July 25, 2019

How to manage extended transit times in Brazil without excursions

Transporting temperature-sensitive pharmaceuticals to Brazil while being GDP compliant can be a challenge. Here are our solutions:

Data-driven risk assessment

Think of a tool based on collected real shipment data that would help you simulate high-risk routes to emerging markets and identify risks. You could simulate and analyze different scenarios and routes before performing your shipment. SkyCell offers you such a tool to help you achieve your best possible performance. We’ve collected over 3 billion data points of our shipments over the last 6 years to give you the adequate dataset to perform this task. Using the SkyCell Transport Planner(SCTP), we can simulate door-to-door routes and define standard operation processes (SOPs). The SCTP is a GAMP 5 compliant tool that enables a risk-based approach. In the following case, you will discover how data-driven shipment simulation and door-to-door delivery eliminates temperature excursions and thus enables you to accelerate product releases in Brazil.

The pharmaceutical industry in Brazil is undergoing a profound transformation and is experiencing a new business dynamic that makes its domestic pharmaceutical market one of the most attractive in the world. The supply chain to Brazil, however, remains a bottleneck rather than a strategic advantage. Extended transit times, uncertain infrastructure capacities (e.g. not enough sockets for active solutions), and lack of visibility of temperature data during transit are typical problems pharmaceutical companies are facing.

A door-to-door supply chain is key

keep control of temperature data during transit

Our customers have often referred to transit as a black box before working with SkyCell. We open this black box and provide data transparency through our IoT infrastructure. The containers are equipped with IoT sensors that automatically transmit the temperature data to the data cloud. This ensures real-time monitoring of the ambient and internal temperature during transit.

SkyCell containers have been used to transport vaccines from Germany to Brazil. Discover the latest results of our shipment to Sao Paulo:

Month: April
Route: Dusseldorf to Sao Paulo
Temperature range: +2° to +8°C
Duration: 13 days

Results

Real-time temperature data during transit
No reloading at the airport
Delivery with non-refrigerated vehicle possible
Saving 11.57 tons of CO₂

Take a look at the SkyCell Temperature Tracking System: The ambient temperature (red line) varies between +3°C and +29°C. The blue line (inner temperature) moves between +3°C and +6.5°C and remains constant at +5°C throughout transit.

Graphic shows the temperature readout of the shipment

As you can see from the red line, the total transit time was 13 days, including customs inspection period. Yet this is not always the case since customs investigations often take place in an uncooled environment. which can be seen from the fluctuation of the ambient temperature to 21° during transit.
However, the container recharged automatically in the refrigerated environment and could be transported to its destination in a regular truck. Again, time and costs were saved since the goods did not have to be reloaded at the airport and were transported door-to-door in the SkyCell container. Since the vaccines were protected from temperature excursions during the prolonged transit, they were released directly into the market.
SkyCell’s efforts support the transition from the classic supply chain to a “demand chain”, which requires a direct release of products which is only possible by flawless shipment execution and thus – no temperature excursions.

How much CO₂ could be saved?

The environment matters to all of us. Pharmaceutical companies are already operating under strict environmental controls and great efforts are made to reduce CO₂emissions. SkyCell supports its clients in achieving their sustainability goals and enables them to save a significant amount of CO₂ emissions per shipment compared to conventional container solutions.

A regular transport of one US pallet with an RKN solution would have produced 29.86 tons of CO₂ emissions. According to the independent analysis conducted by the renowned and global myclimate organization, SkyCell containers saved 11.57 tons of CO₂ per US pallet on this trip compared with commonly used solutions.

Commonly used solution: 755kg volumetric weight incl. cargo, SkyCell 1500 incl. cargo 635kg.

To help grasp how much 11.57 tons of CO₂ are: it is equivalent to the emissions of one car driving 77’133 km, almost twice around the globe.

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