R.The logistical services industry is not strange to the complexity, but when it comes to the transmission of medicines and medical products, a few areas that represent many unique challenges such as the wonderful chain.
“On the last tendency – the point where the products finally reach hospitals, healthcare providers and patients – it can be said that the most important part of the entire series,” explained by Niko Saco, Vice President of the Health Care Strategy at Kuehne+Nagle. “However, as an industry, we have not always gave it the focus it deserves. Pharmaceutical manufacturers are truly focused on research and development, guaranteeing the highest levels of quality and compliance in production. But when it comes to distribution, logistics service providers can help them build flexibility in their supply chains.
“We are all here to serve patients – whether they are waiting for a property, diagnosis or medical device. This is not a matter of” you and me. “
A custom solution
One of the main Kuehne+Nagle initiatives to process this gap is to create a “health chain”, which is a comprehensive logistical system designed to ensure the highest levels of compliance, quality and vision for pharmaceutical and medical equipment.
“We are not only maintaining current practices – we are actively looking for ways to do better. One example is our corridor initiative – rethinking the traditional cold chain models.”
“Instead of relying only on active monitoring techniques, we turn towards high -performance negative solutions. This still meets the criteria for compliance and strict quality, but it provides great benefits in terms of cost efficiency and sustainability.
To present this vision, Kuehne+Nagle has built what you call “Healthchain” – a global logistical network specially designed for the healthcare sector.
Healthchain includes more than 200 stations designed for this purpose that extends on the air, sea, road and storage. Each site works according to strict compliance standards, especially good distribution practices (GDP).
“This is not just logistical – it’s a specialized supply chain in the supply chain,” Saco explained.
Best cold chain
Continuing innovation is very important to meet the advanced needs of the health care sector, which leads to Kuehne+Nagle to the move from the active to the negative monitoring of the temperature sensitive products, ensuring compliance with the consideration of the effectiveness of cost and sustainability.
On the side of Kuehne+Nagel, one of the company’s main investments is what is known as the control tower, or an integrated logistics solution. This provides a comprehensive vision in all transportation corridors.
Especially important is that it is an independent and not attached solution – not only on Kuehne+Nagel operations. This means that it can be combined through different suppliers, giving our customers a single source of truth when it comes to data and vision.
“We are not only implemented.” “We are trying to innovate, while maintaining the same high level of compliance, quality, recognition of cost and sustainability.
“The vision is great, and the data is everywhere these days. But the real value lies in what you do with this data. It is not enough to collect them. The question is: How can we translate this vision into work?
“With the right tools, we can get rid of these data, apply analyzes, define blind points or proactive opportunities to improve the supply chain from end to end. This goes beyond implementation. It relates to thinking, analysis and innovation on behalf of the customer.”
The lessons learned
Covid-19 put an unprecedented stress on global supply chains, especially the cold chain logs, as the vaccine distribution has become a top priority.
Saco, who directly participated in the global distribution of the vaccine in Johnson & Johnson during his term, there is a clear way to reshape the epidemic on the industry approach in the cold chain logs: “During Covid-19, we faced a great challenge to find the cold chain’s ability to deal with vaccine distribution. The world has not been prepared for this level simply.
However, the epidemic also accelerated in developing the cold chain solutions. The capacity problem has become very visible, and everyone began to take care.
“Customers want quality and time delivery, yes-but they also expect to develop with them. It is not enough to run a good process; we also need to bring thinking solutions forward, challenge in the current situation, and to cooperate closely to improve. This is the true value of the logistics partner today.”
Change treatments
The increasing complexity of medical treatments, such as genetics, leads a shift in the way in which logistical service providers close to healthcare supply chains. When the treatments become more customized and focus on the patient, the logistical challenge grows.
“It’s a completely different game,” said Saco. “The logistical requirements of traditional pharmaceutical preparations are very different from the complications made by personal medicine. While traditional models focus on large size shipments to central sites, the appearance of cell treatments and genes has been done in a new era.
Kuehne+Nagel has given Quickstat five years ago, a company specialized in Logistics for genetic therapy, the company is a competitive advantage in this field.
“This acquisition allowed us to be advanced on the curve in terms of providing specialized solutions for genes and cells,” Saco explained. “It is a specialized area, but we are in a good position to manage these new types of treatments through the entire product life cycle.”
