How Unifize helped reduce $60,000 of material cost on just one product
Jesse Kolstad shares a transformative experience at Biovation Labs, emphasizing the power of perspective. With Unifize, he could holistically evaluate their ingredient performance and volumes, enabling him to whittle down from 16 SKUs to just two. This consolidation not only simplified management but also resulted in substantial cost savings for the company.
Transcript

[00:00 - 00:17]
And really being able to high level just start with what do we do and let's get it all in front of us. From there it's saying, okay, now let's start seeing what our what our volumes are so that we can go to the bargaining table and also go to the bargaining table with how are these ingredients performing?



[00:17 - 00:39]
Which one is our best in the case of 16 different SKUs or which one is the best, most consistent, most cost effective, least amount of lead time and consistently hits the specs it needs to get. And I was able to go from 16 down to two that we use and that was incredibly powerful. And then from those to drill down to, okay, who are we buying those two from?



[00:39 - 01:02]
And in this case there was two or three and I actually went out and found a better one. That was about 60% of the cost on this one ingredient that we I think we use, I don't know, maybe a couple of metric tons a year. And so if you look at that, that savings, even a few dollars, and in this case it was 60% of 400 or 4000 kilos a year you're saving.



[01:02 - 01:16]
I think I saved on that one roughly $50, $60,000. And Unifize gave me that high level visibility to drill down quickly and make decisions effectively



[01:16 - 01:36]
Just to test with spec versus what is my spec and which supplier can consistently hit my spec and that decreased my testing cost, decrease my lead times, increase my throughput across the board. And if you look at it on an ingredient by ingredient basis, I mean some of these products have I know, for example, our multivitamin has 42 different ingredients.



[01:36 - 02:03]
So being able to say, all right, of 42 different ingredients in one product, how many different suppliers are there? Well, if there's 2 to 3 per ingredient now you see how it exponentially it's and but looking at that product all at once gives me the ability to make the decision about that product in an instant for 42 ingredients, which is powerful and driving the cost down per ingredient, increasing the throughput per ingredient, negotiating going, collaborating with my suppliers.



[02:03 - 02:22]
And maybe there's a supplier that gives me three of those ingredients. Turns out they can give me six. And being able to do that all at once in the conversation, collaborate with the customer and the formulator and say, Hey, I think we have some alternatives here that'll net us savings forever. And I'm using the multivitamin because I did that and Unifize gave me that ability my second month.



[02:22 - 02:26]
So kind of made me a hero right away.



[02:26 - 02:28]
So as I've said before, quality isn't a revenue generator.



[02:28 - 02:54]
And and people like to use this illustration of quality isn't a problem till it's a major problem. So by doing our job where you don't think your seatbelt because you didn't crash that day, but you want the seatbelt when you crash, that's how I think about quality is it's not a revenue generator. And a mentor of mine once told me the cost savings and cost and cost avoidance is not revenue, and I understand that.



[02:54 - 03:16]
But because Unifize has this high visibility of everything, everywhere, all the time, all at once, it's impossible for people to not acknowledge what we've done, how we've increased throughput, and helped me build that model that I always want to build and always try to build of quality. Being there as a supportive function, not just pointing out the problems.



[03:16 - 03:41]
And when you see, you know, it's hard to get thanked for the mistakes you didn't make and Unifize because of this real time collaboration and effective communication, you you actually do see what the accidents you didn't get in. And by Unifize having that, it allows me to change our culture to a culture of quality and continuous improvement.

Unifize Results

10x
Speed to compliance
Unifize accelerates compliance, delivering 10x faster regulatory approval for medical devices
4x
Faster time-to-market
Map Unifize to your processes and streamline workflows, process automation
70%
Fewer meetings
Less meetings with in-app collaboration, real-time updates, and decision logs
Transcript

But what we've known from what I experience was, is we were able to get there with the system. We still there with the system. The system has what is needed to provide us what we're looking for, because every company, admittedly, is trying to get compliant. If we educate people, if we get people the education that they need and to get over the fear factor, I think 90% of those things can be resolved because most people will go to what they're most familiar with.What I worked with from a different company, but they're not willing to sit down and look at what the demographics are saying. People are into social media now. People are moving fast into fast paced world. But technologies are still antiquated. So there's a disconnect here, right? So while we're moving at a fast pace at home with dragging at work, so why can't we continue that speed while we at work?If your supplier has issues and you're not informed on time, you want to have an alternate supplier in place. If your suppliers are not qualified, you may not know that that needs to happen. And so when you have an integrated system that speaks to itself and is giving you all this data, you literally have the pulse of the organization in your hands as an executive at a money bound access.

