Company Profile
Since 2009, this leading global manufacturer of precision instruments crucial for scientific research has been working with MAG45 to overcome complex tail supply challenges. With an international footprint spanning multiple production sites in Europe and the United States, the client—a well-known lab equipment OEM—struggled with inefficiencies resulting from years of organic growth and acquisitions. The result was a fragmented, inconsistent supply base with minimal standardization across sites. Over the years, the partnership with MAG45 has grown from a single-site pilot to a global, integrated supply program across many of the client’s sites.
Industry Context: A Compliance-Driven Environment
Lab equipment OEMs operate in a highly regulated environment shaped by ISO 13485, FDA (for the U.S. market), and MDR (in the EU). These frameworks demand full traceability, validated documentation, and a high degree of control over the supply chain. For manufacturers, this is increasingly challenging due to:
- Rapid regulatory changes.
- Complex, multi-tiered supply chains.
- Difficult audits and supplier qualification procedures.
- Rigid internal processes that limit flexibility.
These realities elevate the risk of non-compliance and add significant administrative workload across procurement, quality, and operations. MAG45 recognized the need for a compliant, scalable, and efficient approach to tail supply—particularly in such high-stakes, high-precision industries.
The Challenge
Before partnering with MAG45, the client was managing over 1,700 tail suppliers across various global sites. Each of these suppliers contributed to a bloated administrative workload and a lack of standardization in sourcing, leading to multiple compliance-related risks. This fragmented supply base resulted in:
- High invoice volumes and procurement overhead, increasing the complexity of financial and compliance audits.
- Limited sourcing leverage and inconsistent pricing, making it difficult to enforce unified supplier standards or contractually embed regulatory compliance requirements.
- Inadequate part traceability and delayed audits, as documentation was scattered and supplier information was inconsistent or incomplete.
- Frequent disruptions in production due to supply gaps, further complicating compliance with production validation protocols and quality standards like ISO 13485.
Attempts at consolidation were hindered by the technical complexity of the products and the regulatory burden of switching suppliers, which required revalidation of parts and processes. Internal engineering and service teams were forced to spend excessive time on part identification, sourcing, and supplier follow-up—time that could otherwise be spent on innovation or value-adding activities.
The Solution: Integrated Tail Supply
MAG45 implemented an Integrated Tail Supply solution to streamline and professionalize the client’s tail-end supply chain. This meant unifying sourcing, inventory management, compliance handling, and documentation into a single streamlined service.
Key solutions include:
- Supplier Consolidation: Reduced supplier base from 1,700+ to ~350, simplifying compliance checks and documentation.
- Tail Supply Management: managing more than 2,000 compliant suppliers and 4,000 items.
- Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI): Ensured certified components are always available, avoiding risky last-minute part swaps.
- Stock-at-Hand Solutions: Installing 23 workstations with 2,400 items on production floors guaranteed validated, compliant parts for assembly.
- Kitting: 421 complete kits containing 3,500 verified parts, significantly reducing errors during regulated installation and service procedures.
- Resident Engineering: On-site MAG45 experts resolved compliance issues quickly and supported audit readiness.
- Global Rollout: Consistent implementation across all sites established a unified, compliant supply standard.
Our Compliant Way of Working
The implementation started with comprehensive data cleansing and process mapping. MAG45 identified high-risk compliance areas and built tailored frameworks to mitigate them. For each recurring item, compliance requirements such as ISO 13485, MDR, PFAS-free, MSDS, and testing certifications were defined and validated at the point of delivery. All documentation was digitized and made instantly accessible—either attached to deliveries or stored in client-specific portals.
MAG45’s structured compliance framework includes:
- Continuous certification reviews.
- Supplier qualification & onboarding.
- Proactive risk assessments.
- End-to-end traceability solutions.
- Audit-ready documentation & automated workflows.
This ensures full audit-readiness and drastically reduces the risk of non-compliant parts entering production.
Looking Ahead
With a solid foundation in place, the client is continuing to scale the partnership. MAG45 now supports major production line relocations and M&A integration. Discussions are underway to embed MAG45 into the client’s New Product Introduction (NPI) processes, in order to select tail products early in the process where MAG45 has the leverage, and ensuring compliance and traceability from day one.