Cold Chain Tech Glows

Ember LifeSciences and the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) have partnered to enhance the efficiency of blood-sample shipping processes for upcoming sporting events, including the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials.

Ember LifeSciences’ cold chain technology focuses on self-contained, self-monitoring shipping systems for items such as temperature-sensitive pharmaceuticals, vaccines, and lab specimens. The Ember Cube (photo above) provides a fully integrated solution to common and costly challenges in cold chain shipping. Its design addresses issues related to tracking and temperature-sensitive deliveries, ensuring secure transport and preserved efficacy of medicine and specimens.

The USADA used the Ember Cube at several sporting events in 2023, including the Boston and New York Marathons and the Ironman World Championship in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii.

Through these events, hundreds of blood samples from elite athletes were transported in Ember Cubes to drug testing labs across the United States. Leveraging Ember’s cloud-based dashboard, USADA was able to monitor the real-time location, ambient temperature, and payload temperature of the Cubes during transit, ensuring that the blood samples maintained optimal temperatures and chain of custody was retained throughout the journey.

Beyond addressing shipment delays, the Ember Cube presented USADA with a cost-effective, integrated shipping solution given its reusability and advanced features, including self-refrigeration capabilities to store collected blood samples before and during transport. The Cube’s integrated temperature monitoring also eliminated the need for a standalone temperature logger, enhancing the overall efficiency, simplicity, and reliability of the process.

6 Healthcare Supply Chain Trends to Monitor

It will take next-level healthcare supply chain management to deliver next-level healthcare, according to DHL’s latest whitepaper, Delivering Next-Level Healthcare, which identifies these six key trends driving healthcare logistics.

1. Patient-centric healthcare. Today’s personalized treatments require closer links between pharmaceutical manufacturers and patients. And patients now expect the same choice and convenience in healthcare as in the commercial marketplace, driving growth in the consumer healthcare segment.

2. Advanced therapies. New approaches supplant simpler, more generalized medicines. For example, complex cell and gene therapies are developed in small batches that require tightly controlled two-way supply chains. Biopharma products need to be handled carefully at every stage in the supply chain, prompting robust investments in cold chain logistics.

3. Digital healthcare. The pandemic fueled an explosion in remote healthcare, including “decentralized clinical trials” where shipments of urgent, sensitive, and temperature-controlled medications replace the movement of patients. This results in more complex healthcare supply chain management, with sophisticated sensor and asset-tracking technologies for cross-system visibility and auto-replenishment. It also has applications for blockchain technologies to guard against counterfeiting and data theft.

4. New ecosystems. The urgency with which the COVID-19 vaccines were developed and distributed reset expectations, not just for the pharmaceutical industry but for logistics as well. Accelerated timelines have led some large healthcare providers to turn to outsourced logistics providers to handle the critical flows of medicines and devices throughout the supply chain.

5. Sustainable solutions. Carbon-neutral warehousing, alternative fuels, closed-loop returnable packaging and container systems, and optimized inventory and delivery models can ensure high levels of availability while minimizing waste and helping the industry meet its emissions goals.

6. Resilience. The pandemic and its after effects brought unprecedented stress to global healthcare supply chains. The desire to avoid future disruptions has led to a “great supply chain rethink,” including more localized supply chains for essential healthcare products and insourcing of critical pharmaceuticals, active ingredients, and medical supplies.

RFID: Hospitals Tag Along

The global RFID market is experiencing significant growth and is projected to reach $40.9 billion by 2032, up from $15.8 billion in 2023, according to Markets and Markets research. Applying RFID technology to healthcare is expected to grow at the second-highest rate during the forecast period, the research finds.

Patient monitoring within hospitals presents ample opportunities to integrate RFID solutions. These technologies offer a means to track and accurately identify patients, which enhances safety protocols. By leveraging RFID-enabled patient monitoring solutions, hospitals can optimize patient flow and throughput, streamlining routing workflows while reducing medication errors.

These systems also facilitate the monitoring of patient movement history and activity levels, ensuring comprehensive room-level patient visibility. Additionally, RFID technology can detect instances of patients falling from beds or wheelchairs. Real-time monitoring capabilities afforded by RFID solutions offer a proactive approach to preventing such incidents.

“The demand for temperature-controlled shipments, especially for vaccines, is on a steady rise. This trend, coupled with the fact that most healthcare-related items also require temperature control, could potentially lead to a squeeze in the availability of services. It’s crucial to anticipate these challenges and ensure we are prepared to meet the growing demand.”

