Panalpina now has 70 business units around the world that are Good Distribution Practice (GDP) compliant with 30 of these GDP-certified and this figure is set to increase.
The freight forwarder said maintaining product quality and safety of pharmaceuticals in the supply chain is “highly critical” and it is looking to add more GDP-certified stations.
Panalpina is holding thousands of training sessions on GDP topics each year and around 3,000 employees are currently GDP-qualified. In 2018, it will roll out its own GDP training materials, and to continue its program to qualify its staff, which it said expands its capabilities and knowledge.
Panalpina’s global head of industry vertical healthcare, Andreas Sahli said: “With increasingly global supply chains and the emergence of high-value products, there is a heightened demand for strict quality and temperature control measures to ensure the safety and integrity of pharmaceutical products throughout long-distance deliveries.
“Stakeholders across the supply chain can rely on us to deliver GDP-compliant transport, storage and distribution solutions worldwide.”
Panalpina said management of subcontractors in the supply chain is vital and it is dependent on the performance of them and their adherence to agreed processes and procedures.
As part of its environmental, quality and safety management systems, Panalpina carries out subcontractor audits, and in 2017, 266 were performed.
Panalpina is using Validaide, a new online platform it has co-developed, to qualify its key suppliers and make lane-risk assessments, especially for the healthcare industry. In 2018, it said Validaide will be further rolled out.
