also pretty much all you should need to commence with a dropshipping business.

On the other hand, if you end up with an unreliable host or build your site on a poor eCommerce platform, the whole business will suffer. High downtime, unscalable and overly expensive plans, a lack of sufficient automation features, extra charges for even basic tools, hidden costs, insecure and buggy platform design, etc. can all add up to the failure of your dropshipping venture.

In short, pay special attention to the host, platform, and web design because they are essentially what represents the whole business. To ensure customer security and assurance, go through the PCI Compliance details here to make sure you are not unwittingly breaking any of the set standards.

Devise a Strict and Penalizing Contract

Some companies in the supply chain are pros who would not let their partners down because they know it’s bad for business in general. Not everyone is so professional and practical, unfortunately, so you will need to have a strict and penalizing contract so that there are repercussions if your business’s standards are broken by your supply partner. Consult with a business law firm to draw up the contract and if it is fair, as well as strict, chances are that your dropshipping business standards will be respected by your supply partner.

There are other measures that you can take to further boost your chances of success in the dropshipping segment, but these are by far the most important ones to take care of. So, pay attention to the basics first and the rest you will learn about in time.

In-House or Outsourced IT: Which Is Best for Your Business?

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article |In-house or Outsourced IT|In-House or Outsourced IT: Which Is Best for Your Business?Presently, IT businesses have a lot of requirements and various tasks to be done from design, content creation up to development, marketing, and administrative work. Every task is important and requires human resources. The main question is whether to hire a full-time in-house team or outsource and bring in the experts only when it’s necessary?

In-house vs. Outsourced IT: What’s the difference?

The insourcing or in-house team is a practice when the work and tasks are performed within the operational infrastructure of the company. While outsourcing is a process of contracting experts, who are not affiliated with the organization, for completing specific tasks.

The main difference between the approaches is the way tasks, projects, and work are divided between the departments for strategic purposes. So, what is best for your company: an in-house or outsourced team? Both approaches have their own benefits and limitations. Let’s get to the bottom of the beneficial and negative impacts of each practice.

In-house IT team: Benefits and Limitations

Hiring employees to your in-house IT team, the huge advantage is that you can train them to your business’s specific needs, and the workers are always available. When interviewing the candidates, you choose only those who suit the requisite level of skills, knowledge, experience. Thus, you control, monitor, and track all the processes of hiring and work.

The deep understanding is the next advantage. The office workers know the culture of the company and are aware of all project aspects and business objectives. Besides that, they work with the project from the very beginning that means they know it in detail. Thus, the team can start to work immediately without a need to get familiar with it.

The high quality is an unquestionable advantage of insourcing that stems from the previous issues. When you build the in-house team, you can be sure that they will do their best, and you’ll get the results that suit your expectations.

The main drawbacks of hiring office workers can mainly relate to the initial financial outlay. Thus, you need to train the newbies of the team, and after you need to constantly update their knowledge and skills. That can be a costly affair.

That’s saying nothing about the regular salary with the full pack of employee benefits, including vacation, sick leaves, and so on. Besides, it doesn’t matter if there is a task for a worker or not, you need to pay a salary anyway.

Absence issues are the next pitfalls to mention. In case your team member is sick or just leaves the company, some time along with the money is needed on new hiring or endure project pauses.

Outsourced IT team: Benefits and Limitations

Due to the Deloitte global outsourcing survey made in 2016, there are two primary reasons companies outsource:

  • to cut costs;
  • to free the in-house team to focus on core business objectives.

These are the main advantages though. No need to pay high salaries or equip the workers. You can bring in the outsourcing developer, writer, designer, etc. with a specific skill set to take a certain task only.

That gives time for your full-time staff to complete and focus on core business functions. Outsourcing gives you access to the huge talent pool. Not only can you hire specialists all over the globe, but also the rates of overseas professionals can be lower.

The biggest cons of outsourcing IT teams is the poor quality of work and management issues. It can be a challenge to find a freelancer to meet the expectations and to accomplish the task in time.

Bottom line

Today the economic situation makes businesses more flexible and search for new approaches to stay afloat and competitive. Facing the choice between the in-house and outsourced team, it’s evident that there is no one-size-fits-all solution to this dilemma. When dealing with the right in-house IT team, the time, patience, and diligence is required. Also, you should clearly understand what skills are necessary for the business to be successful in the long term. In its turn, outsourcing can be a more cost-effective and immediate solution. However, as evidenced in practice, the best way is to combine these two approaches. Take the most important roles in-house, delegating some tasks like guest writing, graphic design, problem troubleshooting, etc. on-call to make workflows more efficient without additional expenses added.

About the Author

StrategyDriven Expert Contributor | Alexey KutsenkoAlexey Kutsenko is CMO at DDI Development company, that provides custom web & development services to worldwide clients. Alexey has a vast experience in building marketing strategies for various clients, defining the client’s needs, and leading digital marketing strategies in the company.

Benefits Of Migrating To Cloud Computing

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article | Benefits Of Migrating To Cloud Computing

More and more companies are moving their data to the cloud. The benefits of cloud-based computing are substantial and companies of all sizes and sectors are able to access these advantages.

Migration is the moving all of your data and applications away from a physical IT infrastructure onto a digital one is called cloud computing.