—Joel Pinsky,
President,
Customized Logistics and
Delivery Association and
CEO and CFO,
Global Messenger and Logistics

At-Home Tests Not Going Away

Over the past few years, in large part due to COVID-19, healthcare providers have become more comfortable with patients self-administering tests and reporting the outcomes. As a result, the market now offers more intelligent, technology-forward devices for general consumers proactively taking charge of their own healthcare.

As healthcare and medical device companies continue to navigate this booming market, they’re also running into a host of issues: regulatory compliance, risk mitigation, quality assurance, logistics and distribution, inventory management, and typical global supply chain disruptions.

In the life sciences space, regulatory compliance is critical to guaranteeing that at-home testing kits and medical devices safely get to consumers. Companies are subject to strict mandates imposed by health authorities across the globe.

The challenges that at-home testing kits and medical devices face in supply chains aren’t going away, and are likely to get only more nuanced. It’s vital that providers work with partners that have experience in medical device logistics to help mitigate risk and successfully navigate this rapidly evolving market.

– John Marrow, President, RRD Supply Chain Solutions

More for chemotherapy, more for ADHD, more for diabetes, and more for the countless other critical conditions plaguing our ailing and rapidly aging nation. This shortage leaves patients in limbo, doctors and hospital administrators exasperated, and politicians grasping for answers. 

Both sides of the aisle have acknowledged the urgency with multiple congressional hearings seeking solutions to this deadly drug shortage.

At the first meeting of his new supply chain resilience council, President Biden announced plans to increase domestic production of essential pharmaceuticals through the Defense Production Act. Never one to play second fiddle, former President Trump has also advocated for bringing back production of all essential medicines if re-elected, as part of his “plan to obtain total independence from China.”

Despite this rare instance of bipartisanship, politicians clamoring to establish ‘Made in America’ drug manufacturing facilities are misguided in thinking this is the silver bullet that will deliver a long-term fix. 

Much more comprehensive efforts are needed, and while the government has a role to play, the most impactful path lies with the drug providers improving the resiliency of their sometimes fragile supply chains. 

A Drop in the Bucket

While Biden’s efforts on this issue are admirable, the $35 million he is allocating for the domestic production of sterile injectable medicines falls far short of the incentives that might spur a blue-chip pharmaceutical company to consider breaking ground or re-locating one of its overseas facilities.

These nickel-and-dime numbers pale in comparison to what would really move the needle from a government intervention standpoint: drastically slashing the corporate tax rate to compete with tax-friendly enclaves like Ireland, Switzerland, and Singapore. These countries are home to much of today’s manufacturing and allow companies to keep much more of their profits. 

Supply Chain Snarls Know No Boundaries

Even if Washington did succeed in bringing production back to the States, any new domestic facilities would still be at the mercy of the same supply chain snarls that bedevil overseas ones. 

Natural disasters hit, pulling plant capacity offline. Drug manufacturers unexpectedly go bankrupt. Regulatory agencies shut down facilities due to quality non-compliance issues. These scenarios lead to a domino effect that sees people who can’t access one type of medication forced to move onto another, thereby increasing demand for the alternative, and putting additional strain on an already fragile system.

Then there’s the minor detail of having to procure the active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) themselves. Due to the sources for many key starting materials (KSMs), all roads may still lead to China (albeit via India), thereby negating the reasonable prospect of achieving a self-sufficient utopia, a fact acknowledged by a 2023 congressional report. 

Biden’s recent decision to allow Florida to import cheaper prescription drugs from Canada is a step in the right direction to juicing the supply side of the equation. But to treat the cause instead of the symptom, we have to look to the drug manufacturers’ supply chains.

Many organizations, including the American Medical Association, have called for pharmaceutical companies to diversify their supply chains and move away from single-site manufacturing to increase redundancy and de-risk.

Achieving Supply Chain Resiliency 

A concurrent supply chain with full visibility and transparency across networks could rebalance inventories and provide forewarning of potential supply chain disruptions and their impact long before they became a problem. Global biopharmaceutical company Ipsen took this approach during the pandemic and had zero stockouts, despite demand spikes of up to 70%.

The Department of Commerce’s new Supply Chain Center and the Department of Transportation’s Freight Logistics Optimization Works (“FLOW”) program are other kinds of data-backed public-private partnerships that have the potential to build more transparency into shared supply chain networks with a view to facilitating a more reliable flow of goods.

With a dizzying array of stakeholders — including manufacturers, distributors, wholesalers, regulators, doctors, and pharmacies — drug supply chains are about as complex as they come. Getting the right products into patients’ hands when they need them is a lot more complicated and consequential than ensuring Hershey bars are on the shelves come Halloween. 

However, as companies like Merck & Co. have proven, it is possible to borrow a page from the consumer-packaged goods industry, long considered the gold standard of supply chain resiliency, by adopting a digital supply chain platform to eliminate silos, make more informed decisions, and proactively manage the risks around countless ‘what ifs.’

