With its multiple Allentown and Bethlehem offices, Sharp brings start-of-the-art pharmaceutical packaging expertise to the Lehigh Valley. As the headquarters of an international enterprise, Sharp’s Pennsylvania-based project managers coordinate the commercialization of primary and secondary packaging for over 50 new pharmaceutical products annually.
MRC Training Enhances Project Management and Customer Support Functions for International Pharmaceutical Packaging Enterprise
”The employees who complete MRC’s training are able to help us again and again.”
……. Rick Seibert, Senior Vice President of Technology & Corporate Development
Given this operational scale, Sharp’s project management team routinely coordinates more than 200 projects at a time—each with its own, highly specific requirements. Like so many others, the company weathered significant employee churn through the Covid years and ultimately found itself with several new team members in need of professional certifications or similar training.
Solution
Sharp’s senior staff has long understood the value of standard project management processes to successfully execute this complex volume of work. With as much as 30% annual revenue turnover due to new business and new packaging lines, and in light of recent employee additions, the customer service function would also have to standardize.
“We’ve always had a relationship with MRC,” says Sharp’s Senior Vice President of Technology & Corporate Development, Rick Seibert. “When we need structured training—whether for operations or back office, to support the client/relationship management, or in the Continuous Improvement group—our first question is, ‘what does MRC offer?’”
In this case, Seibert says MRC engineered a baseline program that Sharp expects to aid with onboarding of new customer service employees for some time to come. As a professional development effort, he adds, MRC’s formal training enables employees to develop as individuals while simultaneously benefiting the company.
“We invest a measurable amount of revenue in Continuous Improvement every year,” he says. “This training arms us with efficiencies to grow topline through client satisfaction.”
Sharp Bethlehem, PA
Seibert has first-hand knowledge of the benefits: he is one of several Sharp employees to complete MRC’s Lean, Six Sigma, and leadership development training courses. He says the company views the courses as key management-development programs—essential training for mid-to-senior managers without MBAs, and refreshers for those who have already completed that coursework. In both cases, attendees benefit from exposure to ideas and inspiration outside the organization. These meetings have also greatly improved inter-departmental collaboration, yielding incredible improvements in throughput.”
Results
- Cost Savings – MRC assistance with training grants and ongoing continuous improvement training has enabled Sharp to save more than $50,000 across multiple sites.
- Employee Retention – Customer service and project management training provided by MRC has significantly improved customer satisfaction and employee turnover.
- Waste Reduction – Standardization of Project Management practices across the Sharp organization creates higher efficiencies while also optimizing the overall client experience and satisfaction.
To learn more about Sharp, visit their website at www.sharpservices.com