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ne project that stands out for us SC Air Cargo supported a e had to get a shipment out to
Oat UPS Healthcare is the Direct- Msignificant project for one WAsia for a patient - this little child
to-Patient services launched in India of our freight forwarding custom- was going to pass away if the medicine
in May 2020. During the Covid-19 ers and their shipper, aiming to did not reach the child. So, we worked
lockdown, patients participating in optimise and provide greater with the forwarder, the shipper and
clinical trials were unable to visit hos- ramp oversight within the phar- our transit stations to make sure the
pitals for their treatments. To address maceutical transportation chain. shipment went through. All teams on
this issue, our subsidiary Marken By leveraging thermal blankets, the ground were aware the shipment
initiated a service to collect medica- direct supervision and expediting was coming. Got an email the next
tions from hospitals and deliver them ramp transfers and cargo loading, morning that the little patient had re-
directly to patients' homes. This we successfully reduced packaging ceived the medication and was on the
initiative not only ensured patient costs and minimised the time cargo way to recovery. We need to remem-
safety but also maintained the con- was exposed to the elements. This ber that these medicines are going
tinuity of crucial clinical trials during reduction in exposure was crucial to somebody's mother, somebody's
an unprecedented time. We started for cost savings. grandmother, somebody's child. Who
this service in 94 cities and soon Additionally, we encountered to call, when to call and who to work
expanded it to cover 110 cities and an Aircraft on Ground (AOG) event with as a group within our organisation
towns across India. Our dedicated during deep winter with tempera- is going to be key.
personnel collected medicines from tures plummeting to minus 20 de-
doctors at hospitals and delivered grees Celsius, causing aircraft doors Jennifer Haigh, Head of
them right at the doorsteps of termi- to freeze shut. The rapidresponse Specialty Products, Americas,
nally ill patients involved in these tri- of our team, in coordination with United Airlines Cargo
als - a testament to our commitment the customer, ensured product
towards healthcare accessibility. integrity despite extreme condi- can talk of a product that went
tions. We maintained the required I off-patent and became generic..
Grégory Goba-Blé, temperature inside the aircraft for we all probably know that who is first
Managing Director, UPS in India several days, ensuring the integrity on the shelf gets market share. That
of all pharmaceutical shipments. requires a lot of upfront planning.
This experience underscores our In this particular case, there was this
commitment to excellence and reli- shipment that had to go to the U.S.
ability in pharmaceutical logistics, You can circle into the U.S. airspace
demonstrating our ability to solve only around 12 o'clock that night and
problems quickly and effectively as make sure that from the moment you
they arise. touchdown, you have to have the
ground handling ready to distribute
Joern Roehl, Head of Products, those products the next day to the
Quality, and Transformation, stores. It was about helping a cus-
MSC Air Cargo tomer, making sure the product that
was coming off-patent could be avail-
ur DHL Same Day white glove able as a generic on the shelfs. We
Oservice offers a combination had security, we had charters, we had
of speed, precision, and expertise everything in place. Shipments com-
to handle the transportation of ing in from the Far East to land in the
critical materials in the life science U.S. literally two-three minutes past 12
healthcare industry. Leveraging in the night requires a lot of orchestra-
our global network and specialised tion. That was quite challenging.
capabilities, customers in clinical
trials, cell and gene therapies, and Eric ten Kate, Global
biopharma can rely on DHL Same Sector Leader Healthcare,
Day for secure and efficient trans- CEVA Logistics
portation solutions.
Fabio Weiss, Senior Vice Air cargo industry, despite geopolitical
President, Products & Services, headwinds and trade restrictions, reported
Global Air Freight, DHL Global 63.6 billion cargo-tonne kilometres glob-
Forwarding ally in the first quarter of 2024, an increase
of over 13 percent year-on-year and four
www.stattimes.com | JULY 2024 3