Enhance Traceability in the Healthcare Supply Chain with Smart Monitoring
Our global life sciences industry is experiencing an accelerated transformation in its supply chain. A severe shortage of labor resources has impacted material availability and created a logistical roadblock. Adding to the delayed supply chain, the increasing global regulatory requirements on temperature-sensitive products negatively affect the pharmaceutical supply chain in the fulfillment of drug delivery, completion of clinical trials, and accelerated diagnostics.
An efficient cold chain delivers an uninterrupted chain of events related to temperature-sensitive product production, storage, and distribution. The cold chain is the backbone of the pharmaceutical supply chain, and a few simple day-to-day errors like those noted below could result in the loss of lifesaving products:
- We are setting out temperature-sensitive containers but not dispatched until much later
- Storing items unnecessarily in cold rooms causes a temperature drop below a bearable minimum
- Overpacking or is-sealing a package so its cover doesn’t close entirely, exposing its contents to external temperatures
- Leaving excess room for cooling packs to migrate as they melt in transit, resulting in unequal temperature control
Previously, cold storage managers had to be physically present at a cold storage facility to monitor the temperature integrity of deliverables. Mobile applications help analyze the trend in temperature stability of temperature-sensitive goods during storage and last-mile deliveries. An IoT-enabled temperature monitoring and cloud-based asset management tool provides automated, precise tracking to minimize the risk of cold chain failures, and most importantly, minimize the risk of compromised diagnostics and treatments due to a failed cold chain. Analytics collected from embedded sensors also provides intelligence for continuous improvement across the cold chain. This assists in reproducing setups of successful cold chains elsewhere.
Today, thermal packaging manufacturers and logistic service providers are investing in reliable and cost-efficient multi-use parcel shipping solutions. This thermal packaging can now be integrated with wireless sensors and powered by mobile applications for real-time geo-tracking of shipments for end-to-end traceability. Intelligent alerts can help to enable timely responses, remotely manage lifesaving assets at globally distributed locations, and continuously build intelligence to selectively improve supply chains.
At Akuratemp®, we design and manufacture pre-validated parcel shippers that utilize phase change technology for reliability and repeatability of temperature control. These shippers feature optimal dimensional weight and 24 to 72 hours a holdover time. They are integrated with TagBox™ IoT-enabled real-time temperature monitoring, geo-location tracking, and intelligent notification via a cloud-based asset management system. The Akuratemp® Pre-Validated Parcel Shippers are available for frozen, refrigerated, and controlled room temperature applications.