Cyclical packaging planning at a pharmaceutical company

The total yearly costs of medicine usage in The Netherlands are increasing year after year. The Dutch government tries to get this increase under control by price regulations, which forces pharmaceutical manufacturers in The Netherlands to manufacture and distribute more efficiently. In this case study, we analyse for a particular pharmaceutical manufacturer in The Netherlands, whose name is confidential, the outsourcing of distribution in combination with a cyclical planning procedure of the packaging of medicines. Next, this cyclical packaging plan is linked with a new order procedure. The proposed cyclical packaging plan together with the new order procedure appeared to be very favourable compared to the present procedures.