Logistics majors join forces in pharmaceutical transport deal

Airfreight logistics company Skyservices has signed an exclusive five-year deal with logistics major DHL that will considerably reduce the risk of transporting temperature-sensitive pharmaceutical cargo, at the same time ensuring a faster turnaround time for imports and exports in the life sciences sector. Annual losses in the global cold chain industry range from US$2.5-US$12bn, a large proportion of this due to incorrect temperature control, says Frederico Lupp, head of sales for EMEA, Europe and Latin America at LifeConEx – a subsidiary of DHL, which handles the end-to-end shipment process. Skyservices has constructed two dedicated life sciences temperaturecontrolled rooms for DHL at its airside terminal at OR Tambo International Airport, one for regulating ambient temperature between +15 to +25 degrees Celsius and another for +2 to +8 degrees Celsius. These rooms have been specifically equipped for pharmaceutical and life science handling and temperature control. “We provide 24-hour monitoring of the fridges as well as strict security and temperature control to ensure the integrity of the life sciences products we store,” said Jaco Vlok, national sales and marketing director for Skyservices. The contract with DHL is the company’s first step towards diversifying its product offering, no longer focusing exclusively on perishable cargo, he added. Sophie Goosen, national sector head of Life Science and Technology for DHL, said the deal allowed DHL to offer a comprehensive door-to-door service, including driving the packaging process with the airlines, ensuring regulatory compliance and reducing risk. “We also provide visibility to the client through continuous tracking and regular status updates. Futhermore, we aim to reduce the total transport turnaround time to two days,” she said.