BMS’s Kevin Cook on Moving CMO Partnerships Beyond Transactions

Communicating changes in plans and schedules to suppliers faster lets drugmakers supply patients more reliably when demand shifts, according to Kevin Cook, vice president, global pharm and biologics supply chain, Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS).

Speaking with Pharmaceutical Commerce at LogiPharma USA 2026, Cook says having those tools and capabilities in place reduces the lead time needed to respond to changes in demand. That matters for BMS, which has many launches, and where, Cook notes, “a lot of times that demand can be very, very variable and change.”

“The faster we can communicate with our suppliers, changes in plan, changes in schedules, the faster we can supply in a more reliable way for our patients,” he says.

Cook, who delivered the keynote “Beyond Outsourcing: Building Stronger, More Integrated CMO Partnerships Across the Pharmaceutical Supply Chain,” notes BMS is having many conversations about creating more enterprise relationships with its partners and contract manufacturing organizations (CMOs), going “beyond just the transaction relationship” and into how both sides meet their business goals. Ultimately, he says, both share the goal of serving patients.

“The more we talk about shared KPIs, performance measurements, the more we share, talk about ways of working and processes that are both integrated together, the better it is for the relationship, for both our partners and also both for BMS,” Cook says.

Industry data suggest that turning partnership goals into results remains a challenge. A Simon-Kucher survey of more than 120 CDMO and pharma leaders found that pharma companies and CDMOs often agree on what matters, but that alignment does not consistently translate into delivery; in one pairing measured, goal alignment reached 83% while expectation fulfillment was 40%.¹

Reference

1. CDMO Growth Report 2026. Simon-Kucher. Accessed October 15, 2026. https://www.simon-kucher.com/en/insights/cdmo-growth-report-2026