Companies produce products through diverse manufacturing facilities and complex workflows. The introduction of related systems, such as management platforms, plays a significant role in enabling integrated management and operation of these processes.

IBM Korea announced on the 29th that it will support Lotte Biologics' leap forward as a global contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) by innovating the enterprise asset management platform of the Syracuse plant it recently acquired from global pharmaceutical company Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS).

In the pharmaceutical industry, poor management of manufacturing facilities and processes can lead to quality issues for medicines directly related to human life and health. Therefore, governments around the world mandate regulations on pharmaceutical manufacturing and quality control, such as Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP), to ensure high quality assurance. To comply with these regulations, the introduction of a corporate asset management system capable of managing facilities and processes is essential.

IBM and Lotte Biologics have agreed to build an asset management platform for the Syracuse plant using IBM Maximo Application Suite (MAS). IBM's asset management and workflow support solution, MAS, leverages AI, IoT, and analytics technologies to manage the performance of various facilities installed across the enterprise from a single, integrated platform.

Lotte Biologics plans to work with IBM to complete the transfer of its Syracuse plant without interruption of business operations by 2024. Through IBM MAS, the company will monitor and inspect various manufacturing facilities necessary for process operation and manage the effectiveness of work processes.

This is expected to help maintain product quality and reduce costs by reducing operational downtime and controlling management points such as delivery dates, equipment inspections, and process management. Additionally, it is expected that work efficiency will be increased and operations will be simplified as equipment maintenance work can be performed in real time on mobile devices at the work site.

Lotte Biologics’ Head of Strategy Planning Kang Joo-eon said, “IBM MAS is a solution that is attracting attention in the pharmaceutical industry, and we judged it to be a trustworthy solution as it has many cases of satisfying various pharmaceutical-related certification systems in various countries such as the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Africa.” He added, “It provides various functions that guarantee data consistency specialized for the bio industry, has a mobile solution that improves user convenience, and supports various reports and is easy to link with other systems such as ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning).”

“For manufacturing companies with diverse facilities, systematic asset management that reduces operational downtime is a critical issue directly related to corporate profits,” said Park Cheol-beom, head of IBM Korea’s Sustainability Software division. “We expect the IBM MAS asset management platform, which integrates cutting-edge technologies and supports industry standards, to serve as a solid foundation for Lotte Biologics’ goal of growing into a global leader in the CDMO market.”