Guest speaker Ruud van der Geer, Global Deliver Strategy Team MSD said the pharma industry was working to be as prepared as possible in volatile times.
“The biggest challenge is that we have to develop a network, but there are still so many unknowns, from the required shipping temperature to where it will be manufactured and delivered, and the overall manufacturing capacity,” he said.
“We have to build something scalable and sustainable, sustainable because we have other products in our portfolio, and we have to make sure this doesn’t impact access to existing medication.
“We need a standardised solution, there is no benefit to everyone coming up with their own supply chain solution, that means we need to stay connected and keep talking.”
Workshop members also heard from new CCA member Stefan Braun, Managing Director of SmartCAE, behind a software platform for the simulation of Temperature Controlled Logistics called the Virtual Cold Chain.
Braun demonstrated a case study on how the Virtual Cool Chain could help plan a robust distribution of Covid vaccines needing to travel at -70 Celsius.
“The idea is to connect all of the different stakeholders, from packaging companies to the pharma companies, to put the data together so that we can determine what the optimal packaging is and the optimal service on the lane to deliver with minimum risk and in the most cost-efficient way, “ he said.
“To do this virtually takes minutes, versus hours for an actual journey.”