Related Case Study Videos

How Denis builds a quality culture in MedTech companies
Denis Machoka, a Six Sigma black belt, highlights his transformative approach to Medtech companies. He shares insights on assessing an organization's current state and vision, the critical role of communication in building a quality culture, and the essential tools to foster knowledge and improvement.
Transitioning from an existing eQMS to Unifize
Highlighting the transition from a traditional eQMS to Unifize, Jesse Kolstad lauds the platform's flexibility and advanced capabilities. With its user-friendly interface and transformative features, Unifize has brought about significant operational improvements at Biovation Labs.
The ROI of Quality Management Systems
Jesse Kolstad delves into the significant ROI of quality management systems, underscoring efficiency gains and cost savings. Unifize emerges as a pivotal tool in optimizing the ROI of quality management, demonstrating tangible benefits at Biovation Labs.
Why Unifize makes post-market compliance a breeze
In this insightful video, Clarissa tackles the complexities of post-market compliance in risk management, focusing on the medical device sector. She emphasizes Unifize's pivotal role in effortlessly connecting customer complaints to corresponding solutions and risk assessments. Clarissa explains how this integration drastically cuts down the laborious task of complaint analysis, enabling proactive and efficient risk control updates, a feature she finds particularly advantageous.
Building a knowledge base in a startup with Unifize
Michael delves into the distinctive aspects of working in a compact company setting. He underscores the pivotal role of relationships, whether with colleagues, suppliers, or clients. Highlighting the importance of human-centric approaches in startups, Michael contrasts this with the rigidity and compartmentalization of vast corporations. His reflections shed light on the balance between the personal touch and systematic workflows in different company sizes.
How Unifize already had everything we were looking for
In their quest for a QMS that seamlessly aligns with their operations, The Will-Burt Company found Unifize's platform to be the perfect fit. Tedd Carr lauds its all-in-one capability, which encompassed core needs like internal audits, non-conformances, customer feedback, and corrective actions, eliminating the need for multiple modules. The flexibility to tailor the software to their specific processes and the inherent ease of use ensured Unifize stood out, satisfying their desire for a customizable and user-friendly system.
Wear a seatbelt using Unifize to avoid accidents and save money
Drawing a parallel with wearing a seatbelt, Jesse Kolstad elucidates how Unifize serves as a preventive tool, averting operational mishaps at Biovation Labs. Ensuring safety and compliance, Unifize's proactive features lead to significant cost savings by forestalling potential issues.
Managing the product lifecycle and ensuring efficient traceability with Unifize
Jesse Kolstad underscores the imperative of traceability in regulated industries. Drawing from his experience at Biovation Labs, he illustrates how Unifize seamlessly interlinks finished products, ingredients, formulae, and even packaging artwork. The platform's collaborative nature fosters real-time discussions, merging processes that were once scattered across emails and calls into a unified and efficient workflow.
Why Unifize's approach to collaboration is transformational
Describing the communication challenges Harmonic Bionics faced in the past, Clarissa Archer praises Unifize for its centralized approach. Unlike previous tools where information often got lost in the shuffle, Unifize provided a consolidated platform that made tracking and acting on feedback more streamlined, especially during multitasking.
Managing Product Lifecycle with Unifize
Delving into Harmonic Bionics' evolution, Michael Hogan speaks about the company's transformation from a small team of college students to a structured entity. As they scaled, the pressing need for robust documentation and product management became evident. The journey underscored the significance of an efficient QMS, ensuring streamlined operations and clarity in decision-making.
About Jesse Kolstad
Jesse Kolstad, the Director of Quality, Compliance, and Formulation at Biovation Labs, gives an intimate peek into his role and the company's operations. Located in Salt Lake City and part of the Wellful organization, Biovation Labs plays a pivotal role in manufacturing capsules and tablets. Jesse also highlights their collaboration with prominent industry giants, underscoring Biovation's significance in the dietary supplement sector.
About Michael Hogan & Harmonic Bionics
Michael Hogan, a mechanical engineer at Harmonic Bionics, paints a vivid picture of the company's origins. He recounts the early days when it was just a group of grad students from the Renew Robotics Lab passionately working on rehab robotics. Their flagship device, Harmony, emerged from these efforts, aiming to revolutionize the recovery process for stroke patients.
