Swiss WorldCargo
Establishing “quality corridors” for pharma & healthcare shipments
The pharmaceutical and healthcare industry is constantly growing in size and complexity and requires more and more sophisticated transportation solutions. The increasing need for customised transportation solutions and the complexity of the regulatory framework, are calling for logistics and transportation partners with a solid pharma background. In order to fully exploit all the opportunities, and make sure that we meet the needs of this demanding industry, at Swiss WorldCargo we adopted a Vertical Industry approach, and we constantly invest in finding the right partnerships, improving our processes and training our staff.
For the last two years, a dedicated team based in Zurich has been in place to acquire the industry knowledge and expertise and steer suitable solution offers.
Two important aspects of the Vertical Industry approach are the creation of a pharma mind-set throughout our organization, especially through training, and establishing a closer communication and cooperation not only with forwarders but with shippers, too.
Only this way we can really understand the shippers’ needs and try and design our transportation solution around them; to do so, another key aspect is the selection of the right logistics partners: for instance, the latest industry developments have raised the demand for more diversified temperature ranges, which requires partnering with cutting-edge providers of temperature-controlled containers solutions. Shippers’ focus is also on transparency and visibility, which require the use of more and more sophisticated real-time tracking devices that monitor temperature throughout the cool chain.
Recently, Swiss WorldCargo, in cooperation with ground handling partner Cargologic, focused heavily in infrastructure quality and handling standards at Zurich hub.
Zurich Airport - which has the great advantage of being small and flexible, with short tarmac times which are definitely a USP in terms of risk assessment - has become one of the world’s leading hubs when it comes to pharma handling.
Cold storage facilities were recently expanded to cater for the increasing volumes of pharmaceutical and biotech shipments and transfer shipments from and through Zurich Airport by offering 120 additional euro pallet spaces for cargo that needs to be stored at between +2°C and +8°C.
Moreover, in 2014, Cargologic handling facilities were among the first in Europe to be rated fully GDP compliant by the Swiss drug registration institution Swissmedic. And at the end of 2015, our partner also obtained the “Center of Excellence for Independent Validators” (CEIV) certification from IATA for the handling of pharmaceutical products.
This is a unique situation that reflects the high quality of our operations in Zurich and that we aim to pass on throughout our network with the establishment of “quality corridors”, that is a network of certified pharmaceutical trade lanes that meet consistent standards and assure product integrity.
As a crucial step in this direction, along with creating awareness throughout the Swiss WorldCargo organization, we announced a “quality alliance” with our handling partner at Singapore Airport, SATS, earlier this year. Our aim being to operate as per the same quality guidelines as in Zurich.
The alliance is about exchanging best practices, sharing synergies and knowledge, promoting innovation and providing quality leadership in the temperature-controlled transport management.
With our focus on people and training, cutting-edge partners and infrastructure and, overall, top quality service throughout the network, we believe that at Swiss WorldCargo we have the right industry approach but definitely need to continue developing our service offers to make sure we match the ever changing market requirements.
And with all the initiative we are showing, we will retain our leading role. It’s crucial to remember that, at the end of the day, we are not simply moving valuable and temperature-controlled shipments but pharmaceuticals that are needed by patients at the end of the supply chain.
Find out more about our solutions for temperature controlled shipments, click below:
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Swiss °Celsius Active
• Swiss °Celsius Passive
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