In the competitive world of contract development and manufacturing, CDMOs often focus on winning the contract — but forget that long-term client retention starts the moment the ink dries.
Too many CDMOs lose clients not because of price or performance failures, but because they undervalue the onboarding experience — missing early opportunities to build trust, alignment, and operational momentum.
Here’s what most CDMOs overlook in onboarding, and how to fix it.
🚩 1. Assuming the RFP = Understanding the Program
Winning the bid doesn’t mean you truly understand the client’s:
- Technical priorities
- Risk tolerances
- Internal approval processes
- Regulatory strategies
What CDMOs miss: Jumping straight into planning based on the RFP without a discovery phase leads to misaligned expectations, scope creep, and scope disputes later.
Fix it:
Start with a structured Technology & Expectations Alignment Workshop:
- Clarify product phase, critical quality attributes (CQAs), and tech transfer history
- Discuss known risks, “must-haves,” and past CDMO experiences
- Document escalation paths and governance preferences
🔇 2. Underestimating the Power of Silence
The first 30–60 days are critical. If the sponsor doesn’t hear from you — or worse, if communication is disorganized — they begin questioning their decision.
What CDMOs miss: No formal kickoff cadence, no visibility into progress, or too much siloed communication between departments.
Fix it:
- Launch with a sponsor-facing onboarding plan with milestones, owners, and contact maps
- Provide a communication charter with update frequency, touchpoints, and response timelines
- Establish joint governance from the beginning — even in clinical-phase projects
🧩 3. Forgetting the People Behind the Molecule
Every client has hidden dynamics: who really owns the budget, who’s risk-averse, who pushes timelines, and who will be your internal champion or saboteur.
What CDMOs miss: Treating the client as a company, not as a team of individuals with different personalities and pressures.
Fix it:
- Use the onboarding process to map key stakeholders and relationship priorities
- Assign a Client Engagement Lead (not just a PM) to build relationships and anticipate friction
- Track satisfaction and engagement early — not just at QBRs
🛠️ 4. Delaying Quality Engagement
Quality systems alignment often happens too late — after tech transfer begins or the first batch fails.
What CDMOs miss: Thinking quality alignment is a back-office task, not a day-one conversation.
Fix it:
- Align early on batch review expectations, data formats, deviation communication, and release responsibilities
- Review critical quality systems: change control, deviation handling, audit readiness
- Share quality culture indicators and joint expectations for GMP maturity
🧠 5. Failing to Align on Success Metrics
You can’t retain a client if you don’t know what “success” looks like to them — and it’s rarely just “on-time delivery.”
What CDMOs miss: Not defining the sponsor’s real KPIs. Is it speed to IND? Regulatory predictability? Batch-to-batch reproducibility? Fewer escalations?
Fix it:
- Document and review sponsor-specific success criteria during onboarding
- Build dashboards that reflect their priorities, not just your internal KPIs
- Revisit these metrics quarterly to stay aligned and adjust as programs evolve
🎯 Final Takeaway
A sponsor’s first impression often determines whether your CDMO becomes a trusted long-term partner — or a one-and-done vendor. By treating onboarding as a strategic engagement phase (not just project setup), you can create durable relationships, reduce churn, and turn every new project into a long-term partnership.
