Scaling Pharmaceutical Operations for TauRx through ERP Transformation

TauRx, a pharmaceutical pioneer specialising in treatments for neurodegenerative diseases found their backend infrastructure and existing manual processes to be significant roadblocks to their expansion plans. To sustain their growth, they needed to bridge the gap between their sophisticated R&D capabilities and their existing legacy systems.

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Their core challenges centered around three areas:

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1. Lack of visibility in the manufacturing process and cost

TauRx relied on third-party manufacturers for their manufacturing operations. However, their existing basic ERP platform provided limited visibility into the manufacturing lifecycle. This made it difficult to accurately track production stages and capture the true cost of goods sold (COGS) for outsourced production.

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2. Fragmented and manual core processes

TauRx’s finance and procurement processes were largely manual, with a reliance on emails, spreadsheets, and disconnected legacy systems. This resulted in slow financial closing cycles and an inability to leverage real-time data and analytics for strategic decision-making.

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3. Complexity of multi-regional growth

TauRx’s roadmap included expansion across multiple countries and subsidiaries. However, their existing setup could not support:

·       Multi-currency and multi-tax environments on a single platform.

·       Intercompany transactions, which became increasingly frequent and complex as they scaled.

·       The need for a unified "single source of truth" that could maintain compliance across different regulatory jurisdictions.

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To achieve their goal, TauRx required a comprehensive ERP transformation that would integrate their entire value chain from vendors to customers onto a single, scalable digital platform.

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Recognising the need for sustainable transformation, we adopted a phased approach for an ERP implementation, prioritising business-critical functions.

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We deployed the Oracle NetSuite ERP platform to manage TauRx’s backend processes in Singapore and the UK. This included NetSuite modules across finance, procurement, and manufacturing such as:

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·       Procurement: A centralised procurement framework with customised forms for vendor management, purchase orders, and goods receipts, ensuring end-to-end traceability and control.

·       Manufacturing 360: A custom-built NetSuite module developed by Lancia to support the tracking and analysis of outsourced production costs. It also embeds quality and control checkpoints, ensuring that QC certificates are uploaded and linked as part of the production lifecycle.

·       Item & inventory management: Advanced inventory setup with custom vendor forms and goods receipt workflows.

·       General ledger & accounting: Established an accounting list of vendor and customer categories, tax codes, and currency exchange rates. Ensured strict internal controls with custom approval workflows for General Ledger entries.

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·       Accounts payable & accounts receivable: Streamline of Order-to-Cash and Procure-to-Pay processes by implementing custom workflows for sales invoicing, vendor billing, and automated batch approvals.

·       Month-end closing: Accelerated month-end closing through streamlined inter-company eliminations, currency revaluation, and tax reporting for both regions.