Custom Manufacturing

Choosing the right CDMO partner for your project can make your manufacturing venture an absolute dream, or your worst nightmare.  Once you are at the height of manufacturing, it is not the time to juggle misunderstandings over timelines, critical milestones and project goals. At this point it is assumed that you have evaluated your project and decided on your internal requirements.  You have carefully crafted your RFP and are now ready to start down the path to vendor selection–which companies will get the chance to bid on your business? Companies have taken a variety of approaches in choosing companies to contact.  Everything from calling a friend in the industry for a reference to the “shotgun” approach of cold calling everyone they can find.  Which is the best choice?  Neither.  What is the best option?  It depends.  There is no one size fits all recipe for selecting a partner.

Last week, we detailed some of the inward questions that should be covered as you begin outsourcing your project to a CDMO. Now we will focus on some of the best practices for crafting your Request for Proposal (RFP). Miscommunication and problems that could be avoided are often directly attributable to a poorly crafted RFP.  An effective RFP will convey clearly the scope of the project, deliverables and the timeline.

The story is a common one.  Your organization has just acquired a new asset and you are responsible for finding the custom development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) that is going to take you all the way to commercialization.  If only it were that simple.  Here are some questions that you should ask yourself before you even approach a CDMO, let alone begin a draft of that all important request for proposal (RFP).