While it’s not going to appear overnight, a stable future where patients can consistently access the medications they rely on can be achieved. It doesn’t require the wholesale creation of more U.S. production capacity or massive amounts of government intervention. We already have the power to transform supply chains and our overall healthcare system for the better.

Remarkably, these reefers transport 70% of the food we consume, with around 500,000 units actively maintaining the cold chain across the United States.

In this blog, we will discuss the history, benefits, and types of these vehicles, along with insights into the significance of refrigerated shipping in global logistics.

History of Reefer Trucking

The advent of refrigerated trucking began in the 1920s, revolutionizing how perishable goods were transported. Initially serving the ice cream industry, the first successful mechanically refrigerated trucks emerged in 1925, invented by Frederick McKinley Jones.

By 1939, the development of automated cooling systems for shipping trailers further advanced the industry. With around 4 million refrigerated vehicles worldwide, these trucks and trailers are indispensable in maintaining the cold chain, crucial for the global economy.

Types of Reefer Trucks

Reefer trucks are essential in the transportation industry. They ensure that perishable goods reach their destination in optimal condition. Each type ensures that temperature-sensitive cargo is transported under optimal conditions.

Refrigerated Trailers

Refrigerated trailers, or reefers, are essential in cold chain logistics, transporting perishable goods such as food, flowers, and pharmaceuticals. They are often equipped with small vent doors for ventilation.

By maintaining precise temperatures, they ensure products remain fresh over vast distances. This capability is crucial for grocery stores and pharmacies, making reefers indispensable in local and global supply chains.

Cryogenic Reefers

Cryogenic reefers represent a specialized segment of refrigerated transport, utilizing liquid nitrogen or carbon dioxide to maintain temperatures down to -150°C. They’re pivotal for shipping susceptible medical supplies, including vaccines and biological samples, across great distances without compromising their integrity.

Heated Trucks

Heated trucks are tailored for goods that require warmth to prevent freezing, such as certain chemicals, cosmetics, and food products sensitive to cold. These vehicles are vital during winter, ensuring that the cargo’s temperature does not drop below a safe threshold, thus preserving the quality and efficacy of the transported goods.

Reefer Truck Features

Understanding the key features of reefer trucks is crucial for maintaining the quality and safety of perishable goods during transport.

Here are the top features of reefer trucks:

• Temperature Monitoring System: Ensures perishable goods are kept at safe temperatures throughout the journey, which is crucial for food safety and pharmaceutical transport.
• Reliable Vehicle Mechanics: Utilizes dependable trucks like Hino, Isuzu, and Toyota, minimizing the risk of breakdowns and ensuring timely deliveries.
• Fiberglass Body: Offers superior insulation and structural integrity, enhancing thermal efficiency by 20-30% compared to steel, crucial for maintaining temperature control.
• Galvanized Steel Chassis: Provides corrosion protection and durability, essential for withstanding heavy-duty tasks and adverse weather conditions.
• Efficient Design Maximizing Space: Optimizes cargo space, allowing for more products per delivery and reducing wasted space, which is key for profitability.
• Dependable Refrigeration Units: These are the core of reefer trucks, ensuring goods remain fresh. Brands like Carrier are preferred for their efficiency and reliability.

Refrigerated Box Trucks and Van Sizes

The range of refrigerated box trucks and vans caters to various cargo sizes and transportation needs. Some of the standard sizes are:

• 12’-14’ Trucks: Ideal for small-scale deliveries, these trucks can carry 4-6 pallets, supporting loads between 5,000 to 7,000 lbs. Perfect for local, urban deliveries of fresh produce or pharmaceuticals.
• 16’-20’ Trucks: This is a mid-size option capable of handling 6-8 pallets with a payload capacity of up to 13,000 lbs. It is suitable for medium-sized businesses distributing goods across regions.
• 22’-28’ Trucks: Designed for heavy-duty hauls, these trucks accommodate 10-12 pallets and payloads between 9,000 and 15,000 lbs. They are the go-to for large-scale, long-distance deliveries of frozen foods or temperature-sensitive cargo.

Significance of Refrigerated Shipping and Logistics

Refrigeration in logistics revolutionizes the transportation of perishable items, ensuring they reach destinations fresh and safe. Reefer trucks and trailers are vital for maintaining the cold chain and crucial for food safety, pharmaceuticals, and other temperature-sensitive goods. This technology enables global trade, extending the market reach and consumer access to diverse products.

Buying New or Used Refrigerated Trucks

Evaluating the advantages of new versus used refrigerated trucks is essential when shopping for these trucks. Resources for finding these vehicles include online sales sites, specialized truck dealers, and industry trade shows.

