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Drawing on a proven Quality Management System that has been built over decades to support drugs, biologics, medical devices, and combination products, Lifecore has a strong, 40+ year global quality and regulatory track record.
The Warehouse organization plays a critical but often unseen role in product quality and safety. Storage conditions, system controls, documentation, and traceability all come together to ensure materials are protected as they move through a highly regulated pharmaceutical environment. For this Quality Series conversation, we spoke with Patrick Curran, Warehouse Manager, to better understand how quality is embedded into everyday logistics operations.
I look at my role from a full end-to-end perspective. Everything really starts with import compliance. We work closely with external customs brokers to ensure all regulatory and customs requirements are met when materials enter the U.S. In many cases, we act as the importer of record for clients who don’t have a U.S. presence.
From there, my team manages the receipt of raw materials. That includes both Lifecore-owned inventory and customer-owned inventory. While those materials are tracked separately in our systems, they’re managed with the same rigor. We work very closely with Supply Chain, Purchasing, and Finance to make sure that what we receive is exactly what we expect—coming from the correct vendor, in the right condition, and in the correct quantities—so downstream processes flow smoothly.
Inventory management is another major part of my responsibility. We manage millions of dollars of Lifecore-owned inventory as well as customer-owned materials. That includes maintaining storage conditions across multiple environments, performing cycle counts, and ensuring full traceability.
At the core of everything we do is a simple goal: make sure manufacturing never stops due to material shortages.
There are two primary safeguards that protect traceability and product safety: system controls and documentation with redundant verifications. Materials in our system have defined statuses that strictly control what can be done with them. Raw materials under inspection aren’t available to manufacturing, and finished goods that haven’t been released by Quality physically cannot be shipped.
In addition, every commercial shipment follows detailed, product-specific work instructions. Those instructions require multiple verification steps, including confirming quantities, lot numbers, release status, and temperature controls, with more than one person reviewing each step before a shipment leaves the dock.
We consistently receive strong feedback on cleanliness, organization, and audit readiness. We operate as if an audit could happen at any time, so there’s no scramble when one is announced. Auditors also routinely highlight our inventory accuracy. In our most recent physical inventory, we recorded a variance of one hundredth of one percent on our owned inventory which is exceptionally low.
The biggest adjustment is understanding that quality comes before speed. In other industries, Warehouse teams are often evaluated on speed and getting trucks out the door. At Lifecore, precision, documentation, and system adherence matter more than velocity. At the same time, there’s a strong culture of continuous improvement and ownership. For people who value accuracy, accountability, and collaboration, it’s a very rewarding environment.
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