With many Europe-based life science innovators rigorously working to transform their research into high-quality and affordable therapies for patients, expansion and modernisation of the current manufacturing infrastructure is more important than ever. In fact, adopting the mindset of a hybrid partnership will support these companies as they race to deliver drug therapies faster and more cost-effectively.
Companies operating by the status quo of yesteryear may not find success in today's evolving industry. Project owners within the space may need to think outside the box, or rather, think beyond their own borders to accomplish their goals.
Every sector of the industry has unique pain points
Many project owners only work with experts within their own country. While there is nothing inherently wrong with this practice, those who end their search for expertise at their border limit their potential for speed and cost-effectiveness.
Embracing hybrid partnerships
A common misconception is that an in-country Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) partner will cost less and move faster than a partner abroad.
Breaking free of this notion opens the door to a partnership that has both expertise from their own country and around the world. This mindset helps ensure a smooth project launch, as well as the borderless specialisations needed to accelerate a project forward.
Staying within your country: considerations
There are crucial activities that benefit from expertise found within your borders, such as creating a solid regulatory strategy. However, building a strong foundation for success relies upon many components, not just one. That's why finding the right expertise is more important than finding expertise within your borders.
Every sector of the industry has unique pain points. Project owners who identify their primary concerns will have a clearer picture of what type of expertise to seek from an AEC partner. For example, one may want to embrace multi-modal design or cutting-edge facility digitalisation. Another may focus on enabling new research by designing the safest and most efficient labs possible.
What one life science leader wants and needs may be vastly different from another, and they'll likely choose different partners and solutions.Regardless of the goal or pain points, it is crucial that the AEC partner selected has the experience and leadership needed to reach your goals. In fact, this far outweighs where a partner lives and works.
Is now the time to go global?
Thanks to recent advances in technology, there's never been an easier time to embrace a global approach to partnership. Virtual and augmented reality platforms, for example, are abundant, and their accessibility has created new and exciting opportunities for innovation.
These platforms, along with established AEC practices like 3D building information modelling (BIM) platforms, bring together teams from across the globe, spanning countries and time zones, into the same environment to visualise designs prior to construction, facilitate and witness virtual factory acceptance tests, optimise processes, and perform other essential tasks.
If your team spans the globe, so does your workday
Enhancements in technology have streamlined efforts that logistical barriers have typically hindered. Some have even taken these old barriers and found ways to use them to their advantage.
For example, working within different time zones has historically been an inconvenience. Now, if your team spans the globe, so does your workday. A workday that extends time zones can double (or even triple) your efficiency without making any employees work beyond their typical hours.
The approach allows you to curate the best expertise for your unique needs by finding help both inside and outside of your country, and by relying on a global team to keep operations running smoothly at all times of the day.
Moving beyond limiting thoughts: Size doesn't hinder success
Smaller-scale startups moving quickly from concept towards commercialisation may believe they aren't large or established enough to partner with AEC entities to curate their perfect mix of local and international expertise.
This is simply not the case. Just like companies based in the EU don't need to leverage only EU expertise, smaller companies don't need to limit themselves to small-scale partners. There's no one-size-fits-all situation, and the right AEC will craft project delivery methods unique to their partners, no matter their size.
By leveraging their chosen AEC's large talent pool, small-scale startups can find the specialisations and experiences they need to assemble a solid team. Curating a robust team suited to their project and budget will ultimately drive quick, quality, and cost-effective solutions.
Accelerate concept to commercialisation
Embracing hybrid partnerships that leverage both local and international expertise gives life science companies new and exciting opportunities to increase their speed and efficiency.
Project owners who limit themselves to expertise only within their own countries will ultimately limit their ability to provide their therapies to patients all around the world.