• New refrigerated trucks come with the latest technology and comprehensive warranties, listed on the dealer’s site and trucks for sale pages.
• Used refrigerated trucks offer significant cost savings and are a viable choice if they have a transparent maintenance history, often found on sales pages.
• Researching through online sales platforms, dealerships, and trade shows is crucial to making an informed decision.

When buying, it’s essential to consider the truck’s maintenance records and cargo area size, typically listed on the sale page.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Refrigeration Truck Fleets

Managing a fleet of refrigerated trucks is crucial for companies transporting perishable items, offering unique advantages and facing specific challenges.

Advantages:

• Better shipping rates: Specialized services allow refrigerated trucks to command higher rates, improving profitability.
• Expanded market access: These trucks transport diverse perishable items, opening up new markets.
• Preservation of sensitive cargo: Ensures the safe transport of food, pharmaceuticals, and other temperature-sensitive products.
• Enhanced customer satisfaction: Reliable delivery of fresh products builds customer trust and loyalty.

Disadvantages:

• Higher initial cost: Advanced cooling systems and insulation significantly increase the purchase price.
• Maintenance complexity: Requires specialized maintenance, increasing operational costs.
• Insurance premiums: High value and cargo sensitivity lead to higher insurance costs.
• Deadhead miles: Limited backhaul opportunities can result in non-revenue-generating miles.
• Loading requirements: Strict loading protocols to maintain temperature integrity can reduce flexibility and efficiency.

Rules Governing Refrigerated Goods

Regulations governing refrigerated trucking are designed to ensure the safe transport of perishable items, adhering to health and safety standards. These rules, set by agencies like the FDA and USDA, mandate specific temperature controls and handling procedures to prevent spoilage and contamination, ensuring consumer safety.

FAQs

1. How long do refrigerated trucks last?

These trucks can last 10-15 years with proper maintenance, depending on usage and care.

2. What do refrigerated trucks do?

They transport perishable items under controlled temperatures to prevent spoilage.

3. Who manufactures refrigerated trucks?

Companies like Thermo King, Carrier, and Isuzu are leading manufacturers of refrigerated trucks.

4. Do refrigerated trucks make more money?

Yes, refrigerated trucks often command higher shipping rates due to specialized services.

Guide to Reefer Truck Logistics

In conclusion, reefer trucks are pivotal in transporting perishable items, ensuring they remain fresh from origin to destination. Whether new or used refrigerated trucks, these vehicles are essential for companies looking to maintain the cold chain.

With technological advancements and adherence to regulations, refrigerated box trucks remain a vital asset in the global logistics and supply chain industry.

As the pharmaceutical industry has grown and pharmaceutical companies expand their product lines, an emergent need has arisen in the industry. The bottom line is, as pharmaceutical companies have expanded their product lines and industry demand for products has grown, there is a lack of support for pharmaceutical manufacturing components.

These companies have grown so rapidly they can no longer support the storage of components for their products in house, and are looking externally to knowledgeable service providers within the life sciences and pharmaceuticals industry to remedy this need. The southeast is home to a large concentration of life science and pharmaceutical companies, specifically within the Research Triangle Park (RTP) area of North Carolina.

The Solution

With nearly 30 years of experience in the life sciences and pharmaceuticals industry, MD Logistics operates four state-of-the-art facilities in Plainfield, Indiana, with an additional facility in Reno, Nevada. When met with additional client demand, MD Logistics began to explore the opportunity to bring their expertise as a third-party logistics provider within the life sciences and pharmaceuticals industry to the southeastern United States. Understanding the need to be in the region, MD Logistics chose to bring their service offerings to the RTP, North Carolina market.

Experience. MD Logistics has a long and storied history within the life sciences and pharmaceuticals industry, one with many of the companies who already have a presence within the southeast region. Their experience within the industry and with these providers makes them a natural fit to provide services within this region.

Nimbleness. MD Logistics has built a business on being responsive to the needs of clients and the greater industry. As client needs and industry demand fluctuate, MD Logistics has a history of quickly responding and pivoting to provide customized supply chain solutions for clients. The increased need within the industry to provide support for manufacturing components showcased how quickly the team at MD Logistics was able to respond to this need.

Network. The MD Logistics network of state-of-the-art, U.S.-based facilities provides an ease in which an organization’s goods can flow through the supply chain, from manufacturing components to finished goods, if need be.

If you are in need of a 3PL provider who specializes in the life sciences and pharmaceuticals industry, located within the southeast, reach out to the MD Logistics team of supply chain experts!

