Applying a System Dynamics Approach for the Pharmaceutical Industry: Simulation and Optimization of the Quality Control Process

Abstract

As countries interact more and more, technology gains a decisive role in facilitating today’s increased need for interconnection. At the same time, systems, becoming more advanced as technology progresses, feed each other and can produce highly complex and unpredictable results. However, with this ever-increasing need for interconnected operations, complex problems arise that need to be effectively tackled. This need extends far beyond the scientific and mechanical fields, covering every aspect of life. Systemic Thinking Philosophy and the System Dynamics methodology now seem to be more relevant than ever and their practical implementation in real-life industrial cases has started to become a trend. Companies that decide to implement such approaches can achieve significant improvements to the effectiveness of their operations and gain a competitive advantage. This research, influenced by the Systemic Thinking Philosophy, applies a System Dynamics approach in practice by improving the quality control process of a pharmaceutical company. The process is modeled, simulated, analyzed, and improvements are performed to achieve more effective and efficient operations. The results show that all these steps led to a successful identification and optimization of the critical factors, and a significant process improvement was achieved.