Turners Shipping has entered the life science and healthcare market with their global network partner, BDP International.According to Annette Pather, business development solutions manager at Turners Shipping, the Covid-19 crisis demonstrated the importance of air cargo in delivering lifesaving vaccines and medicines, much of which require a temperature-controlled environment.“Special handling, tight deadlines, and increasing volumes highlighted the need for a solution to streamline the pharma supply chain,” she told Freight News.As a solution, the International Air Transport Association (Iata) developed CEIV Pharma (Center of Excellence for Independent Validators) to assist organisations and the entire air cargo supply chain by establishing a common baseline from existing regulations and standards and confirms that the company’s handling of pharmaceutical products meets the Iata Temperature Control Regulations (TCR), and international standards and best practices. These include those of the World Health Organization, European Union Good Distribution Practices (GDP), and the United States Pharmacopeia standards.BDP International has achieved this certification for three of its office locations: Brussels, considered Europe’s leading pharmaceutical hub, Milan, and New York.“As BDP’s South African network partner, we can ensure that our life science and healthcare customers will benefit from this commitment to compliance and the efforts to offer solutions in today’s rapidly moving supply chain landscape,” says Pather.Regulations around the clearing and forwarding of many of these products can be complicated, with differences from one region to another. With the recent travel restrictions, BDP developed online training modules for network employees, as training is a critical requirement for the CEIV certification.Turners Shipping has been BDP’s South African partner for over ten years. “As part of the network we have access to logistics partners across 134 countries, enabling us to offer a truly global door-to-door service,” said Pather.
