A pharmaceutical company required a new dispensary at an existing manufacturing facility, to comply with evolving regulations while at the same time improving quality and efficiency in dispensing. This case outlines how a structured process was used to evaluate options for the dispensary, where the raw material for prescription and other medications are prepared for manufacturing. The focus on company objectives and criteria helped to achieve consensus among internal stakeholders with slightly different requirements and priorities

The dispensary is usually located not far from the warehouse where raw materials are received, or just outside the main manufacturing process facility. In this case the raw materials were primarily active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and excipients, which are inactive materials that serve as binders or fillers in the manufacturing process. In the dispensary the raw materials were removed from their original packaging, weighed and loaded into clean intermediate bulk containers (IBCs) for transfer to the main processing area.

While there was consensus about the need to upgrade the dispensary, several internal stakeholders had slightly different requirements and priorities. The company wished to review the options with the interested parties, and then decide on the preferred location and the preferred methods of dispensing, weighing and dispatching.

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