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Essay on Genentech Case

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COURSE
Operations Management
WRITER
Group HZM
CLASS
M1412091
PROFESSOR
Vinod R. Singhal
Case
Genentech-Capacity Planning

Howard 1141209823 Maxime LECOCQ 1141209829 Junhai Zhou 1141209226‍

Genentech Case Suggestion The problem before David Ebersman, VP of product operations at Genentech, is fairly basic. The demand for the company’s drugs is expected to grow substantially over the next decade, and current production capacity is unable to keep up with that projected demand. The VP is, therefore, considering the details on building a new plant for cell culture production. There is a lot of uncertainty on the success of clinical …show more content…

The expected demand is not projected to rise above capacity until 2015, so they still should be able to catch up.
2. The second recommendation we would make is to keep the production facility inside the United States, preferably inside California. Since Genentech is concerned about building a third expansion in Vacaville, thus leaving their eggs in one basket, perhaps they can build the facility in South San Francisco, next to their original production facility. The primary reason for this recommendation is the need for the FDA to certify the production plant. Biological production facilities need to be kept meticulously clean, and there are very exacting standards that the FDA applies to these plants for certification. Genentech’s production process is also very labor intensive, requiring a high number of specially trained personnel – mostly scientists. These plants also require specialized maintenance – as in parts that very few companies in the world are capable of producing. It is very difficult to have access to both these two resources in sufficient quantities for the FDA to sign off on a new plant outside the USA. If they build the plant in South San Francisco, then Genentech can draw on the expertise of management at the SSF site. The new facility would also not expand the company workforce to the point where employees no longer feel they are part of the core team. Another benefit of the

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