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Product Line Exit Execution

Product line exit planning in the order the documents allow: agents read each contract, registration and support duty, pin the clause behind each date, and people sign.

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Follow one exit from the policy date to the signed one ↓
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The problem

A last shipment date that one purchasing agreement does not allow

When a device maker leaves a product line, the order is fixed by documents that sit with different teams. The last shipment cannot come before the longest notice period in any contract that lists the product. A registration cannot be withdrawn while spare parts still go to that market, and service has to outlast the last device sold.

The portfolio office runs the exit from a spreadsheet built on the company policy. Contracts, regulatory and customer service each read their own files. If one group purchasing agreement asks for more notice than the policy gives, the planned last shipment is a breach, and every customer notice already drafted carries the wrong date.

Built forPortfolio PMO leadsContracts managersRegulatory operationsCustomer service managersBusiness unit general managers

The Problem Today

Exit dates are set from a policy, while the contracts that can overrule it sit unread in other teams.

3 hours
of contract reading and amendment per contract by hand our estimate

Read by separate teams today

  • Contracts
  • Filings
  • Stock
  • Notices
  • One clause moves every dateA longer notice term makes the planned last shipment a breach
  • Notices drafted twiceLetters already written carry the old dates

The Solution

  1. Read the documents togetherContracts, registrations and repair agreements, in one read
  2. Pin the holding clauseThe clause or rule that holds each date, quoted from its page
  3. Slide what followsLater steps move with it, and only the notices it touches are redrafted
  4. Named people signThe PMO lead accepts each date, the contracts manager signs amendments

Built-in controls

  • No date moves without the PMO lead's signature
  • Batches signed only on a drawn sample
  • Each date carries the passage that holds it

What You Get

The exit is announced with dates no contract overrules, and each notice carries the clause behind its date.

  • Dates fixed before notices goThe holding clause is found before any letter is sent
  • Only affected notices redraftedAccounts the clause does not cover keep their dates
  • Registrations kept for spare partsWithdrawals wait until support in that market ends
One product line, one clause

A product line exit of three external fixation families

A line of 412 catalog numbers leaves the market. The policy gives customers 120 days' notice. One purchasing group's agreement gives its members more.

demoSample data, start to finish: the maker, the product line, the hospitals, the people and the amounts.

  1. 0109:13

    Seven dominoes stand blank, and none of them has a date yet

    Portfolio PMO lead

    The exit is drawn in the order it has to fall: announce, notices, last-time buy, last shipment, amendments, registrations, service ends. Before the read each tile says not read. The panel lists what the read will use: 214 contracts, 41 registrations in 20 markets, 1,860 accounts and the exit policy's 120 days.

  2. 0209:15

    121 contracts at 90 days, 52 at 120, and 9 that only say reasonable

    Portfolio PMO lead

    The read fills the tiles one by one. In each contract the contract reader finds the notice term: 31 state none, so the policy's 120 days apply, and the 9 that say reasonable notice are passed to the contracts manager to decide rather than being guessed. Beside it, the registration and support readers work through the markets and the repair agreements.

  3. 0309:19

    A 180-day clause drops onto the last shipment, and four tiles slide

    Portfolio PMO lead

    One trauma implants agreement with a purchasing group asks for at least 180 days' written notice, and supply at contract price through it. The date planner moves the last shipment for its 312 member accounts, and the amendments, the US listing and US spare parts slide with it. The 1,548 other accounts keep the policy dates.

  4. 0409:24

    Section 11.3, highlighted on page 14 of the signed copy

    Portfolio PMO lead

    She opens the pin. The clause sits highlighted in the agreement, with section 7.2 on shipping within five business days above it. Beside it the date math adds 180 days to the notice, lands on a Saturday and rolls to the next business day. Her accept button stays locked until the clause has been open three seconds.

  5. 0509:25

    Accepting the date releases 312 redrafted notices for checking

    Portfolio PMO lead

    The signature box states its meaning: she accepts the later last shipment for the purchasing group's members, and the dates that follow from it. She picks the reason, contract requires it, and enters her own password. Rejecting would keep the plan blocked until the group signs a written waiver of the notice period.

  6. 0609:25

    What slides is listed row by row, with the write-off at $2.55M

    Portfolio PMO lead

    The decision now reads accepted, with the reason and her signature's meaning. Below it, member orders close later, the last shipment and the amendments move, and the projected write-off falls from $3.19M to $2.55M, because the members' extra months of supply use stock that would otherwise be written off. The notices wait for customer service to check them.

  7. 0709:30

    The amendment is drafted from the clause and the accepted date

    Contracts manager

    Signed in as himself, the contracts manager opens the agreement. The highlighted clause sits on the left and the amendment draft on the right: the products discontinued, supply at contract price through the notice period, the order cutoff, and replacement components kept on contract until support ends. He has to read both before he can sign.

  8. 0809:32

    He signs the maker's side of the amendment, and nothing more

    Contracts manager

    His signature means one thing, stated on the record: he signs the maker's side of this amendment. The group still has to countersign, and the nine contracts that say only reasonable notice still wait for his decision. Each one is a contract the agents would not put a number on.

  9. 0909:34

    The last-shipment domino is signed; six more wait on named people

    Portfolio PMO lead

    Back on the dominoes, the last shipment tile shows signed. The next step names the customer service manager, with four notice batches to check on their drawn samples. Announce, last-time buy, amendments, registrations and service ends each list who signs and what is open, so the plan cannot be signed for announcement early.

