Business, Freight News, Logistics

Life science logistics faces challenge of a lifetime, says TAPA

[ November 12, 2020   //   Chris ]

Pharmaceutical supply chains are about to face their biggest security challenge for a generation as the world prepares for deliveries of the Covid vaccine, says the Transported Asset Protection Association (TAPA).

With an estimated 7-19 billion doses of the vaccine required to eradicate Covid-19 globally, there will be unprecedented demands but the industry will be ready to ensure doses of the vaccine reach patients across the globe safely and securely, and with their integrity intact, says TAPA EMEA president and chief executive Thorsten Neumann. TAPA includes over half of the world’s top 25 pharmaceutical companies in its membership.

He said: “Ensuring the secure storage, transportation and delivery of every pharmaceutical shipment is of paramount importance to the healthcare industry to ensure patient safety. This explains why pharmaceutical supply chains are among the most resilient of any sector.”

Neumann pointed out that the true cost of loss of a pharma cargo has been estimated to be between 5-7x the value of the product because of the domino-effect it creates, including wide-scale product recalls, to say nothing of the reputational damage. Product losses are clearly the biggest threat but contamination of pharma cargoes during a cargo crime – even if they are not actually stolen – can be just as damaging.

With vaccine deliveries expected to begin as early as December, all supply chain security stakeholders will want to avoid any disruption to the delivery process and to protect the integrity of vaccines on their way to patients. TAPA EMEA, however, says companies must leave no stone unturned in assessing the associated cargo security risks and requirements on a country-by-country basis because the threat of cargo theft is never far away.

“With a black market controlled by supply and demand, organised crime groups will be very aware of the value of doses of the vaccine and are highly likely to be looking for ways to intercept supply chains to steal shipments, especially with such high volumes being distributed within a short timescale. If such losses do arise, the impact on the global community will be much more far-reaching than the theft of a single shipment of vaccines. As we have already seen this year with the high number of thefts of PPE, cargo thieves are very active in targeting Covid-related products so, as industry, we must be ready,” Neumann adds.

TAPA’s Incident Information Service (IIS) allows members to see trends in recorded thefts of pharmaceutical cargoes by types of incident, location, product stolen and the modus operandi used. This helps companies avoid routing deliveries through cargo crime ‘hotspots.’

Neumann stated: “Our cargo crime data already shows that even with the best efforts of industry, facilities storing and trucks delivering pharmaceuticals are targets for violent attacks, hijackings and robberies. This is why we expect to see an unprecedented supply chain security programme in place to protect deliveries of Covid vaccines which may include the use of armed escorts, additional truck security and driving in secure convoys, depending on the risk. Some countries may even be considering military support to ensure vaccine deliveries are not delayed in any way. TAPA is also ready to offer any help we can.”

Tags: TAPA