Tablets & Capsules

TC0914

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Tablets & Capsules September 2014 35 had met during Hatchett's 18-year tenure as president of a large contract manufacturer. "Wayne agreed with my philosophy that we don't need to reclaim; we don't really need to do it twice; and you can have high-quality, robust softgels with solid seams and the type of quality that we demanded on a consistent basis." Other vendors said that scrapping some softgels was inherent to the process and talked about the quality of their equipment, Hatchett said. "Wayne talked about the entire process. He was teaching me about softgel manufacturing, what I needed to have, what I should be looking out for. He helped me find my formula- tors; he helped me find my operators. He didn't just say, 'Here's my machine—come buy it.' He helped me. He was hands-on in the design of our facility." After conducting due diligence on bids from the other ven- dors, Hatchett awarded the project to CapPlus. Sealing the deal One of Hatchett's first concerns was duplicating the products Forever Living had been supplying. "We already had formulas that consumers loved and enjoyed and to duplicate the exact formula—make sure it stayed the exact color, shape, and appearance and so forth—was a big deal." He took a direct approach, telling the company's contract manu- facturers about his plan and asking for their help. "We have a supply chain that has been incredibly supportive of Forever Living over many years, and the rela- tionship is built on honesty," Hatchett said. "So when we decided to take this internally, they were very aware of it." In return for their help, Hatchett offered them the opportu- nity to help Forever Living with other materials or as a back up for unplanned demand and as a part of a disaster recovery plan. "Every single supplier came to the table and said they wanted to be part of this and it was outstanding. We were able to cut the reverse-engineering time consid- erably as a result of that. We also had a very experienced formulator help- ing us all along the way, and we still have a very good relationship with each of our suppliers." Things were falling into place. "We had all the right tools, all the right equipment, all the right formu- lators, and a strong operations team," but stability was a concern. "We serve 155 countries globally, and you have many different storage condi- tions when you're shipping to so many places. They may or may not After the softgels leave the tumbler dryers, or tunnels, they're spread on trays, which are racked and wheeled into dehumidification chambers for hardening.

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