Sourcing and Procurement

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Sourcing strategy and procurement support for cGMP chemicals, process liquids, and buffers

Efficient raw material sourcing is vital for parenteral and business success. Thermo Fisher Scientific offers a broad portfolio of multi-compendial chemicals, process liquids, and pre-made buffers to meet your needs, supporting projects at various stages from pre-clinical trials through commercialization. With our global reach and processes in adherence to ISO 9001, GMP and GDP standards, our sourcing team can help you optimize procurement, minimize risks, and facilitate supply chain continuity through redundant processes and sourcing strategies.

Our cGMP chemical supply chain management team offers the comprehensive support and technical knowledge needed to move your projects forward efficiently and effectively. With a global reach, we can source chemical raw materials and pre-made buffers from multiple trusted manufacturers and suppliers from our pre-vetted network. This allows you to have access to and select from diverse, multi-compendial chemical raw materials from multiple sources to help successfully fulfill your sourcing and molecules needs.

Sourcing

Finding the right chemical raw materials is central to the quality and efficiency of planning bioprocesses at any scale. Let us help you identify chemical, process liquid, and buffer specifications to support your regulatory and quality goals at each phase.

Procurement

Purchasing multi-compendial raw materials can be complex. Allow our team to assist with demand planning, price management, supplier relationships, audit facilitation, ordering, and inventory management.

Dual sourcing assistance

Dual sourcing strengthens supply resilience by qualifying multiple raw material providers that can meet stringent specifications, helping protect your Bill of Materials (BOM), mitigate contamination and delay risks, and support reliable availability of critical chemicals, process liquids, and buffers.

Stay informed with supply and market insights impacting chemicals used in bioprocesses

In the rapidly evolving world of biopharma, staying informed about the latest chemical supply chain developments is crucial. The Chemical Supply Insights newsletter is designed to be your essential resource for navigating this dynamic landscape. Typically delivered twice per quarter, this curated digital newsletter provides timely updates and in-depth analysis to help you optimize your bioprocesses and operations.

Benefits of applying strategy to sourcing and procurement

Strategic sourcing and procurement help to optimize purchasing decisions, reduce costs, and improve supplier relationships for better reliability. It facilitates risk management, helps streamline processes, support consistent quality, and allow for a competitive advantage.

Supply security

Enhancing supply reliability by leveraging trusted manufacturers and suppliers to help enable critical materials meeting process standards and quality requirements.

 

Quality assurance

Collaboratively evaluating source manufacturers and suppliers to support verification of high-quality raw materials for FIH trials and commercialization, reduces defects and delays, and strengthens product integrity.

Risk mitigation

Minimizing supply risks and improving on-time, in-full (OTIF) rates with dual-sourcing. Proactive vendor management helps maintain consistent material availability and reduces delays in biopharma workflows.

Operational efficiencies

Optimizing resources and operations for faster turnarounds and fewer delays by aligning supplier selection, contracting, and inventory with processing schedules and quality requirements.
 

Source chemicals manufactured in your region

Sourcing chemicals manufactured within your region helps streamline supply chains, reduce lead times, and support local regulatory compliance. By leveraging regionally qualified suppliers, you can gain access to materials that meet the same multi-compendial and cGMP standards while helping reduce import complexities and transportation risks. Regional sourcing also facilitates supply security, sustainability, and responsiveness—for consistent availability of high-quality chemicals aligned with your operational, logistical, and compliance requirements.

View the network by region

Alternate Sourcing Savings Program

The Alternate Sourcing Savings Program is a strategic procurement program designed to help you achieve cost savings on critical cGMP chemicals through alternate sourcing and supply chain consolidation. This program enables you to find spec-for-spec cGMP chemical equivalents to help you:

  • Explore annual raw material savings by procuring from alternate sources
  • Leverage our economies of scale to strengthen your purchasing power
  • Increase raw material supply availability with more chemicals spec'd into your formulations
  • Reduce threat of production delays with more suppliers qualified into your processes
  • Minimize risks of raw material inconsistency

Program case study

A CDMO client faced significant operating expenses, spending approximately $18 million annually on their most common 30 cGMP chemical SKUs sourced from an incumbent supplier who was a re-packer, not a source manufacturer.
 

Client profile

  • Molecule technologies: Recombinant antibodies, vaccines, monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), protein & peptide therapeutics
  • Annual molecule production: Over 10 molecules

Thermo Fisher Scientific leveraged its global network of source manufacturers to identify specification-equivalent chemical alternatives for the client's commonly used SKUs. A customized alternate sourcing proposal was developed, estimating substantial savings.

By switching to alternate sources for CGMP chemicals, the client significantly reduced their operating expenses, achieving substantial annual savings while maintaining product quality and consistency. The Alternate Sourcing Savings Program and Thermo Fisher team helped the client optimize their procurement strategies and reduce costs for large-scale chemical usage in the production of their biologics.

Bar graph showing percent savings for the top 4 SKUs after the CDMO has completed the Alternate Sourcing Savings Program

Click to enlarge

  • Annual savings: $9.8 million total savings for their commonly used CGMP chemicals
    • $7.5 million annual savings for just the top 4 SKUs
  • Estimated annual savings for top 4 chemical products:
    • Sodium Chloride (NaCl): 60% savings
    • Sodium Phosphate (Na3PO4): 85% savings
    • Dithiothreitol (DTT): 78% savings
    • L-Histidine: 72% savings


Disclaimer: The case study reflects a common customer scenario and has been provided for illustrative purposes. Thermo Fisher Scientific makes no express or implied statement, promise, or guarantee related to the information included herein. It is the responsibility of the recipient to obtain and rely on such advice from its own accountants, auditors, attorneys, or other professional advisors.

Service and product availability may vary by country and are subject to varying regulatory requirements. Please contact your local sales representative for availability.