Cargo Talk Feb2021 (2) - Flipbook - Page 26
SUPPLYCHAIN TALK
and consignees have adapted to
the challenges slowly and mastered
it at all levels – operational, financial
& commercial.
Naveen Rao
Founder & Chairman
Sentro Group
In order to mitigate
the effect on supply chain,
many airlines started
operating air charter
services. Today, many
airlines have converted
passenger aircraft as PTC
(passenger to cargo) with or
without seats
Emphasising
the
fact
that
pharmaceuticals is one of the verticals
which needs a consistent and smooth
supply chain always, Vaibhav Vohra,
Managing Director, Continental Carriers,
stresses, “COVID-19 has caused much
disruption to the world in the year
2020. Since the start of the pandemic
in early 2020, air travel got obstructed
like never before and badly disrupted
the pharmaceutical supply chain also.
COVID-19 or otherwise, there is always
an urgent need for pharmaceutical
companies to ensure the delivery of
products worldwide. Pharmaceutical
supply chain involves lots of complexities
and requires logical, realistic and flexible
solutions to overcome challenges related
to timely distribution of pharmaceutical
products. Organised logistics network,
digitised supply chain, a highend tracking system are important
aspects for the distribution of
pharmaceutical products.”
Adding to these lines, Rao, highlights,
“Restrictions and lockdowns created
many urgent situations during the
early phase of COVID-19. The industry
stakeholders have learned how to
work in uncertainty and keep the
competitive spirit alive, this strategy
should continue. COVID-19 presented
a unique situation and highlighted the
importance of investing in supply chain
resilience to build long-term stable
operations. The importance of supply
chain resilience and risk management
is the lesson learnt well by one and all.
Today, the industry stakeholders have
already prepared well in advance for the
vaccine distribution with temperaturecontrolled warehouses and logistics
channels. Civil aviation authorities have
already released guidelines on SOPs
for carrying vaccine packed in dry ice
in temperature-controlled environment.
Innovative and economical packaging
material has also been introduced to the
26 CARGOTALK
FEBRUARY - 2021
market to control the temperature with
reduced cost.”
“Lack of uniform industry standards
for handling pharmaceutical shipments
among all the stakeholders is another
weak point in the pharmaceutical supply
chain. Non-uniform standards lead to
time loss as well as hinder optimised
use of the cargo capacity of an airline.
A resilient pharmaceutical supply chain
and sound enterprise decisions call for
universal collaboration and coordination
efforts from all,” he continues.
According to Rajiv Singh, Managing
Director – India, cargo-partner, “Curbs
on tourism resulted in a decrease
in airfreight capacity due to flight
cancellations and this situation led to
bottlenecks in the supply chain. He
says, “The airfreight industry was more
or less able to maintain some strategic
routes with passenger aircraft operating
as freighter aircraft, also known as paxto-cargo aircraft. However, the lack of
capacity and the inefficiency of such
pax-to-cargo aircraft resulted in an
increase in airfreight rates.”
Singh stresses on the importance of
well-designed supply chain in the
industry. He notes, “The COVID-19
situation clearly showed that it is very
important to be close to the market and
have strong relationships with strategic
partners: airlines, trucking companies,
manufacturers
of
temperaturecontrolled packaging. We as cargopartner observe the market very closely
and prioritise close collaboration with all
parties involved in the supply chain. As
a global company, we also benefit from
the cooperation between our offices
around the world, including our network
of Pharma Competence Centers – from
Mumbai to Vienna.
It has become clear how important
well-designed supply chains are and
how vulnerable companies are if they
underestimate this issue. Beside assets
and equipment readiness, contingency
planning has also become much more
significant. On some trade lanes, ‘Space
is Gold’ and we have gone from buyers’
to a sellers’ market in many areas.”
“The crisis has sped up innovation, for
example, global customs authorities
are moving fast towards digital
implementations of their respective
processes to minimise paper handling
for safety during the COVID-19
pandemic,” says V. Raju, Senior Vice
President – CL –Chemical, Pharma &
Food Sector, Avvashya CCI, in adding,
“Availability and continuity of quality
information is key to managing
the pharmaceuticals businesses,
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