Sectors / Pharmaceutical / Tosara Pharma – Operational Excellence Case Study

Case Study · Pharmaceutical

Tosara Pharma: From crisis to Lean Business of the Year

How a traditional pharmaceutical manufacturer transformed itself from crisis point to winning Enterprise Ireland’s Lean Business of the Year 2018 — through a decade of employee-led continuous improvement.

Pharmaceutical Operational Excellence Kaizen Events 5S Value Stream Mapping Standard Work

Industry

Pharmaceutical / Consumer Healthcare

Programme

Operational Excellence

Location

Baldoyle, Dublin

2009→2018

Decade-long Lean transformation journey

EI Award

Enterprise Ireland Lean Business of the Year 2018

5 tools

Kaizen, SMED, Kanban, VSM, 5S applied

The Problem

A traditional manufacturer at crisis point

Prior to 2009, Tosara Pharma could be considered a traditional manufacturing company. As the business was growing — Sudocrem is sold in over 50 countries as a “heritage” and “superbrand” product — the focus was entirely on market growth with little consideration for operational efficiency.

By 2009, things had reached crisis point:

The company’s manufacturing processes had not kept pace with market growth
Operational inefficiencies were eroding margins despite strong sales
The assembly line was a particular bottleneck — with a single label applicator processing 3,000-label rolls, taking 18–22 minutes per roll and 3 minutes per changeover
No structured approach to identifying or solving operational problems
No culture of continuous improvement — issues were managed reactively rather than proactively
The gap between market success and operational capability was unsustainable

Tosara engaged LeanTeams in 2009, beginning a transformation journey that would span a decade and ultimately win national recognition.

INSERT PHOTO — client workspace, team meeting, or relevant image

The Journey

A decade of employee-led transformation

Challenge

Key Challenges

Tosara’s leadership recognised the need to:

Fundamentally transform manufacturing operations — not just make incremental tweaks
Build a culture where employees identify and solve problems as part of their daily work
Address specific bottlenecks like the label applicator changeover on the assembly line
Implement Lean tools systematically across the entire operation
Create sustainable improvement capability that would outlast any single project

Solution

The Lean Solution

The Site Production Specialist / OPEX Site Lead drove a comprehensive programme applying multiple Lean tools:

Kaizen events across the operation — team brainstorming to surface and prioritise improvement opportunities
SMED (Single Minute Exchange of Dies) on the assembly line — reducing label roll changeover time from 3 minutes toward the “single minute” target
Kanban systems for material supply — ensuring labels and components were available when needed without excess inventory
Value Stream Mapping to visualise end-to-end processes and identify non-value-adding steps
5S Workplace Organisation across the facility — creating organised, standardised work environments
Consistent investment in employee training and engagement over a decade

“The Lean Manufacturing tools (5S and Kaizen) and concepts will provide measurable profits.”
— Tosara Pharma, Enterprise Ireland Lean Business of the Year 2018

Our Approach

8-Step Problem-Solving Process

This wasn’t a single project — it was a decade-long cultural transformation. The OPEX Site Lead applied five major Lean tools systematically across the operation, building capability and momentum over time.

Problem

Traditional manufacturer at crisis point. Growing market but operational inefficiency eroding margins. No CI culture.

Current State

Mapped key processes including assembly line. Label applicator: 18–22 min per roll, 3 min changeover, single machine bottleneck.

Target

Build operational excellence capability. Reduce bottlenecks. Create sustainable continuous improvement culture.

Root Cause

No structured problem-solving. No Lean tools. Focus entirely on market growth with no operational investment.

Countermeasures

Kaizen events, SMED on assembly line, Kanban for material supply, VSM for process visibility, 5S across the facility.

Implementation

Phased implementation over multiple years. Employee training embedded in the culture. OPEX Site Lead driving systematic change.

Evaluation

Manufacturing capability transformed. Assembly line bottleneck reduced. Employee engagement in CI established. National recognition achieved.

Standardisation

Lean tools embedded in daily operations. Enterprise Ireland Lean Business of the Year 2018. Ongoing improvement culture sustained.

INSERT PHOTO — process artifact, team, or results visual

Key Outcomes

From crisis to national recognition

The decade-long transformation delivered results at every level:

Enterprise Ireland Lean Business of the Year 2018. Tosara was recognised nationally for outstanding achievements in manufacturing excellence — competing against companies across all industries.
Assembly line bottleneck resolved. SMED, Kanban and 5S transformed the production line from a bottleneck to a flexible, efficient operation.
Employee-driven culture of improvement. Multiple employees identified and delivered their own improvement projects — the regulatory training case study being one example among many.
Measurable operational savings. As the company stated: “The Lean Manufacturing tools (5S and Kaizen) and concepts will provide measurable profits.”
Sustainable capability. The transformation wasn’t dependent on external consultants — it built internal capability that continues to drive improvement.

Learnings

Transformation takes time — Tosara’s journey from crisis to national award took a decade of consistent effort. There are no shortcuts to cultural change.
The catalyst was crisis — but the sustaining force was leadership commitment and employee engagement over years.
Multiple tools applied systematically (Kaizen, SMED, Kanban, VSM, 5S) compound each other’s benefits — no single tool would have achieved this transformation alone.
National recognition (EI Lean Business of the Year) validates the approach and creates pride that further strengthens the improvement culture.
Starting from crisis point actually helped — the urgency made the case for change undeniable.

Conclusion

Proof that Lean transforms pharmaceutical manufacturing

Tosara Pharma’s journey from crisis point in 2009 to Enterprise Ireland Lean Business of the Year in 2018 is the most compelling proof we have that sustained Lean investment transforms pharmaceutical manufacturing. It wasn’t one project or one tool — it was a decade of consistent, employee-led improvement supported by leadership commitment. The result is a company that manufactures a globally recognised product with operational efficiency that earned national recognition.

LeanTeams has worked with Tosara Pharma since 2009 — our longest-standing client relationship. You may also be interested in: Tosara Pharma – Regulatory Training. All our case studies are available on our sectors page.

Tools & Approaches Used