214 contracts, sorted by the notice each one asks for

The contract reader quotes the term from each contract that lists a catalog number in the line.

Notice term foundContracts
90 days121
120 days52
None stated, so the policy's 120 days apply31
Reasonable notice, decided by the contracts manager9
180 days, supply at contract price throughout1

demoSample data, from the working solution. One contract of 214 sets the last shipment for 312 member accounts. Without it the plan would have gone out on the policy date.

Stock at the exit, before and after the later last shipment

At standard cost. Any lot quality has put on hold is left out of the allocation until it is released.

On hand$11.39M
Demand to the last shipmentIncluding $0.64M for the members' extra months− $7.66M
Spare-part reserve− $1.18M
Projected write-offWas $3.19M on the policy dates$2.55M

demoSample data, from the working solution.

Around the plan

Notices, registrations and spare parts behind the end of life plan

What customer service, regulatory operations and supply chain read before the plan is signed.

Notices and offersFour batches: 312 member notices, 486 contracted hospitals, 38 distributors and 1,024 accounts with no contract, each signed on a drawn sample of 15.
Contracts to amend214 contracts by the term found. Nine reasonable-notice clauses wait for the contracts manager, and three amendment batches wait for checking.
Registrations41 registrations: 26 to withdraw after the last shipment in that market, 12 kept for spare parts, 3 not renewed. Nothing is filed from here.
Stock and write-offLots moving this month, three on quality hold, and distributor stock reports read by their structured fields only.
Service and spare partsSupport runs at least 24 months past the last frame shipped, from medical affairs' signed ruling. 64 spare-part catalog numbers and 486 instrument sets.
Audit trailAgent steps, signatures, the reasons people gave and the session behind each, kept append-only and exported as a file.

demoSample data, from the working solution.

Who reads the exit

Seven agents date the exit, and not one of them sends a notice

They read, compute and draft from approved templates. Named people accept dates and sign.

Contract reader

Finds notice, supply, buy-back and repair clauses in each contract and quotes the passage.

  • Never turns reasonable notice into a number
  • Never signs or sends
Registration reader

Proposes withdraw, keep or not renew for each registration.

  • Never files with a regulator or withdraws
Support obligations reader

Reads repair agreements, spare-part lists and instrument set records.

  • Never says whether a patient keeps a device
  • Never opens complaint records
Date planner

Computes each domino's earliest date from the pins, business days and policy.

  • Never moves a date without the PMO lead's signature
Notice and offer drafter

Drafts each account's notice and offer from approved templates, with the clause behind each date.

  • Never sends
  • Never changes an approved sentence
Stock planner

Projects demand to the last shipment, the spare-part reserve and the write-off.

  • Never books a write-off in the ERP
  • Never releases a held lot
Report line checker

Reads the structured fields of distributor stock reports.

  • Never reads free text; it goes to a person

What stays with the PMO lead, contracts and quality

The plan proposes dates and drafts letters. These calls are made by people.

A waiver instead of the later dateThe PMO lead may reject the date and seek a written waiver; the plan stays blocked until a signed one is attached.
A clause that says only reasonable noticeThe contracts manager decides each one. The agent gives no number.
A lot on quality holdQuality releases it, or it stays out of the last-time-buy allocation.
Post-market duties for the exited devicesThey stay with complaint handling, whose hand-off memo is shown by reference and opened by no agent.
Whether a patient keeps a frameMedical affairs answers patient questions. The plan holds no patient records.

Contracts, registrations and stock records it reads

Each system is read only; the plan writes to none of them.

Contract managementCustomer, distributor and repair agreements, signed copies
Regulatory informationRegistrations by market and the company's country rule library
ERPAccounts, open orders, stock on hand and lots
Distributor stock reportsMonthly reports, structured fields only
Exit policy and templatesNotice periods and compliance-approved letters

What portfolio PMO leads ask about a product line exit

What is a product line exit?

A product line exit is the planned product discontinuation of a whole line: telling customers, closing orders, shipping the last units, amending contracts, withdrawing registrations and ending service. Here the agents read the contracts, registrations and support duties together and pin the clause behind each date.

How is the last time buy window set?

From the last shipment each account's contract allows. Orders close on the last business day before the cutoff the policy sets, unless a contract requires supply through a longer notice period, as one purchasing group's agreement did.

Does it send the end of life notices?

No. It drafts each account's notice and offer from templates compliance approved, and customer service signs each batch on a drawn sample before anything goes out.

Does it withdraw registrations?

No. It proposes withdraw, keep or not renew for each registration, with the reason and the source. Regulatory operations confirms, a second person checks, and filing stays with them.

What if a contract only says reasonable notice?

The agents give it no number. The contracts manager reads the clause, decides and signs.

What happens when a date moves after notices are drafted?

Only the notices whose dates changed are redrafted. Here that was the purchasing group's members; the other accounts kept their letters.

Does it handle complaints or field actions for the exited products?

No. The exit is a business decision. Complaint handling keeps its post-market duties, and its hand-off memo stays a signed input that no agent opens.

Who can change the notice policy or the sample size?

The administrator proposes a change, and it takes effect only when the PMO lead signs it. Checks already open keep the sample they drew.

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Plan your next exit
from its contracts.

We will read them together and show you the clause that sets your last shipment.

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