Results at a glance
The situation
The client is a pharmaceutical company based in Switzerland, operating a sales-led business model supported by contract manufacturing organisations (CMOs). While the organisation retained responsibility for demand planning, procurement, and customer fulfilment, manufacturing itself was fully outsourced.
The company had Sage X3 deployed as its core ERP system and employed a small supply chain team of six coordinators responsible for managing the end-to-end outsourced supply chain. Sales order processing was fully integrated — automatically generating subcontracting orders in Sage X3 — but the surrounding planning, visibility, and decision-making processes were not fit for purpose.
When the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted global supply chains, the organisation's ability to operate effectively deteriorated sharply. Lead times for critical raw materials — especially API ingredients — extended to nine months or more. Supply chain planners were required to commit to high-value procurement decisions based almost entirely on forecast data, and the business struggled to react when actual demand diverged from forecast. Customer service levels declined as a direct consequence.
The planning processes and systems that had been adequate in stable conditions were completely exposed when the operating environment changed. The organisation needed better foundations — not more complexity.
What made this hard
Fragmented planning
Each supply chain coordinator maintained their own disconnected Excel spreadsheets. No standardised or reliable management view of supply performance existed.
No S&OP process
There was no structured forum for balancing demand, supply, and inventory. Planning decisions were reactive and siloed.
MRP not running
Material Requirements Planning was not operational due to system misconfiguration in Sage X3 — a core planning capability had been left unused.
No supplier visibility
Purchase order status and supplier performance were not tracked systematically. There was no data-driven view of on-time delivery or risk.
IT as a bottleneck
The IT function operated in a reactive, firefighting mode with no formal change control, incident management, or service management processes.
GxP compliance gaps
Significant regulatory compliance risks existed within IT processes — a material issue for any organisation operating in a regulated pharmaceutical environment.
How Omletec delivered
Started with a baseline assessment
Omletec began with a comprehensive assessment of the supply chain organisation — not based on how processes were documented, but on how work was actually being done. This included end-to-end process mapping, detailed analysis of how Sage X3 was being used by business users, identification of all digital assets supporting supply chain processes, a review of manual workarounds and spreadsheet usage, and interviews with supply chain planners and key stakeholders.
Stabilised supply chain visibility and control
The first priority was to introduce basic operational control and transparency. Omletec established a dedicated supply chain control room, created a single shared view of purchase orders for direct procurement, and consolidated supplier commitments and delivery status into one place. Fragmented, planner-specific spreadsheets were eliminated. This immediately improved coordination and decision-making across the team.
Introduced a structured S&OP process
Omletec introduced the concept of a formal Sales & Operations Planning cycle, providing a structured forum for balancing demand, supply, and inventory. Activities included defining the S&OP process and decision cadence, identifying system and data gaps preventing automation, and establishing clear ownership for planning decisions. This created the foundation for proactive, cross-functional planning rather than reactive firefighting.
Fixed IT foundations and compliance
Recognising that IT capability was a limiting factor, Omletec conducted a review and audit of IT processes. The findings were significant — major GxP compliance risks, no formal change control, and no structured incident, problem, or service management processes.
Omletec addressed this by defining and implementing a formal set of IT SOPs, ensuring alignment with regulatory requirements, introducing ITSM practices based on ITIL, implementing FreshService for workload and change management, and introducing a Configuration Management Database (CMDB). This transformed IT from a bottleneck into an effective enabler of change.
Enabled Sage X3 to support the new operating model
With governance and IT foundations in place, Omletec focused on enabling Sage X3 to support the new supply chain processes. Working closely with the local Sage X3 support partner, Omletec corrected system configuration issues preventing MRP execution, established a core set of management reports using Sage's BI tools, and enhanced the purchase order process to track supplier performance and on-time-in-full delivery. This enabled data-driven review of supply performance as part of the S&OP cycle.
Before
Each planner maintained separate spreadsheets
No structured S&OP or planning cadence
MRP not running due to misconfiguration
No visibility of supplier performance
IT reactive and non-compliant
After
Single, shared view of supply chain performance
Formal S&OP cycle with clear ownership
MRP operational with corrected configuration
OTIF tracking and supplier performance data
ITSM live with ITIL-aligned governance
The outcome
Customer service performance (OTIF) improved from 45% to 75% — a significant gain achieved not through major system replacement, but by fixing foundations, restoring discipline, and enabling better decisions in an uncertain operating environment.
The organisation gained the ability to respond to demand volatility without excessive inventory increases, reduced its reliance on disconnected spreadsheets and manual reconciliation, and established clear visibility of supply commitments and risks. The supply chain operating model became more resilient and structured, and IT was transformed from a reactive bottleneck into a compliant, delivery-focused function.
Why Omletec
Omletec brings a holistic approach to supply chain and ERP improvement — addressing people, process, systems, and governance together. In this engagement, success was achieved by understanding how work was really being done, fixing the foundations that were holding the organisation back, and enabling better decisions with the systems and data already available.
Reality-based assessment
Started with how work was actually done — not how it was documented. Every recommendation was grounded in observed practice.
Foundations first
Stabilised visibility, governance, and IT compliance before introducing more advanced capabilities. No shortcuts.
Pragmatic, phased delivery
A structured programme of work that delivered value incrementally — each phase creating the conditions for the next.
Measurable impact
Customer service improved from 45% to 75% OTIF. Spreadsheets eliminated. IT governance aligned to GxP requirements.
The most effective improvements are often the least dramatic — fixing what's broken, restoring discipline, and enabling people to make better decisions with the tools they already have.