Brasterápica cuts lead time by 47%, from 12–15 days down to 8 days

The challenge

Brasterápica has 50 years of history in the pharmaceutical industry, across over-the-counter medicines, pharma, herbal medicines, dietary supplements, hospital products and generics. It sells nationwide in Brazil, with a strong presence in the North and Northeast regions, through more than 16 brands and 74 SKUs. Its plant in Atibaia, in the interior of São Paulo state, produces around 2.5 million units, with a focus on high-capacity multi-pack tablet packaging.

Management relied on spreadsheets. The production team had to be on the shop floor constantly to collect data, and indicators such as OEE were only available the next day, or later. That lag slowed every action plan, and it became critical when volume ran above normal: the plant’s capacity was expanding and operations were doubling, and the team could not wait a day to react.

The solution

Deployment needed little more than an internet connection on the shop floor to install the equipment and start capturing data. Within a short time, the system reflected what was happening on each machine in real time. One of Brasterápica’s managers already knew Cogtive from previous experience, and the support of Cogtive’s Customer Success team kept both the rollout and the daily operation on track.

Around 16 machines now feed the OEE foundation and the Flow pillar. Operators record entries on the tablet. The Equipment Dashboard shows actual OEE, the downtime Pareto, FIFO, status, OEE history, maintenance, speed and setup, and a timeline keeps the history of every piece of equipment. Flow View turns the plant’s production flow into a digital kanban.

The data went straight into the routine. Every day, the team holds a Gemba walk to discuss results based on what Cogtive captures. In these meetings, it became clear that a lot of time was being lost to setups and operational adjustments, something that had not been visible before. Measuring each piece of equipment also showed that every operator worked in a different way, creating bottlenecks that add up to significant losses over time. Brasterápica standardized its production stages so that everyone works the same way and within the same timeframe.

With the flow visible, the plant moved to a leaner model and implemented pull production. Today, 60% of the plant runs on actual demand.

The results

Lead time, which used to run 12 to 15 days, is now 8 days, a 47% reduction. “With Cogtive, we’ve been able to speed up delivery. That lets us be more agile and responsive, serving demand better,” says André Miler, Industrial Director at Brasterápica.

The shorter lead time brought tighter control over stock and material flow, and Cogtive was key to absorbing the exponential growth in demand without losing production or delivery quality. Every gain is tracked in the system, so the whole team understands what is happening on the floor, and because the tool is easy to use, 100% of Brasterápica’s teams use Cogtive.

• Lead time from 12–15 days to 8 days (−47%)
• 60% of the plant on pull production
• Around 16 machines connected to the OEE foundation and Flow View
• Daily Gemba walks run on real-time data
• Production stages standardized across operators
• 100% of teams using Cogtive