Canadian drug company's FM strategy is far from generic

The generic pharmaceuticals industry is robust and growing, with some estimates predicting that the global market will exceed $500 billion by the end of 2028. For one Canadian manufacturer of generic cold and flu medicines, nasal sprays and other drugs, demand for these products has spurred business growth, which increased the complexity involved in managing the company’s facilities. In 2019, the company determined that the time had come to seek the support of a dedicated and experienced facilities management partner—enter JLL.

Supporting business growth with an eye toward mitigating costs

While this pharma company was expanding its facilities to support the growth of the business, it faced significant market pressure on generic drug pricing. The company needed to maximize the efficiency of its facilities management (FM) operations, especially when it came to managing vendor relationships and other expenses.

This company had never trusted the critical function of keeping its facilities running smoothly to a third party. But leadership also recognized during this growth period that an experienced partner with innovative ideas, sophisticated tools and a fresh perspective could both address short-term challenges and help set their business up for long-term success.

The power of a productive partnership

The drug manufacturer quickly tapped into JLL’s wide array of Integrated Facilities Management (IFM) capabilities, including both soft services (security, janitorial, fire alarms) and hard services (HVAC, landscaping, snow removal, interior and exterior lighting, electrical infrastructure, waste optimization and more). To put it another way, the partnership encompassed practically every inch of the company’s physical space. Since the business is headquartered in Canada, ensuring compliance with Canadian manufacturing regulations and requirements was a key consideration for JLL.

When it came to streamlining operations, JLL’s IFM solution was a game changer. We developed custom performance management dashboards to allow proactive monitoring of finances and maintenance history. The partnership also granted the company access to new tools and expertise that delivered significant value and made a tangible difference in the company’s facility management capabilities and employee experience.

Support for planned initiatives and unanticipated challenges alike

One of the most impactful outcomes of the IFM partnership with JLL is the enhanced structure created around budgeting and managing the company’s costs. In addition to a more detailed workflow for documenting and reporting expenses, JLL helped:

• Consolidate facilities expenditures onto one single invoice, eliminating the need to cut separate checks for dozens of vendors.

• Make introductions to synergy partners that allowed services in existing contracts to be restructured with volume pricing in mind.

As a result, the pharmaceutical company is saving time and money—and JLL has kept costs within the company’s budget, even as inflation increases. The company has saved nearly $1.2 million since bringing JLL on board.

The measure of a true partnership is not just what the parties can accomplish when all goes according to plan, but also how effectively they navigate unexpected challenges. For this company, working with JLL means knowing who to call in the event of a weekend power outage or burst water line due to frozen pipes. When scenarios like these unfold, JLL shows up with the full depth and breadth of its expertise and resources to minimize the disruption to the business’s operations. For example, when a system failure occurred on a weekend upon restarting after a scheduled power outage, the manufacturer was able to source replacement parts and restore operations by noon on Monday, thanks to JLL’s help.

In addition, with JLL’s guidance, the company safely welcomed its employees back to the workplace following COVID-19 lockdowns.

In the years since this generic drug manufacturer first hired JLL, the partnership between the two organizations has grown and evolved. The JLL team supporting the company has doubled in size, and JLL continues to onboard new talent to serve its needs. The company is also relying on JLL in even greater ways—for example, partnering to create a new green committee to explore ways to reduce paper, manage waste and make other environmental improvements within its facilities.

Scaling a business—especially in a highly regulated environment like pharmaceutical manufacturing—is not without challenges. Partnering with JLL helps this company navigate these challenges, whether anticipated or unexpected, to support continued business growth.

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