Unifize - a validated QMS software
Denis Machoka elaborates on the validation credentials of Unifize as a QMS software. He underscores that Unifize is pre-validated, comes with a comprehensive validation package, and emphasizes the simplicity of its configuration, stressing the need for proper documentation.
How Unifize's collaboration empowers continuous improvement
Jesse Kolstad heralds Unifize's transformative impact on collaboration at Biovation Labs, empowering continuous improvement through open communication. By breaking down silos and fostering cross-functional collaboration, Unifize establishes real-time feedback loops, ensuring alignment with company objectives and facilitating rapid growth.
Hear about things in real-time and start conversations early on with Unifize's mobile capabilities
Tedd Carr discusses the significant advantage brought by Unifize's mobile functionality to The Will-Burt Company. With a web and cloud-based system, Unifize's mobile app enables their sales force to initiate quality conversations and address customer concerns instantly while on the move. This real-time communication capability has proven to be a valuable tool, fostering timely discussions and swift issue resolution, and is especially praised by those who often work remotely or travel.
The ROI of a collaborative, configurable eQMS
Denis Machoka elaborates on the ROI derived from Unifize as a collaborative eQMS. He underlines that true ROI is reflected in compliance, data accessibility, and the defense of information. Denis commends Unifize's capabilities in showcasing regulatory control and its adaptability to adjust control levels based on data sensitivity.
How Unifize helps save time and get things done faster
In this video, Michael from Harmonic Bionics celebrates the transparency and coherence Unifize offers. He values the platform's ability to keep everyone synchronized, viewing the same documents and chat histories. This clear and shared understanding of processes, from part designs to quality notifications, not only fosters efficiency but also lets Michael concentrate more on his primary responsibilities, enhancing productivity.
How Unifize helped reduce $60,000 of material cost on just one product
Jesse Kolstad shares a transformative experience at Biovation Labs, emphasizing the power of perspective. With Unifize, he could holistically evaluate their ingredient performance and volumes, enabling him to whittle down from 16 SKUs to just two. This consolidation not only simplified management but also resulted in substantial cost savings for the company.
Breaking organisational silos with Unifize: Centralizing knowledge and achieving organisational alignment
Jesse Kolstad emphasizes Unifize's instrumental role in dismantling organizational silos at Biovation Labs. By centralizing knowledge, the platform promotes a unified information hub, fostering organizational alignment and consistent collaboration, ensuring everyone operates in harmony.
How Unifize helped reduce our training time and costs
Jesse Kolstad discusses the transformative role Unifize played in Biovation Labs' training process. By establishing a cohesive link between SOPs, training modules, job roles, and employees, Unifize brought unparalleled structure. Jesse also introduces a novel approach of integrating QR codes on RFID badges, allowing for on-the-spot verification of an employee's training status. This innovative system streamlined compliance checks and significantly cut down on training costs.

Experience the benefits of Unifize

4x Faster time-to-market

Map Unifize to your processes and streamline workflows, process automation, and prioritization

70% Fewer meetings

Less meetings with in-app collaboration, real-time updates, and decision logs

10x Speed to compliance

Unifize accelerates compliance, delivering 10x faster regulatory approval for medical devices

View More Case Studies

Here’s how Biovation Labs reduced testing costs from $146K to $65K in two months

Learn how and why Biovation Labs, an FDA regulated nutraceutical manufacturer based in Salt Lake City, took the decision to transition from MasterControl to Unifize for their product lifecycle (PLM) and quality management (QMS) processes.

Here’s how Harmonic Bionics slashed time to market by 80%

Clarissa Archer shares her experience integrating Unifize into Harmonic Bionics, underscoring its value in streamlining change control, facilitating communication, and ensuring robust documentation for regulatory compliance in the medical device sector.

Will-Burt's game changing boost to quality process cycle times

Learn how The Will-Burt Company was able to implement and adopt a new quality management system across 8 collaborating teams in less than a day and streamline internal / supplier non-conformances, customer complaints (VOCs), internal / supplier audits, 8D reporting, corrective actions and preventive actions.