Pharmaceuticals are represent an ever growing and profitable segment of the air cargo supply chain. Although they account for only 1.9% of volume shipped by air, in 2017 they contributed US$ 1.4 billion to airline cargo revenues while representing 9.4% of the value of goods shipped by air.
"Due to changing regulations, strict compliance requirements and procedures as well as ever increasing competition, pharmaceutical handling can be a complex and challenging endeavor. As such it has become crucial for pharmaceutical supply chain stakeholders to evolve if they want to continue to participate in this lucrative market" states Peter Cerdá, Regional Vice President of the Americas for IATA.
Responding to the industry"™s need, IATA created the Center of Excellence for Independent Validators (CEIV) in Pharmaceutical Logistics to help organizations and the entire air cargo supply chain get on the right track to achieve pharmaceutical handling excellence.
As a globally consistent and industry recognized pharmaceutical product handling certification, CEIV Pharma directly addresses the industry"™s need for compliance, standardization, accountability, and transparency. It represents a common baseline from existing regulations and standards to ensure international and national compliance to safeguard product integrity while at the same time effectively addressing specific air cargo needs such as quality performance. For example, according to one of the early adopters of program, CEIV Pharma has contributed to a -45% reduction of pharma acceptance non-conformities.
Based on the multiple proven benefits of certification, the CEIV Pharma program has been steadily growing. As of February 2018, a total of 221 stations have been certified around the world in 43 airports. In addition, there are currently 75 additional stations undergoing the certification process concurrently. The program is currently run from IATA"™s Miami office under the leadership of Ronal Schaefer, Assistant Director, Cargo / Ground Operations & CEIV Consulting.
The Latin America Perspective
In Latin America, pharmaceutical shipments represents one of the fastest growing sectors for inbound shipments. The mercurial growth of the middle class combined with the increased life expectancy of an aging population has generated a huge demand for pharmaceuticals with current forecasts predicting the Latin American pharmaceutical market will experience a 7% CAGR over the next five years.
Unfortunately, the majority of Latin American airports are still considered a "black hole" by many in the industry. Communication, qualification, integration as well as lack of satisfactory provision of solutions tend to be the biggest complaints by shippers.
This is where CEIV Pharma can help. Through a rigorous multi-stage process of independent audit, validation and training, the program not only elevates staff levels of competency but it also ensures participating entities upgrade their procedures, processes, risk assessment methodology and respective infrastructure to meet the growing demands of its customers.
One of the first airports in the region that has opted for this program is the Montevideo airport in Uruguay, the only one in Latin America to operate as a 3PL for the pharmaceutical industry under a Free Zone regime.
According to its director general, Eng. Bruno Guella, «CEIV Pharma has meant for us a before and after in the development of our activities; Nowadays it is not enough to bet on excellence, but you have to prove it day by day. At MVD Free Airport we are growing regional logistics solutions for the pharmaceutical industry, which leads us to receive frequent audits of global pharmaceutical companies; The auditors’ reaction is very positive when they confirm the degree of exhaustivity in GDP that was required by the validation process of CEIV Pharma, which shows us that we have chosen the right path».
So far 10 stations in 7 airports around Latin America have been awarded certification. Certified companies include DHL, Kuehne+Nagel and Rio Galeão.
