DHL Global Forwarding, the air and ocean freight specialist of Deutsche Post DHL Group, has been recertified to the CEIV Pharma Standard of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) globally. The central association for aviation attests to the highest service and quality standards through uniform processes and a compliant network.
“A resilient and highly efficient transport network, tailored to the specific needs of the Life Sciences and Health Care industry, has never been more crucial than today. Therefore, we are delighted to have received not only the re-certification for IATA CEIV Pharma on a corporate level, but also IATA’s approval for our training program ‘DHL Life Sciences Specialist’,” stated Thomas Mack, Head of Global Air Freight DHL Global Forwarding.
Nina Heinz, Global Head of Network & Quality, Temperature Management Solutions at DHL Global Forwarding added: “For years, the number of regulations and requirements has been steadily increased in the life sciences and healthcare industry in general, especially regarding product transportation and storage. Although we at DHL have been a leader in ideas and innovation in the industry for a long time, we recognize that there is always room to improve. With our renewed IATA CEIV Pharma Certification, we are both clearly demonstrating our continued emphasis on constantly enhancing our service quality and showcasing that we are a reliable partner for transporting vital and temperature-sensitive products.”
DHL has been actively involved with IATA’s continuous efforts to adequately answer to the regulatory demands of the pharmaceutical industry. A standardized approach in air freight increases productivity, accuracy, and reliability while remaining compliant in all required areas. DHL began certifying its global stations according to the IATA CEIV Pharma Certification in 2016 to raise the bar in pharmaceutical logistics. As the leader in the Life Sciences & Healthcare Industry, DHL provides its employees in all levels and functions around the world with vital tools to understand and meet customers’ and regulatory expectations.
By providing a specialized training program, IATA regulation standards were implemented at scale in key GxP (good practice) facilities worldwide. The CIF Certified Life Sciences Specialist (CLSS) program provides a comprehensive curriculum of mandatory trainings, functional courses, and material to unlock the knowledge of this specialized industry. All designated employees handling and involved in Life Sciences & Healthcare shipments have successfully completed the training and are certified Life Science Specialists. This ensures that sensitive shipments are handled with utmost care and in compliance with the highest industry standards.
Following the independent audits and trainings for employees on site, DHL received the quality label for stations located around the world, including in Barcelona, Bogota, Tokyo, and Chicago. In this way, DHL Global Forwarding enhances transportation and storage quality levels of goods it handles to exceed the usual quality standards, thereby assuring product integrity and thus patients’ safety. Due to its unique, validated cloud-based IT platform, LifeTrack, DHL enables more transparency in temperature-controlled transports. LifeTrack not only offers shipment tracking but also enables 24/7 proactive monitoring and intervention based on pre-determined touch points and DHL’s NFC SmartSensor technology.
At each location, IATA examines and compares the station’s correspondence to its Temperature Control Regulations (TCR) as well as GDP (Good Distribution Practices) guidelines from the European Union, World Health Organization and other regulatory bodies.
With its international network, DHL offers a wide-ranging product portfolio at its Air GxP locations that covers all client needs for time and temperature sensitive airfreight shipments and provides seamless temperature visibility along the supply chain. Through its excellent service, DHL has successfully established itself as the market leader for logistics solutions in the life sciences and healthcare industry. Special services also include the door-to-door courier solution “Life Sciences graded Specialty Courier”, the express service “Medical Express” with a fixed delivery time, and “DHL Clinical Trial Logistics”, a logistics solution designed for clinical studies such as the transportation of trial medication, ancillaries, and lab kits.