To learn more:
info@mdlogistics.com
317-838-8900
www.mdlogistics.com

Medical suppliers regularly tell me that they need service, professionalism, and hands-on delivery. What they really want is an easy button. What does this mean? With sensitive deliveries, it is essential that trust, transparency, and open communication is established at the first stage in the process.

Imagine a driver showing up for your delivery late, wearing a T-shirt and cargo shorts, smoking a cigarette. Then the driver asks you to help unload. This is a classic case of you get what you pay for. If you push the cheapest price or fail to establish expectations up front, you won’t get a positive outcome.

Here’s where white-glove delivery service is crucial. Medical devices and supplies are delivered to hospitals, labs, urgent cares, and healthcare facilities. These are not typically warehouses with forklifts and supply chain personnel. And medical equipment often carries a value of several hundred thousand dollars.

Expedited carriers typically offer white-glove service for fragile or sensitive items that need special care and handling. Drivers may even help load and unload to prevent breakage and reduce damaged freight.

When scheduling pickup and/or delivery times as specific as a two-hour window, time-sensitive shipping ensures that goods are delivered under the required parameters and reduces the long-term costs associated with missed deadlines and lost products.

Shipments often require a pre-call to a contractor or installation crew. Timing is critical in order to execute, so that medical professionals can properly service their patients.

Here are three steps healthcare buyers investigating partnerships with logistics/supply chain providers should consider.

1. Know your partner and how they operate.

Vet providers and select those with experience handling medical devices and supplies. Go deeper during the discovery phase: Ask how they vet their drivers, carriers, and contracted partners. Insurance is important as well. Ask your providers how they process claims. The industry standard for cargo insurance is $100k. Is this enough to support your business?

2. Build an SOP for alignment.

Besides trust, another important piece of the discovery phase is working together to create a standard operating procedure (SOP) to support and meet business expectations.

Most companies are hyper-focused on minimizing cost, but they should evaluate their products and services appropriately so that they don’t have to cut corners and sacrifice service by partnering with the cheapest 3PL or carrier. Pick a provider that you trust and establish an SOP where all parties are aligned with pickup, in-transit, and delivery expectations.

3. Gain stakeholder buy-in during onboarding.

Bring all stakeholders into the onboarding process, and provide the opportunity for them to have candid conversations, express concerns, and set expectations. It is also important to have a health-check call at the 60-90 day mark to give all parties a chance to refine and improve a new partnership.

In the end, it’s more profitable to create a healthy balance of price with service and avoid additional back-end costs resulting from poor service.

One example: Cardinal Health collaborated with Palantir Technologies to design a solution that provides health systems and hospitals with dynamic purchase decision insights. The solution uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to analyze real-time clinical and purchasing data, then creates a clinically integrated supply chain for pharmaceuticals.

The tools integrate with Foundry, Palantir’s operating system, and could help health systems right-size pharmacy inventory. The solution takes constantly evolving payer formulary updates into account, which should help ease the high costs associated with drug expense increases due to the growth of specialty therapies and biosimilars.

Future updates could help inform purchasing decisions for therapeutic utilization, reimbursement insights, and predictive drug inventory needs.

Pharmaceutical and healthcare distributors can now pick, pack, and ship products accurately, efficiently, and in a timely manner with Locus Robotics’ solutions.

How does Locus Robotics help the pharmaceutical and healthcare industry with traceability and serialization?

As pharmaceutical and healthcare customers are picking or even putting away different medicines and medical supplies, they’re able to capture a lot or serial number with our warehouse management system integration.

With Locus, the picker can compare what they’re picking or putting away with what’s on the screen to make sure it’s the right lot number or the right serial number for track and trace and serialization.

Thanks to this technology, our quality score increases their quality as it allows them to catch any discrepancies right away during the pick. At the same time, that lot and serial number are kept in their system.

How does Locus Robotics help the pharmaceutical and healthcare industry with inventory accuracy and business continuity?

The Locus solution helps the pharmaceutical and healthcare industry with inventory tracking because our software prompts the associate on exactly what to pick and then asks them to confirm that they have picked the right lot and/or serial number from the right location, so that helps with tracking their inventory.

This same process works in the reverse for putaway, as the associate is prompted on the exact lot, serial number, and location to place the item. For business continuity, companies that use Locus increase their productivity and operate efficiently.

With the current labor challenges, all industries are having trouble finding and hiring new workers. When you bring on autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) to work alongside your current human workers, your company is able to continue operating normally even without bringing on new people.

Why do leading healthcare distributors choose Locus Robotics and how is Locus helping them with their challenges?

One leading healthcare distributor was struggling with labor challenges, and knew that accuracy and timing were vital, because people’s lives literally depend on pharmaceuticals and medical supplies getting delivered to patients in a timely manner.

