A number of variously oriented engineering companies have specialized in the specific demands of planning plants for the production of fine chemicals and active ingredients for pharmaceuticals. Customers as well as the service-providers themselves ask which companies or company models best meet customer needs in this segment. Which assignment form is the most efficient? Is it an award to a general contractor, possibly with a lump-sum turnkey assignment? Or is the customer better off with individual planning assignments? A study with a focus on the Central European fine chemical and pharmaceutical industry shows: There is no standardized engineering solution. Each business model has specific advantages and disadvantages; as a result, the partners must design their individual model. The respective contract form depends on many components - product, time and cost pressure, and not least of all, on the customer's remaining engineering competence.