Operational Excellence in Pharma: A Day in Dublin That Continues to Resonate

On 4 November 2026, we attended the Dublin Conference “OPEX in Pharma – Towards Deep Structures”, jointly hosted by the University of St.Gallen, TU Dublin and SA Partners. The central question was why excellence programmes in pharmaceutical manufacturing can lose maturity following major changes – and which deeper structures of culture, capabilities and regulatory context help sustain them over time. Research findings from almost two decades of benchmarking, perspectives on regulatory science and research undertaken for the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), together with an interactive workshop, made for an exceptionally substantive day.

For us, the discussion connected with a finding from St.Gallen research: in the sample studied, greater maturity in Operational Excellence – particularly in quality management – was associated with more favourable FDA inspection outcomes. This is an association, not proof of cause and effect, but it offers an important practical insight. Standards are most useful when they take tangible shape at the workplace: designated locations, clearly defined zones and materials positioned where the work instruction expects them to be. Housekeeping and standardisation then become visible and usable in day-to-day work.

With SmartRack® and SmartIntegrate, we aim to support precisely this point of implementation – where documented requirements become everyday practice. Responsibility for meeting regulatory requirements remains, of course, with the operator.

Our thanks to the organisers for an open, highly professional exchange. We look forward to continuing the conversations.

AI-generated illustration of laboratory organisation and Dublin; not a photograph of the conference or an actual laboratory workspace.

Further reading: University of St.Gallen: Dublin Conference, 4 November 2026 · Eich & Friedli (2021): Operational Excellence and FDA inspection outcomes