The increasing globalization has necessitated the companies, that are merging or acquiring an already existing enterprise, to integrate the supply chains smoothly. The Shire-Takeda merger is a perfect illustration of this, with a $62 billion worth of the business transaction, this merger became a historic achievement in the history of the drug industry and even raised the bar with regards to the management of the supply chains .
Rohit Singhal, a distinguished leader with extensive knowledge of supply chain management, acted as the lead for the SCM function in this merger. He was entrusted with the more complicated aspect of managing an amalgam of supply chain operations across the organisation’s international span. When two big pharmaceutical firms are merging, aligning supply chains for the respective drug products is one is one of the primary issues. The integration of Shire and Takeda took a lot of work across many different countries, and a careful infrastructure and supply chain solution design had to be set in place for there to be any operations after the merger. By leading the supply chain management solution, Singhal put in place a system that enhanced cross functional synchronisation in real time thereby aiding in the integration of systems like GTS (Global Trade Services), WM (Warehouse Management) and IBP (Integrated Business Planning). The firms benefited from improvement in supply chain operations which helped control movement of products across both the brands.
The consolidation created a platform for minimizing operational costs. “By redesigning the 3PL/4PL partner models and optimizing inventory management, I enabled better real time EDI data interfacing”, Singhal mentioned. He enabled the reduction of the inventory holding cost by 15% through improved inventory management and real-time EDI data interfacing. His efforts not only promoted a better flow of the goods but also helped in achieving our aim of being flexible when it comes to operations.
However, data integrity was a significant hurdle that was posed by the merger. As the data migration and cleansing lead, SQL was used as part of the data validation process and this helped to decrease the order-processing mistakes by 20%. This development not only increased the precision of the supply chain data but also facilitated improvements in planning, procurement and inventory controlling.
The difficulty involved in merging supply chains is often made worse by the variability of business process requirements across different departments. Singhal’s initiatives in harmonizing the enterprise structures, intercompany setups, and revenue recognition requirements, simplified process as well as increased operational efficiency across the organization. The heightened togetherness was exemplified by the reduction in lead times of certain processes that transcended supply chain activities by 10%.
Considering the ups and downs that were faced in the merger, one of the conclusions that he made were on the importance of digital transformation in supply chain management. Contemporary supply chain management has advanced due to the pace and volume of data across the enterprise’s internal and external processes, which is critical in making any decision and acting upon it. This acquisition was not only about getting systems in place, but it was also about utilizing data as a resource in the promotion of operational efficiency.
Singhal has also contributed to the industry in various ways including his research paper, “A Deep Dive into Cutover Strategy Formulation, Planning and Execution for an SAP Implementation Project” that outlines the cutover strategy and planning for large-scale SAP greenfield implementations across multiple business functions.
In conclusion, the industry experts believe that several developments are expected to have an impact on supply chain management. “I see automation and AI-driven supply chain optimization becoming integral to maintaining competitive advantage”, said Rohit Singhal. In addition, the cloud computing applications like SAP S/4HANA are being adopted to enhance agility and supported business process expansion to ease challenges associated with mergers and acquisition activities. As highlighted by the professional, the rise of digital twin technology is expected to revolutionize supply chain management. Digital twins are virtual models that mirror real-world systems, allowing businesses to simulate and predict outcomes based on real-time data. This will be particularly valuable in complex global mergers, such as Shire-Takeda, to monitor integration processes and reduce risks.
