The Smarter Cold Chain: Four Essentials Every Company Should Adopt

The life sciences industry has reached a tipping point.

A radically changing product portfolio, stricter global regulations, rapid expansion into new markets, escalating risk and intense cost pressures - these converging forces have raised the stakes for the life sciences supply chain, particularly for the cold chain.

Failure of the cold chain can have catastrophic consequences. Worst case - it puts patients’ lives at risk. The time has come for a new, smarter cold chain.

Just what is this smarter cold chain?

DHL’s white paper “The Smarter Cold Chain: Four essentials every company should adopt” highlights the critical challenges facing the healthcare industry as global demand for expensive structurally complex and temperature-sensitive biologics and specialty drugs grows.

According to the report, smarter cold chains must be consistent and robust, incorporating ways of mitigating risk and loss, with strong contingency capabilities and proactive problem-resolution processes.

Most importantly, they must be built on four key essentials:

• A highly specialized and compliant network tuned to moving products efficiently, while protecting their integrity
• Globally consistent processes - policies and procedures that mitigate risk
• Risk-appropriate packaging - technology, cost appropriate, perfect handling
• Total cost strategy - includes assessing risk and the real cost of failure to the company

Download “THE SMARTER COLD CHAIN: Four essentials every company should adopt” to find out.