They chose Locus Robotics for their facility, and found the AMRs to be easy to plug into their operation. The distributor went overnight from having their associates push around heavy carts to instead having the robots transport material throughout the facility.

At this distributor, Locus deployed AMRs along with a suite of actionable reporting tools and dashboards. This installation included a systems integration with the WMS and network, a solution design of the facility and workflow, and the implementation of the robots including navigation and pick testing.

Thanks to Locus Robotics, the team tripled their pick productivity and significantly decreased their cycle times, resulting in faster fulfillment of client orders. The Locus Solution allows them to pick, pack, and ship products on time and improve their overall processes.

The facility has seen improvements in all areas of their business, including safety, quality, cost, and service. There has been a massive improvement in their operation across multiple metrics.

Learn more about how Locus Robotics improves healthcare fulfillment. www.locusrobotics.com

Supply Chain Masters Lead the Way
Who Else Made the List?

Amid severe and ongoing disruption, organizations that can juggle conflicting priorities to operate agile, robust, transparent, and ethical supply chains are impressive.

Gartner’s Supply Chain Top 25 for 2021 celebrates companies whose supply chain strategies have shown them to be purpose-driven, disruptive, and early adopters of innovative technologies.

To recognize the most sustained examples of supply chain management services excellence, Gartner lists Apple, Amazon, McDonald’s, P&G, and Unilever as Supply Chain Masters—an accolade earned as a result of having attained top-five composite scores in the Gartner Supply Chain Top 25 for at least seven out of the past 10 years.

These five aside, here are the top 10 supply chain management companies of 2021.

1. Cisco Systems

For the second year running, telecommunications technology conglomerate Cisco Systems tops Gartner’s Supply Chain Top 25.

Thanks to its commitment to creating a dynamic, distributed supply chain, focusing on dual sourcing to build resiliency, and fostering meaningful relationships with its suppliers, Cisco has continued to thrive despite the disruptions of the past 18 months.

The company has also made a concerted effort to integrate sustainability initiatives with its supply chain business. Cisco has pledged to reduce its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 30%, while 80% of its component, manufacturing, and logistics companies and suppliers will have a GHG emissions reduction target.

2. Colgate-Palmolive

Colgate-Palmolive, which provides household and consumer products to millions of households around the world, has demonstrated agility, resilience, and commitment to supply chain sustainability.

Early in 2021, Colgate-Palmolive was featured on Fast Company’s list of the World’s Most Innovative Companies. This was thanks to its development of a first-of-its-kind recyclable plastic tube, a technology it has also shared with third parties.

Colgate-Palmolive has consistently invested in new digital capabilities, including factory automation and advanced network modeling. For example, in a bid to connect manufacturing operations to its supply chain and boost supply chain reliability, the company is moving toward a predictive maintenance model. Wireless sensors and artificial intelligence-powered data analytics will enable Colgate-Palmolive to monitor equipment health 24/7 and optimize its performance.

3. Johnson & Johnson

Johnson & Johnson has proven itself to be an MVP since the COVID outbreak. In March 2020, the Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies and the Johnson & Johnson Foundation pledged $50 millionto support frontline healthcare workers with meals, personal protective equipment, training, and mental health support.

A partnership with not-for-profit company Prisma Health earned Johnson & Johnson Gartner’s Power of the Profession Award for Customer or Patient Innovation of the Year. The pair developed a3D-printable device, which allowed for a single ventilator to be fitted for use by two patients.

Part of the company’s Healthy Lives Mission includes a commitment to using 100% recyclable, reusable, or compostable plastic, recycled paper, and pulp-based packaging by 2025.

4. Schneider Electric

Schneider Electric, a global specialist in energy management and automation, operates a diverse supply chain in more than 100 countries.

Driving sustainability throughout the supply chain, which includes embracing an approach known as “embedded sustainability,” is a top priority for Schneider Electric to ensure that integrating environmental, health, and social value with core business activities does not impact price or quality.

Currently, more than 73% of the company’s investments are being directed toward developing new and even more sustainable solutions.

In addition, Schneider Electric’s EcoStruxure platform is helping the company build a coalition of partners committed to driving innovation in the energy management industry.

5. Nestle

For the second year running, Nestle scored a perfect ESG score in the Gartner Supply Chain Top 25. (An ESG rating measures a company’s exposure to long-term environmental, social, and governance risks.)

Nestle’s efforts include developing simplified packaging and biodegradable and compostable materials and upping its use of recycled content. Nestle also launched an interactive video platform to raise consumer awareness about the complex sustainability issues associated with the palm oil supply chain.

The company is also expanding its e-commerce business and developing new direct-to-consumer capabilities across its entire supply chain.

