Photo Credit: Chugai Pharmaceutical
Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. on Jan 12, 2021, announced its digital transformation (DX) for manufacturing function in collaboration with IBM Japan, Ltd. Optimization of all value chains is one of the basic strategies of “CHUGAI DIGITAL VISION 2030,”.
As part of this strategy, the company is aiming to realize the digital plant. Partnership with IBM Japan, Chugai will accelerate drug development and respond to environmental changes through DX in manufacturing focused on people, to achieve improvement of productivity and reliability, as well as the promotion of work style reforms.
Under the concept of “Transform production operations with digitalization to increase productivity and add high value to human capital," the company is aiming to link and optimize people and operational data in the following areas; planning, direct operations, and indirect operations.
In the first step, planning is to establish a digital infrastructure to support new operations in Ukima Plant as a model case by mid-2022 and validate each measure for expansion to other production sites. In partnership with IBM Japan, an experienced company in leading DX, Chugai aims to reform people and operations by utilizing user-friendly systems specific to each work step.
Information from various data sources including manufacturing, quality and manpower systems will be consolidated in the common data infrastructure and linked to operation systems accessible from devices on each site. Chugai will utilize the information for operational reforms in a series of production activities, including efficient production/manpower planning and progress management, GMP documents search, and remote support for the production sites.
"Together with Chugai Pharmaceutical, IBM Japan will drive Chugai's DX to bring about autonomous manufacturing and the digital plant. As the economy quickly transforms to one that is centered around digitization, companies must work even more quickly than before on IT and DX, which support corporate management," said Masaharu Asano, Vice President, Sector Leader, Public & Communications, Enterprise Services, Global Business Services, IBM Japan.
