Medical and Healthcare

Logistics in medical and healthcare

Two risks run in parallel here: the physical integrity of the product and the regulatory correctness of the paperwork. If either fails the goods either spoil or sit at customs — both end the same way, with the patient not receiving them.

What makes it hard

• The temperature band is narrow and must be proven. For 2–8 °C products it is not enough to carry them; you have to show on record that the range held.
• Permits take longer than the shipment. Customs clearance for medical devices and pharmaceuticals cannot proceed before the relevant authority’s approval.
• Urgency is unpredictable. A clinical need can appear in a day, and scheduled air capacity may not exist that day.
• Shelf life runs like a meter. As remaining life shortens the commercial value drops; waiting costs more than the freight.

How we set it up

For temperature-controlled shipments we define the target range in the contract, monitor it throughout and hand over the record with the delivery. If the chain breaks, you hear it at that moment — not after delivery.

Import permits sit inside the shipment plan: the document calendar and the loading calendar are one plan, not two lists. Nothing departs on incomplete paperwork.

When scheduled capacity cannot meet an urgent need, we present charter and part-charter options with their cost, so you decide seeing the speed-versus-cost trade-off.

Practical notes

Shipments using dry ice fall under dangerous goods and are declared separately for air. Where packaging validation is required, its performance should be proven before shipping — ideally before the first shipment.