Cargo Talk Feb2021 (2) - Flipbook - Page 28
SUPPLYCHAIN TALK
Special planning,
secured loading
& protection
throughout the
movement
Rajiv Singh
Managing Director – India, cargo-partner and
India Cargo Award Winner 2019
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 temperature-controlled
packaging
Requisites
In 2021, experts expect
companies will produce around 9
billion COVID-19 vaccines, and the
cold chain must be able to handle
this huge increase on top of the
vaccines that must be distributed
every year already.
28 CARGOTALK
FEBRUARY - 2021
“Vaccine distribution is certainly going
to be a challenging task. Vaccine supply
and distribution is quite a complex
process which requires a temperaturecontrolled atmosphere throughout the
shipping process, starting from the
manufacturing unit until the delivery
point. Presently, cold chain networks
are concentrated in the big cities and
towns. To fill this gap we need enough
cold chain trucks, freighters and a
good freight management scenario.
A good number of planes, trucks,
warehouses and health centres will
need to be outfitted with freezers, so
air cargo rates and capacity would
be another challenge. We just cannot
ignore the risk factor and security
concerns involved in logistics for the
vaccines. Vaccine logistics would require
special planning, secured loading and
protection throughout its movement,”
shares Vohra.
Continuing on ideal temperature
required for the storage and
movement of vaccine, Raju adds,
“Temperature mistakes are mostly due
to inappropriate shipping procedures
in the cold chain, and these losses are
estimated at US$34.1 billion annually.
But that number does not even take into
account the cost – physically as well as
financially – of any illnesses that could
have been prevented by timely deliveries
of high-quality vaccines. With billions
of vaccines needed to address the
pandemic, a high spoilage rate would
result in an immense financial loss
and a huge delay in vaccinations that
could result in deaths and a longer
global shutdown.”
“Different vaccines may require different
temperatures and different handling
procedures. Hence, staff throughout
the cold chain would need different
training on how to handle each vaccine.
Airports and logistics companies are
currently evaluating whether they can
meet this need. The results remain to be
seen. These are just a few of the major
problems and potential solutions, but
there are dozens of interesting scenarios
that could arise. And finally, it’s possible
that with the airline companies reeling
from the pandemic, there might not
be enough active planes to meet the
demand for shipping these vaccines.
Preparing and fortifying the cold chain
for vaccine distribution will ensure that
vaccines are not wasted and will help
the world get through this pandemic
sooner,” he adds.
General cargo gets
the backseat
Putting stress on such an important
concern, Singh points out, “We can
see difficult challenges for ‘general
cargo’ in getting space and allocation
agreements since many carriers are
much focused on the moving of
vaccines, putting the general cargo
somehow in the background, resulting
in the repositioning of aircraft to cover
the demand and the cancellation of
existing allocations and agreements.”
Keeping cost under
control
Highlighting the pricing part, Rao adds,
“Most important for the vaccine is
temperature- controlled transportation at
an affordable price. Keeping costs under
control and maintaining high-quality
temperature-controlled transportation
and warehousing are key factors for
moving vaccine worldwide. Delivering
billions of doses of a vaccine that
must be transported and stored in a
deep-frozen state to the entire world
efficiently, will involve hugely complex
logistical challenges across the supply
chain. Air cargo plays a crucial role in the
distribution of vaccines in usual days. But,
for COVID-19 vaccines, we need a wellestablished global time- and temperaturesensitive distribution systems.”
Logistics service
providers’
requirements from
the shippers
When asked about the service providers’
requirements from the shipper, Vohra
says, “The vaccine distribution cost will be
measured based on the volume of vaccine
and location based demand which is still
not cleared by any of the shippers. Also,
there is uncertainty on how and when the
global rollout will happen.”
Product integrity needs to be maintained
throughout the supply chain in the
vaccine transportation. “To ensure
this, the shipper and manufacturer
must provide the required product
stability data, information around the
product, demands around temperature
requirements, humidity control etc.
There has to be an agreed Standard
Operating Procedure (SOP), where
critical control points are identified.
These critical control points form a Route
Risk Assessment. These assessments are
normally made by service providers,
presented and signed off by the shipper.
Accordingly, shipper and manufacturer
must have persons in charge of shipping
who connect with logistics service
providers. Given the global challenges
relating to transport capacity, it is also
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