But, before you think of fully migrating to Cloud storage, you first need to consider an IT equipment disposal plan through a server disposal service provider or company. Here in Newark CA, there’s an expert by the name of “Dataknox” that offers complete equipment disposition, reverse logistics & equipment buyback, Cloud and asset management services.

However, some companies are still reticent to embrace cloud computing due to a number of concerns. They may not trust a solely, cloud-based system, fearing that it is more vulnerable to a cyber attack. Some companies do not like the thought of being beholden to an internet connection to run all of their key services.

Moving your IT functions to the cloud has a number of benefits:

  • Cost reduction
  • Scalability
  • Unlimited storage
  • Business continuity and disaster recovery options
  • Automation of common tasks
  • Security
  • Agile response
  • Increased uptime
  • Eco-conscious compared to standard IT systems

The most well-known cloud providers include Microsoft Azure, AWS, and Google Cloud. The type of contract chosen depends on the storage and performance needs of the company.

Gartner’s research states that 83% of companies will be using cloud-based platforms bt the end of 2020. The industry itself is thought to be worth $240 billion annually.

Cost Reductions

Traditional IT systems use more hardware, which raises the overall cost of buying, installing, and maintaining your IT system. IBM estimated that IT labor costs are reduced by over 50% when a company switches to cloud computing.

By using a specialist such as cdsla.com to manage migration, you can further reduce costs by transferring your data and applications quickly and efficiently, causes little to no disruption to your services.

Reduce Downtime

Downtime is bad for business. It can cost companies money and their reputation. Standard, physical IT systems experience 4 times more downtime than cloud-based systems.

When deciding whether or not to move to cloud computing, consider how the impact of your IT systems going down for any length of time would affect you.

Scalability

Your cloud services can expand or contract in response to your business needs. This allows companies to adapt to changes without having to spend money on hardware to cope with temporary increases in demand.

If there is a sudden increase in demand for services, a cloud-based system can cope with these without any interruption.

Environmentally Friendly

The advent of cloud computing has decreased data center energy consumption by almost 40%. That is a huge reduction and one that can be further improved as more businesses move to the cloud.

Business Continuity

If there was a sudden emergency that stopped you accessing your place of business, or affected your data (such as a ransomware attack), how would you deal with it? Cloud computing can allow you to fail-over to backups almost instantly as part of a robust business continuity plan.

If someone is threatening to hold your data hostage unless you pay them, you simply failover to your backup systems.

Taking Inspiration From Google For Your Business Premises

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article | Taking Inspiration From Google For Your Business Premises

Renowned for creating incredible workspaces that aim to increase productivity in their staff, Google has 70 offices in 40 countries, each of them carefully designed to be an appealing and inspirational place to work. Here are just a few of the most exciting and design-led Google offices around the world.

Google Zurich, Switzerland

Step inside Google’s European engineering HQ, and you’d be forgiven for assuming you were atop an Alpine ski resort. In fact, you’re in one of the company’s many zoned conference areas, which encompass a snowy “North Pole”, complete with penguins, an aquarium chill-out zone, and swing chairs for (literally!) hanging out while you work.

Google Tel Aviv, Israel

Another innovative Camenzind Evolution design that can inspire your business, this sales and engineering hub sits in a prime spot in Israel’s coolest city, focusing on Google’s EMEA activities. The office has themed designs across its seven floors. Each reflects an authentic Israeli scene; hence an in-house orange grove tipping a wink to one of Israel’s most famous exports, corridors mocked-up to look like heritage cobbled streets (complete with window-boxes bursting with colourful blooms) and even a tractor-turned-lounge to complete the weird and wonderful décor.

Google London, United Kingdom

The Central St. Giles Building in Covent Garden is situated in the heart of London’s theatreland, playing host to Google’s London “Super HQ” within an unmistakably British space. Designed by British firm Penson, the patriotic theme starts from the Union Jack-swathed reception and continues on throughout the building with Chesterfield-buttoned velour lounge seating in British Racing Green, reminiscent of a vintage town hall, and kitschy chintz wallpaper and wing-back armchairs suggestive of a retro “Granny Flat”. This quirky style of interior design celebrates all things London with tongue firmly in cheek.

Google Amsterdam, Netherlands

Finally, engaging local design firm D/DOCK to refurbish its Amsterdam offices, Google’s newly refreshed reopened in January 2014. With eco credentials just as impressive as the design focus, this makeover adhered strictly to an approved materials list that minimised toxins, while maximising efficiency in power and water consumption. You can easily take inspiration from this, creating an industrial environment by engaging a pallet supply company and re-using materials and equipment in order to create an office space that inspires and amazes all at once. The wellbeing of the staff was also a major driver, with all employees afforded a 180° view across Amsterdam from the multitude of windows that line the offices. Thoughtful decorative touches appear everywhere, with bikes featuring heavily in the design (a nod to Amsterdam’s pedal-power transport culture), plus cute and comfortable 1960s caravans, complete with deckchairs and faux grass, repurposed as enticing meeting rooms for staff to enjoy.

As you can see, Google has gone a long way to ensure their office spaces are inspirational and truly incredible. You can take this approach with your business premises, irrespective of whether you have a number of offices or you own a warehouse. You can still make the place exciting while productive and adhering to safety regulations.