Adam O’Sullivan
Head of Pharmaceutical and Healthcare, Kuehne + Nagel Ireland
The life science industry’s rapid development requires future planning from companies involved in logistics and storage to ensure Ireland can stay ahead of the competition.
The sensitive nature of pharmaceutical and healthcare products within the life science industry can create complex logistical challenges.
The importance of meeting supply chain needs
The supply chain can span across several stages, multiple locations, have many individuals involved, and extend across weeks of time.
Life science companies’ increased reliance on a global network of suppliers, coupled with evolving patient demands, add to the complexity.
Therefore, it is crucial to first understand the end-to-end supply chain needs, from supplier to patient, and then design a solution to meet those needs.
Understanding supply chain needs
It is important for any logistic companies operating in life sciences to ease the burden of this responsibility from their clients by focusing on meeting the rigorous compliance standards across all four modes of transport (air, sea, road, and contract logistics).
The digital landscape of supply chain design has always played an important role in ensuring companies remain competitive.
How companies can keep up
In 2018, an investment in global solution development was undertaken to support this notion. This investment resulted in 230 Goods Distribution Practices global operations that provide consistent pharmaceutical and healthcare grade services to reach over 95-97% of the globe and keep up with the sophisticated supply chain demands of the industry.
Partnering with a logistics company that benefits from this global solution may help supply chain companies keep up with complex regulations.
The digital landscape of supply chain design has always played an important role in ensuring companies remain competitive. Investing in information sharing software – connecting all supply chain stakeholders from suppliers to partners – to enable data sharing, can unlock value in the supply chain as a source of differentiation.
Ways in which companies can plan for the future
Operations that follow Global Goods Distribution Practices offer security, reliability and expertise through features such as temperature validation, dedicated storage facilities, high security, and real-time tracking information.
It is crucial to partner with a supply chain provider who understands the industry and offers value to life science companies navigating their way through ever-changing environments.
Kuehne + Nagel is one of the world’s leading logistics companies, who funded the GxP solution in 2018 to expand their offering for their clients. Their KN PharmaChain service includes features such as dedicated ‘Care Teams’ across the globe who actively monitor the status of shipments 24/7 and a mobile app called myKN which allows customers full control from booking to delivery.
Kuehne + Nagel Ireland have gone one step further, offering a way to mitigate the risks of temperature deviation through a pragmatic risk-assessment tool that analyses all routes to market. The company’s recent acquisition of Quick International has extended value to customers in the areas of clinical trials and cell gene therapy by ensuring product quality to the last-mile delivery
