9. The Pharmaceutical Industry - PMMI

Liquid Filling Machine 180f/m IMA 1 Italy 9
Tube Filling Machine 120t/m Unipack 1 Italy 14
Blister Line Marcesini 1 Italy 5
Filling machine Manesty 1 England 1
D) Last Packaging Machinery Purchase
Its last packaging machinery parchase took place in late 2007, when the company acquired a
labeling machine from the Mexican manufacturer Unión.
E) Future Packaging Machinery Ordering Plans
Laboratorios Columbia said that it does not have packaging machinery purchasing plans in the
short term. It indicated that currently, it is developing new product presentations, and once
those are developed, it will analyze the type of machinery needed to produce these new
presentations. Laboratorios Columbia estimates that during the second half of 2008, it will have
defined the new requirements and will begin searching for suppliers in late 2008.
F) Purchasing Policies and Financial Arrangements
Columbia’s Engineering Department determines the types of equipment required, including the
characteristics, capacity and other relevant information. After the requirements are defined, the
company invites a minimum of three packaging equipment companies to provide quotes to its
Engineering Department,. After receiving bids from the potential suppliers, Columbia elaborates
a comparative chart and selects the one that provides the best economic conditions, times of
delivery and quality.
The company uses credit lines provided by the manufacturers, and grants the credits through
an insurance company hired by Columbia. In some cases, the company opts for leasing
contracts, which are contracted with banks or other financial agencies. In a few cases, the
company pays cash to obtain a discount and to avoid exchange rate fluctuation risks.
G) Factors That Influence Purchasing Decisions
1. Quality.
2. Technical support.
3. Price.
4. Delivery timing.
Machinery Brand Country
Labeling Machine Union Mexico
H) Comments on Preferred Brands and Existing Business Arrangements With
Packaging Equipment Suppliers
The company does not have any pre-existing commitments to suppliers, nor a definite
preference for suppliers from a particular country. It does tend to favor Italian and German
machinery, however, because it believes that these machines have state-of-the-art technology.
The company believes that U.S. equipment suppliers have very little to offer to the
pharmaceutical industry, and only mentioned that the United States is superior for its coding
machinery.
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