Into India: Exploring Haleon’s Supply Chain Expansion

In 1715, a single apothecary shop opened in London.

Fast-forward three hundred years and the business that started as the Plough Court Pharmacy is now a world-leading consumer health company.

Throughout the 300 years, the pharmaceuticals industry has changed exponentially, but Haleon operates on the ethos of prioritising and improving the everyday health of the consumer.

In a landmark event, Haleon is now building a plant – in its three years as an independent organisation, it has never had the chance.

Prior to that, when it was part of GSK and its other predecessors, nothing had been built for more than 25 years, according to Namrata Patel, Haleon’s Chief Supply Chain Officer.

In June, Haleon announced it would be investing £175m (US$235m) into its first manufacturing site in Madhya Pradesh, in central India.

The country is one of Haleon’s fastest-growing markets and is a core strategic point to reaching one billion more consumers by 2030.

Empowering a local supply chain

The new plant is an opportunity to boost India’s local economy and grow its talent pool. 

“I was there on site where it’s going to be,” Namrata says.

“There were lots of local people and we’d invited a lot of the technical colleges that are there, alongside one of the best engineering schools in the country. They were so excited – they are offering us space for training and trying to showcase some of their top talent.”

Currently, the goal is to have the facility built by January 2028.

The company works with 200-250 contract manufacturers at any moment in time, but Haleon wants to transform its operations towards internal staffing.

As a company, Haleon has a strong commitment to people – improving accessibility to products for the consumer, and uplifting the staff.

“I want to make sure that people come to our company and know that they can grow, develop and reach different levels if they wish to,” Namrata explains.

As Haleon moves into the Indian manufacturing circle, the company is focused on developing a local supply chain and building a strong and resilient ecosystem within the country.

It is communicating with its packaging suppliers, working to bring some of them into the new campus.

Throughout the building of the campus, there will be approximately 2,000 people on site, alongside 500 permanent jobs once the facility is built.

Over the course of the coming years, this project will support Indian excellence and empowerment, working to upskill staff and gain new ways of approaching innovation.

Automation and efficiency

In the wider organisation, Haleon aims for simplicity within the supply chain – though not in the absence of innovation.

The supply chain industry has been shaken by ongoing global events that are no longer considered ‘black swan events’, but a part of the everyday supply chain operation. 

“Every month there is a new crisis,” Namrata explains. “It becomes more difficult, but it becomes more obvious that you have to keep the supply chain very simple in order to constantly succeed.”

To understand how operations are taking place and see which barriers are preventing success, Namrata likes to spend time in Haleon’s facilities. It helps her to better understand the complex product portfolio, and aid the harmonisation of production. 

Following the simplification, Haleon has seen an increase in efficiency and employee happiness and has started its digitalisation journey.

“We've gone on a massive implementation of robotics and digital. In a period of 20 months, we've implemented the best part of 2,500 bits of robotic equipment,” Namrata explains. 

In its four years of operations, Haleon has worked hard to put high quality healthcare in as many people’s hands as possible.

By expanding into a growing market, simplifying its product base and welcoming automation, the company is creating a strong supply chain which is making a difference.