| Considering the extremely high value and quality of pharmaceutical products, it is astonishing that service providers are often selected by the lowest transportation cost on offer. Frank Mauler of Panalpina investigates a false economy in action
It’s nothing really new in forwarding business that not only general cargo needs to be shipped, but also temperature-sensitive cargo. For years, perishable pharmaceuticals have been well known as cargo loaded on trucks, aircrafts and ocean vessels. Experts from the pharmaceutical industry, regulatory authorities, carriers and logistics providers constantly emphasise, in the media and during dedicated cold chain conferences, the need for reliable solutions for pharmaceuticals to solve the prevailing problems of temperature deviations, missing standards and reliable performance. So, it seems that real solutions are not available when there is a need to maintain specific temperature ranges, and thus guarantee product integrity on arrival during international door-to-door transports.
The growing volume of expensive and highly sensitive biotech products, along with an increasing number of requirements from health authorities and regulatory bodies, call for improved cold chains in order to cope with increased traffic in the future. There is no shortage of dedicated services for other special cargo such as valuables, dangerous goods, art, live animals and oversized cargo, for example. But what’s available for pharmaceuticals?
As a matter of fact, some international airlines offer a variety of services, but when it comes to liability and service guarantees, clear ownership is missing. There are even airlines that want to handle such cargo, but actually refuse the temperature requirements mentioned in transport documents because of liability issues. |
