Pharma Procurement Playbook: The Pharma Executive's Guide To Strategic Supplier Selection

By Matthew Holt and Graham Phillipson, Founders and Managing Directors of Collaborative Sourcing

Pharma supplier selection is one of those decisions that looks straightforward until it goes wrong. Pick the wrong contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) or active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) manufacturer and you're looking at quality failures, supply chain gaps, and a timeline that slides out from under you, often when you can least afford it.

The trap most organizations fall into is a siloed process. Procurement chases cost. R&D chases technical fit. Neither team sees the full picture, and the result is a partnership that solves one problem while quietly creating three others.

This playbook from Matthew Holt and Graham Phillipson of Collaborative Sourcing takes a different approach entirely. It builds the case for cross-functional teams from day one, with QA, regulatory affairs, supply chain, legal, and finance all contributing before you even draft your first request for proposal (RFP).

The 5-Cs evaluation framework at the center of the methodology, covering capability, capacity, cost, compliance, and collaboration, gives your team a structured scoring tool with pre-agreed weightings that removes the subjectivity that derails so many selection processes. Contributors including Jill Robbins, Len DeCandia of Johnson and Johnson, and Dr. Roxana Timmermans of MSD add real-world perspective on what makes these partnerships succeed or fail.

Download now to build a CDMO and supplier selection process your organization can defend to regulators, leadership, and the patients depending on your therapies.