Schiphol Airport launches closed pharma chain programme

Ferry van der Ent, Director of Special Programs, Air Cargo Netherlands (seated, left) signs agreement with Rafael Schvartzman, Regional VP Europe, IATA

Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport has launched a closed pharma chain programme that will offer manufacturers new levels of transparency.

Ferry van der Ent, Director of Special Programs, Air Cargo Netherlands (seated, left) signs agreement with Rafael Schvartzman, Regional VP Europe, IATA

Schiphol logistics community have unveiled a new pharma chain programme that will be IATA CEIV Pharma-certified. The announcement was made during the IATA World Cargo Symposium in Berlin.

Closed pharma chain programme will offer certified tracking from the shipper to the consignee

Developed by Schiphol’s Pharma Task Force, the new pharma chain has been branded “Pharma Gateway Amsterdam – Qualified & Transparent”. Its objective is to create a ‘closed’ pharma chain at the airport, further developing Schiphol’s pharma proposition.

Pharma Gateway Amsterdam aims to support a certified track from the shipper, all the way to the consignee; it will achieve this locally by involving airlines, handlers, hauliers and logistics service providers – all of which will be certified to the IATA CEIV Pharma standard. For imports, this means covering the unloading of aircraft, ramp transfers, first line handling (through the handling agent), transport to the second line (forwarder warehouse) and any handling carried out there, then haulage to the consignee or distribution centre. This all-inclusive approach will ensure the integrity of shipments remains intact.

IATA CEIV has been selected as the basis for Pharma Gateway Amsterdam, as it builds on the storage-centric scope of GDP by covering all air cargo processes, and provides a uniform global set of standards without any scope for localised interpretation. Participants in Pharma Gateway Amsterdam are benefiting from cooperative and competitive knowledge sharing.

The driving force behind the Pharma Gateway Amsterdam programme is Ferry van der Ent of Air Cargo Netherlands, who says: “Pharma Gateway Amsterdam goes well beyond a simple marketing programme. This new body is tackling the entire proposition of Schiphol Airport for pharma manufacturers, and is commercially neutral.  We’ll provide a transparent and qualified process, which can be fully monitored.

“We are targeting quality and transparency by closely linking all service providers, and setting uniform standards and procedures. At the same time, we’ll continue to offer shippers and their forwarders a choice of partners in their new, closed supply chain.”

He continues: “We have adopted CEIV as our base, as it’s the only truly worldwide standard today. Slowly but surely, more logistics partners are choosing CEIV, driven by shipper demand. And, although it’s not mandatory yet, it may be in the future. We cannot rule out the adoption of even higher standards in due course.”

Schiphol will be relying on its custom facilities, mainport network and technical innovations – such as real time temperature measurement – to ensure Pharma Gateway Amsterdam will achieve its full potential. Concluding, van der Ent said: “Pharma Gateway Amsterdam builds on the best that has been achieved anywhere in the world so far, and takes it to a new level. We feel we have taken the next step in promoting excellence in pharma transportation by air.”