Wyeth Pharmaceuticals in 2009: Transformation at the Site Level

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Appropriate for general management courses emphasizing lean operations strategy implementation and large-scale change management across a network of global manufacturing facilities. In this case, site-level leadership, including senior, midlevel, and supervisory positions, must respond to a critical corporate directive to achieve a 25% cost reduction. Under the direction of an advisory firm, the development and implementation of an operational Transformation strategy is the responsibility of the new VP of operations. Three key elements of the Operational Excellence Transformation Program are described in detail and year-one progress in three first-wave sites is presented through interviews. Students must critique the progress and offer suggestions for the VP, who must evaluate the results at the three sites and plan for a continuation of the rollout across other sites. A teaching note (OM-1400TN) is available. Excerpt UVA-OM-1402 Rev. June 8, 2010 WYETH PHARMACEUTICALS IN 2009: TRANSFORMATION AT THE SITE LEVEL (A) June 2009 Wendy Kouba deplaned at JFK and retrieved her luggage. Then she headed for ground transportation and rented a car to use during her time at the Wyeth Pharmaceuticals (Wyeth) production facility in Pearl River, New York (Figure 1). Kouba had been appointed vice president of operations management in the technical operations and product supply (TO&PS) division of Wyeth in January 2009. She had been chosen for this position because, in her former role as vice president of corporate communications, her management style had inspired trust, and she had built lasting relationships with site leadership over the years. Her expertise and passion was in developing sustainable change in an organization through employee engagement. In her current role, she considered herself qualified to take on the challenge of leading change in a large organization, but she still wondered about her self-perceived lack of knowledge in the area of technical operations. . . .