Macopharma Cuts Lead Times by 67% with Intuiflow

Macopharma, a France-based global leader in blood transfusion and biotherapy solutions, operates 3 production sites (France, Poland, Tunisia), 18 subsidiaries, and a network of 20–25 warehouses, delivering to 100+ countries with 2,000+ employees and €163M revenue (2021). In a regulated, life-critical market, the team needed a faster, more resilient way to align supply and demand across complex, multi-site BOMs and long lead times.

Executive Intro

Alexandre Mouroz, Supply Chain Director at Macopharma, oversees end-to-end supply for millions of blood transfusion kits and related components. Facing business-critical risk, he moved the organization to a structured, company-wide Business Continuity Management System (BCMS) and a demand-driven operating model to protect patient safety and service.

“As the supply chain director, what is most important for me is that I am much more confident in the inventory control we are going to have. It is very easy for me to have a view on what is going on in the multiple sites and around the 24 warehouses we have around the world.” — Alexandre Mouroz, Supply Chain Director, Macopharma

The Challenge

• Service vs. stock paradox: By late 2019, service performance had dropped below 90% despite holding more than 200 days of inventory.
• Single-source pressure: Key customers moved from multi-sourcing to single-sourcing (starting 2014), raising the bar for continuity and reliability.
• Regulatory intensity: Medical device/pharma requirements (GMP/GDP, local authorities) multiplied compliance and operational risk.
• Network complexity: Kits combine components and semi-finished goods sourced and produced across France, Poland, Tunisia, and external suppliers; logistics span global ocean freight to Oceania and the Americas.
• Planning burden: Legacy ERP + spreadsheets created firefighting, limited agility, and slow reactions to demand shifts.
  
  

“Resilience… means we must anticipate the danger before being affected by it. Managing business continuity was a key axis of strategy.” (Mouroz, webinar)

The Intuiflow Solution

Simulation-first → value proven before scale.
Macopharma validated a demand-driven (DDMRP) model to place decoupling points and size dynamic buffers at strategic positions.

Live in weeks; remote rollout under pandemic constraints.
Implementation began March 2020; after initial in-person training, the program ran 100% remote through June 21, 2021, with progressive rollout at three sites during 2020.

Autopilot buffer optimization and clear priorities.
Planners start each day in the system to see relative priority alerts, enabling proactive resupply and synchronized flow across plants and warehouses.

S&OP visibility to risk.
Central planning simulates future buffer behavior under demand scenarios and logistics constraints (including ocean freight lead-time variability), then acts by product family.

Tooling fit.
Cloud UI integrates with ERP; sites gain autonomy while central teams govern parameters and risk.

Why Intuiflow

Macopharma chose Intuiflow because it directly addressed the structural challenges their teams faced in managing a global, highly regulated supply chain. The solution offered clear advantages that traditional ERP and spreadsheets could not deliver:

• Replace rigid cycles (e.g., fixed 6-week PMP) with component availability and flow.
• Increase visibility across multi-site BOMs and 20–25 global warehouses.
• Elevate agility for single-source tenders running up to 8 years.
• Reduce firefighting vs. spreadsheets; focus on prioritized execution.
• Support BCMS with inventory positioning that mitigates disruption risk.

Together, these benefits provided Macopharma with the confidence to simplify flows, empower sites, and strengthen resilience in a highly competitive tender environment.

Implementation Journey

2015–2018: Build enterprise BCMS

• Company-wide BCMS designed to ISO 22301; everyone trained “from operators to the CEO.”
• Formal Director of Business Continuity role created and certified; internal auditor team established.
• Corporate risk register built and deployed to all 3 plants; monthly reviews at corporate and site levels.
• Live crisis exercises (not just tabletop), e.g., a two-month simulation of the Tunisia site blocked, shifting output to Poland; each exercise concluded with lessons learned and updated actions.
• 2018: Achieved ISO 22301 certification; positioned as a pioneer in the European medical device sector.

2020–2021: Demand-driven transformation

• March 2020: Kickoff training; lockdown days later → full remote program.
• Built decoupling strategy and buffers for components & semi-finished goods (bags, needles, filters).
• Transitioned planners to daily relative-priority execution; aligned suppliers with clearer demand signals.
• Adjusted red zones (buffer sizing) and lead times to absorb ocean freight volatility; placed strategic stock in select countries where risk was highest (targeted, not everywhere).
• Maintained delivery through COVID-19 with improved communication and risk anticipation.

2023 (plan stated in webinar): Move from R+ to Intuiflow naming/version.

The Results

Headline outcome: Lead time cut from 6 weeks to 2 weeks (67% compression) by securing component availability through buffers and decoupling.

Service restoration with less firefighting: From <90% service (late 2019) with 200+ days inventory to higher, more consistent service driven by prioritized replenishment and multi-site flexibility.

Continuity in a crisis: During COVID-19, Macopharma reported no delivery disruptions, crediting BCMS discipline plus buffer-based execution.

Supplier & site collaboration: Sites make autonomous, parameter-guided decisions; central planning iterates model quality and scenario risk.

Results at a Glance

• 67% lead time compression (6 weeks → 2 weeks)
• Service stabilized at higher levels across sites
• No delivery disruptions during COVID-19
• Agility for single-source tenders (multi-site flexibility)
• Targeted buffer increases where freight risk was highest
• Remote rollout across three sites completed during the pandemic

KPI Table

“Despite the pandemic, we improved our performance, maintained delivery, and increased confidence in inventory control across 24 warehouses worldwide.” — Alexandre Mouroz

Looking Ahead

Macopharma indicated plans to extend demand-driven logic across additional sites and product categories. With buffers protecting key raw materials and semi-finished items, the company is positioned to handle volatility, support growth, and uphold patient safety with resilient service levels and optimized working capital. Forecasting enhancements were identified as a next step (current process: sales-area collection into ERP; no ML yet), building on stabilized flows.

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Macopharma Webinar - Risk Management Culture