UPS collaborates with tier-one companies with strong quality records, and we audit them frequently to ensure their performance remains in line with strict UPS standards of excellence. Along with transportation for temperature-sensitive shipments is the need for product protection. It is important to select packaging and containers that provide a level of safety and security beyond ordinary conditions that shipments may encounter.

For temperature-controlled air freight, UPS’s experts systematically identify all the potential points of risk along the supply chain and co-define with our customers at least two alternative actions to mitigate these risks. These could be alternate routings or temporary cold-chain storage. With UPS Proactive Response®, our professional agents proactively monitor shipments along the supply chain and intercept packages at risk of missing scheduled delivery time, need refrigeration or dry-ice replenishment, require delivery rerouting or some other intervention to mitigate risk.

DOTmed News: What are some overall trends you are seeing in cold chain packaging and shipping?

A: The cold supply chain is experiencing unprecedented growth and one of the most defining trends that impact this market is regulatory compliance. The progressive convergence of Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs) with Good Distribution Practices (GDPs) is putting increased pressure on healthcare companies. Regulators around the world are requesting a higher level of protection for all temperature-sensitive shipments, whether they require a 2-8°C temperature or a controlled room temperature (CRT) environment. This is changing established practices across the industry.

A second trend is the need to reach more and more global markets, with longer transit times, more regulatory diversity, and challenging weather conditions and infrastructures. A shipment that originates in Toronto in January and arrives in San Paolo likely will see constant external temperature shifts along the supply chain. It will also have to comply with both Health Canada’s stringent guidelines and ANVISA’s in Brazil. Shippers are faced with increased pressures to navigate an often-complex regulatory landscape.

A third cold chain trend is constant technological innovation. New materials are being introduced in cold chain packaging to improve insulation — aerogels, thermal blankets, etc. — or to maintain temperature within a very precise temperature range (PCMs).

UPS expects innovation to accelerate notably around the platforms to communicate and analyze the environmental information gathered by an increasing number of sensors. As the cold supply chain continues to evolve, UPS is committed to providing the right solutions and expertise to meet our customers’ growing needs.

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