Merck, Various Manufacturing Facilities

Location Various Locations, Worldwide

Client Merck & Co., Inc.

Services Construction Management

Project Value $2 billion

For nearly 20 years, Hill has been providing professional procurement services to Merck & Co., Inc., a leading global pharmaceutical company, to support a capital program spanning multiple countries and thousands of projects. The program requires Hill to provide a consistent quality of staff and services across a range of domestic and international projects. At its peak, Hill supported Merck’s program with more than 40 professionals who were assigned to full-time, on-site positions. The range of staff have included contract administrators, material and equipment purchasing analysts, expediters, financial specialists, procurement systems specialists, claims analysts, and construction auditors.

Merck’s construction program is comprised of the design and construction of new facilities from greenfield locations, as well as the renovation and expansion of existing sites. Individual projects include research and development laboratories, pilot plants, chemical projects, vaccine and biotech projects, pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities, packaging plants, office buildings, parking garages, and supporting infrastructure. Hill’s staff assumes project commercial responsibility, from concept design through construction and close-out.

Consistency is a vital part of Merck’s global footprint and, as Merck has outsourced its Tactical Capital Procurement activity to Hill, Hill is the single source provider of procurement services. Hill’s account manager participates in Merck’s staff meetings to make certain Hill is aware of the latest strategy decisions, process changes, and targets. 

This partnership has enabled Merck to realize savings of up to 7% on our assignments, as measured against Merck’s metrics for value and cost efficiency, procure superior goods and services from carefully selected and vetted suppliers, employ our advice on choosing the project delivery method offering the greatest procurement benefit and the least risk to the owner, and avoid potential claims through Hill’s application of claims resolution expertise.

By establishing and enforcing a rigorous procurement process and seamlessly integrating into Merck’s team, we have been able to save Merck approximately 18 times our fee, representing an 18:1 return on investment.