Meet Patrick Frey, Head of Contract Manufacturing ad interim

Dedication and expertise are key qualities necessary to provide flexible solutions to our customers, and we are lucky to have an expert group supporting our #ContractManufacturing efforts. Our colleagues have been sharing their insights into pharmaceutical manufacturing and how they make the most of Acino’s state-of-the-art facilities to contribute to our customers’ #outsourcing strategy.

Visit our Liesberg site virtually.

Q: What’s your role at Acino? 

I am Head of Contract Manufacturing ad interim. My responsibilities include stakeholder, project and supply chain management, contract and price negotiations. Seeing our customers satisfied is what matters the most to me and this is what I part from in our collaboration.

Internally I report on sales, drive ongoing projects forward and make strategic decisions on the future of Acino Contract Manufacturing. I really enjoy how varied this job is.

Q: How do you ensure that these processes run smoothly? 

The most important factor is working with a proactive communication mindset. I gather as much information as possible to align with internal functions and understand their position to drive discussions to a fast solution. Being creative and flexible is essential for smooth roll outs.

Q: What are the challenges you face in your daily work and how do you handle them? 

Sometimes customer expectations may differ from ours, so it is crucial to understand their needs to provide the necessary guidance and come out with solutions that fit both sides.

Interaction with cross-functional teams across Acino and other companies is sometimes very challenging. There are a lot of moving pieces and you must ensure that nothing is lost through the cracks. Applying these simple tricks helps a lot: gather all the information in an organized manner to have a better base for negotiations; engage in proactive communication and internal alignment calls to ensure everyone is on the same page.

The best way to handle challenges is always proactive communication. This ensures that issues that pop up at any stage can be addressed transparently and solved more easily. Without proactive communication, problems usually appear when it is already too late and require a lot of work to solve them.

Q: What do you love the most about your job? 

I really like that you are always in the middle of two parties. In meetings with customers, I represent Acino’s interests, whereas in internal meetings I am the voice of the customer.

I really like contact with the customers in general. Over the years, you build relationships and commitment, you understand and try to satisfy their needs. This is something really fulfilling.

Like I said before, I enjoy the variety of tasks I have. These must be prioritized depending, for example, on the day of the month: at the end of the month, it is all about fine-tuning of deliveries and collecting open invoices whereas at the beginning of the month the most important is the overall planning for sales or projects.

And I appreciate working with experts from different teams. You can learn a lot!

Q: What makes you proud of Acino?

How dynamic the company is. Everyone has the right to speak up and share their opinion. We have a very open and honest culture in which young people are trusted and given a lot of responsibility.

Although we had to stop site tours for a while to help with social distancing and maintain the safety of our colleagues who must keep production running during the Covid-19 crisis, you can still visit our Liesberg site virtually.