6. Intel

Amid a worldwide chip shortage, Intel announced in March 2021 that it would be spending $20 billion to build two new chip plants in Arizona. This signaled the company’s continued focus on manufacturing and demonstrated its ability to deliver innovative supply chain solutions under difficult circumstances.

Intel’s RISE (responsible, inclusive, sustainable, enabling) strategy includes the goal of developing “the most sustainable and energy-efficient PC in the world, eliminating carbon, water and waste in its design and use.”

In its 2020-21 Corporate Responsibility Report, Intel notes it has increased its use of renewable energy from 71% to 81%, conserving 7.1 billion gallons of water in the process.

To drive sustainability throughout its supply chain, Intel requires its 9,000+ tier 1 suppliers to comply with the Intel Code of Conduct and the Responsible Business Alliance (RBA) Code of Conduct, and to develop their own corporate responsibility strategies, policies and processes.

7. PepsiCo

One of PepsiCo’s top priorities is investing in digital tools and advanced technologies to create a more efficient, streamlined supply chain. It focuses on data integration to better meet consumer demands and sophisticated data analytics to drive those efficiencies.

Following the COVID outbreak, PepsiCo showcased its agile supply chain by quickly launching two direct-to-consumer offerings—Pantryshop.comandSnacks.com—to enable customers to customize a range of its products.

The company is also committed to driving sustainability through its supply chain. For example, PepsiCo recently revealed plans to become net water positive—replenish more water than it uses—by 2030. If successful, the company will be among the most water-efficient food or beverage manufacturers operating in high-risk watersheds.

8. Walmart

Walmart’s supply chain is often touted as one of the most effective in the world. In the past two years alone, the retailer has invested $11 billion in e-commerce, supply chain, logistics services and technology.

The company launched Walmart+, which rivals Amazon Prime, implemented a range of new fulfillment options—such as curbside pickups—and is upgrading its warehouse management system to drive efficiency through its supply chain.

The company has also committed to achieving zero emissions by 2040.

9. L’Oréal

L’Oréal has made it into the top 10 of the Gartner Supply Chain Top 25 for the first time thanks to its agile, customer-centric, and ethical supply chain practices.

“Digital Beauty” is a key focus of the company’s supply chain strategy. This includes a shift towards technology-augmented logistics and increased use of data to accommodate the rise of e-commerce.

L’Oréal also has a fantastic track record for corporate social responsibility (CSR). Not only is it the only company to rate Triple-A in the client data protection (CDP) ratings for four years in a row, but it was also featured in Ethisphere Institute’s 2021 list of the World’s Most Ethical Companies. In addition, the L’Oréal for the Future program includes the goal of reducing the greenhouse gas emissions linked to the transport of its products by 50% between 2016 and 2030.

10. Alibaba

Alibaba features in the Gartner Supply Chain Top 25 top 10 for the second year running, having significantly expanded its supply chain offerings to deliver manufacturing efficiencies.

Example: Alibaba.com Freight was launched by the company in 2020. This supply chain-as-a-service initiative allows small and mid-sized companies to compare, book, manage, and track bulk ocean and air freight in real time.

The Chinese retailer has also collaborated with Unilever on The Waste Free World Initiative to accelerate the process of returning high-grade plastic back into a closed-loop recycling system within China.

SOURCES: Thomas Insights, Gartner Inc.

Supply Chain Masters Lead the Way

To recognize sustained supply chain excellence, Gartner introduced the “Masters” category in 2015. To be considered a Master, companies must have attained top-five composite scores for at least seven out of the past 10 years. All of the 2020 Masters qualified for the category in 2021. Meet the masters:

• Apple
• Amazon
• McDonald’s
• Procter & Gamble
• Unilever

Supply Chain Masters Lead the Way

These leading companies round out the Gartner Supply Chain Top 25 list:

11. AbbVie

12. Nike

13. Inditex

14. Dell Technologies

15. HP Inc

16. Lenovo

17. Diageo

18. The Coca-Cola Company

19. British American Tobacco

20. BMW

21. Pfizer

22. Starbucks

23. General Mills

24. Bristol Myers Squibb

Looking for related content? Check out the 10 Best Paying Trucking Companies.

The healthcare supply chain is a lot like Netflix before it went all in on predictive analytics.

Due to a variety of factors, predictive analytics is poised to play a larger role in the healthcare supply chain. First, healthcare is at an inflection point. COVID-19 has accelerated the necessity for change and hospitals recognize that they can’t operate as they did in the past or they won’t succeed. But forging ahead will require greater flexibility, resiliency and cost efficiencies.

Second, there is greater alignment among providers, payers, suppliers and patients. This alignment drives collaboration, innovation and the marriage of data sets.

Finally, the abundance of data available to improve decision-making continues to grow. Making sense of it requires predictive analytics.

