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Aramex UK has urged pharmaceutical companies exporting products overseas to be mindful about shipping to warmer climates.
Temperature fluctuations arising from improperly configured refrigerated containers, unforeseen delays, or other operational issues can lead to product damage or loss, which has the potential to translate into substantial financial losses amounting to potentially millions of pounds. In recent years, the demand for temperature-sensitive pharmaceuticals has surged, and with this ensuring the safe and efficient delivery of critical medical supplies has become increasingly critical.
With temperatures in regions such as the Middle East and Asia often exceeding 40 degrees at their peak, the logistical process of shipping pharmaceuticals has become more difficult – especially when adding regulatory requirements, security concerns, and supply chain disruptions to the mix. Failures in temperature-controlled logistics have been tipped to cost around $35 billion per year to the pharmaceutical industry.
As climate change continues to present an ongoing challenge to logistics providers, with issues such as an increase of severe weather events and record-breaking temperatures year-on-year becoming commonplace, the need for a robust logistics strategy has never been more vital.
To provide clients with the comfort of knowing that the quality and integrity of their products are preserved throughout the entire supply chain, Aramex UK has also recently obtained its WDA (H) licence, enabling the global logistics provider to handle and distribute medicinal products in accordance with current compliance and showcase that they adhere to regulatory standards for safety, quality, and traceability.
Ronan Kitchin, who heads up Aramex UK’s Life Science & Healthcare division said: “The temperature aspect when shipping pharmaceuticals from the UK to warmer climates such as the Middle East and Asia is a significant consideration we have to factor into every logistics strategy when liaising with clients within the industry as even the slightest excursion can ruin a product. With climate change becoming one of the core issues effecting the shipping process, ensuring the stability of shipments in increasingly unstable environments has also developed into a core consideration for global shipping providers.
“The logistical solutions to ship pharmaceuticals have become much more refined, therefore in order to cater to the increasing demands of the marketplace, and with regulatory compliance, we have created an end-to-end, customisable offering that is built upon ensuring that the integrity of every product within our care is preserved throughout the entire supply chain – offering total peace of mind to clients.
“Due to the sensitivity of the products being stored and transported, compromising on the integrity of pharmaceuticals just simply isn’t an option as quality must be maintained from the point of manufacture through to last mile delivery. As such we have put traceability, compliance and temperature control at the core of our pharma-centric solutions.
Ronan continued: “We also leverage our global network to cultivate continuous collaborative communication lines anywhere in the world as well as conduct comprehensive risk assessments and utilise technologies to build a climate-resilient infrastructure for clients. With climate events often being unpredictable and happen quickly, fostering a proactive approach is key to withstanding any unforeseen circumstances."