Program Meets Regulatory Requirements Ahead of Schedule and Under Budget

The program was completed six months ahead of schedule and $2 million under budget.

Company

A global top five consumer products company that manufactures and markets brand-name food products for consumers throughout the world.

Challenge

With a legislative deadline looming over more than $260 million (Net Sales Value) worth of products, the company had less than two years to reformulate, test, produce, and distribute over 450 of its products in order to meet the local municipalities deadlines for regulatory compliance using FDA guidelines. The existing internal corporate team was not able to handle the workload. Milestones were being missed, products were falling through the cracks, and the compliance program was behind schedule. The organization’s goal was to complete 80% of the impacted products prior to the regulatory deadline, and meeting this goal was in jeopardy.

Solution

The company decided that its best course of action was to seek a quick assessment from an outside source. They selected PM Solutions to review their current program management team structure and evaluate their existing methodology against industry best practices and current realities within the organization. After the assessment, they again called upon PM Solutions to assume management oversight for the compliance program. PM Solutions’ quickly assembled an onsite team to apply more rigorous program controls relative to scheduling, cost estimating, resource projections and progress reporting (including the development of an executive dashboard with key metrics). To orchestrate an initiative of this magnitude, the program needed to be managed as a coordinated effort. PM Solutions’ onsite team interacted with nearly 150 internal staff and external vendors representing 15 different departments and 9 manufacturing facilities (both owned and co-packing). 

Results

The program was completed six months ahead of schedule and $2 million under budget. While approximately 450 products were directly affected by the regulatory requirements, more than 1250 total products with a Net Sales Value over $375 million were reformulated as part of this initiative due to shared formulations within these products. Under the guidance of PM Solutions’ onsite team, the 80% completion goal was far surpassed, with 93% of the required work actually completed by the regulatory deadline. The remaining work was quickly completed within a month thereafter. These outcomes are in large part attributed to effi ciencies created as a result of the coordinated approach put in place and managed by PM Solutions’ onsite team. A structured program process was introduced and implemented, the team was willing to challenge the status quo to simplify the reformulation process, and clear accountability ensured work was being completed as planned.Information was communicated with stakeholders on a regular basis, and timelines were met because the program elements were organized, tracked, and measured against an established baseline.

The work that PM Solutions performed on this program was noticed by another line of business within the organization. As a result, PM Solutions is currently helping to manage a simplification effort that involves streamlining the division’s portfolio of products and growing brand reorganization.