From a supplier’s perspective, predictive analytics will help get ahead of shortages, identify and address leakage, and maintain the integrity of the supply network. For healthcare providers, it will enable them to align the right products with the right patients at the right time. Yet, as we’ve all learned over the past year, there’s room for improvement.

Building a more resilient healthcare supply chain through the use of predictive analytics comes down to using data points from the past, converting them into actionable information, and using them to ask the right questions to accurately forecast what could happen next. The more data and insight you have, the better the recommendations and results.

Healthcare doesn’t suffer from a lack of data. Where the industry can—and needs to—improve is aligning the right data sets and identifying variables within it to make recommendations in real time.

For example, if you’re a hospital administrator trying to predict ICU capacity during the next week, one variable could be the number of current COVID-19 cases.

Another example is predicting the likelihood of a patient needing knee surgery in six months. Variables could be a patient’s age and ZIP code, coupled with their medical record. However, a few general data points aren’t enough to make accurate predictions. Conversely, an abundance of data makes it difficult to know which variables are most relevant to a specific situation at that moment in time.

The most accurate predictions come from identifying the variables and studying them. To do this, you need models that can turn data into predictions. These models have historically been statistics, regression, and neural networks. In the past decade, we’ve seen advances in all three areas. It’s these advances that will further modernize and fortify the healthcare supply chain.

For example, using predictive analytics, medical device suppliers can gain the insight they need to better understand their customers and markets, deliver products more efficiently and effectively, and match the right product to the right patient and the right case. They can also have deeper insight into the clinical impact of products and know which will drive adoption and profit and where to allocate resources to get the best returns. Finally, predictive analytics can vastly improve research and development, and drive innovation to continuously produce better products that yield even stronger patient outcomes.

That’s not to say there isn’t already good work happening with suppliers using predictive analytics. More recently, suppliers have deployed predictive analytics to better identify where to increase or decrease shipments of PPE supplies. Now that the technology is advancing and healthcare is at an inflection point, the opportunities to optimize the value of predictive analytics for suppliers will increase. By extension, providers will also benefit as they seek to better understand factors such as inventory levels, forecasted demand, and upstream manufacturing capacity from suppliers.

Suppliers in the healthcare supply chain can learn great lessons from the Netflix experience. By consistently optimizing data and applying predictive analytics, the more accurate the recommendations. In turn, this increases loyalty while delivering greater cost savings.

A new pharmaceutical client approached Optimize Courier, a leading logistics service provider, to devise a solution to address costly losses within their supply chain. The client lost $2.5 million of pharma the previous year when their product was shipped at the wrong temperature.

Pharma products ship at various ranges, including ambient (+15-25C), refrigerated (+2-8C) or frozen (-20C). The losses happened when temperature excursions occurred in only 1% of their orders. To complicate matters, cargo insurance policies do not cover temperature excursions.

The Solution

The temperature excursions were a result of unpredictable human errors, including improper preconditioning of packaging or mishandling of the pharma by the airline. The client was relying on traditional USB data loggers to record the temperature. Temperature excursions were only discovered after a shipment had been delivered. Conventional USB data loggers cannot identify when an unpredictable event, such as a temperature excursion, may occur.

Optimize partnered with Tive to launch the multi-sensor Solo 5G™ device with each shipment. Tive provides real-time visibility of the shipment’s temperature and sends active notifications to Optimize when a pharma shipment is at risk of incurring a temperature excursion.

The Tive tracker sends an alert to the Optimize operations team whenever a shipment is at risk of deviating from its required temperature range. Optimize uses that real-time notification to immediately investigate if the packaging was preconditioned improperly or if the airline loaded the shipment into the wrong cooler. This advanced notification allows Optimize to take proactive measures to prevent any temperature excursions.

In this case, a $500,000 shipment needed to stay within the ambient temperature range (+15-25C) that was shipping from Raleigh-Durham, NC to Memphis, TN. The planned routing used a passenger airline and their temperature-controlled service, connecting in Charlotte, NC.

When the shipment arrived at Charlotte, NC, Tive sent an alert notification to Optimize indicating that the temperature of the package had rapidly dropped down to +17C. Optimize contacted the airline and learned that the shipment was mistakenly put into a refrigerated cooler (+2-8C). The airline immediately removed the pharma shipment from the cooler and placed it into the proper ambient (+15-25C) conditions. Optimize arranged to recover the shipment in Charlotte, NC, with a temperature-controlled vehicle to safely drive the load the rest of the way to Memphis, TN.

This real-time notification prevented the company from losing $500,000 USD worth of goods and saved the shipment.

To learn more:
email: sales@tive.com
phone: 617-631-8483
web: www.tive.com