31 Jul 2017   

Virtual reality also impacts cold-chain

Given that pharmaceutical companies are experiencing a significant transition, Envirotainer is working closely with its customers to ensure that they have access to the right solutions within the temperature-controlled supply chain. The impact of delaying a market introduction or the revenue of losing a shipment of pharmaceutical can be in the billions of USD. Even worse is that it may delay patients getting access to a life changing treatment.

Envirotainer strives to reduce the environmental impact of the industry and has identified four different areas where the application of virtual experience could benefit Pharma customers, the patient, as well as the environment. The company has completed one and are planning for the other three during 2017 and 2018.

1. Demonstrations of solutions – completed April 2017

A more sustainable solution than shipping physical demo containers. To enable a real life situation across the world and the specific ambient conditions that face shipments of pharmaceutical products, including 50% of temperature deviations that occur at the airport, Envirotainer has created a virtual world. The company aims to continuously build on this world so that one can experience how different it is to ship from a hot to a cold country and all the stakeholders that need to work together to make a successful shipment.

2. Gamification of our solutions

To balance the need of cost savings vs qualitative services that secure the integrity of pharmaceuticals, Envirotainer will take its customers on a Virtual Reality journey where they can make choices about how to ship their products and then illustrate visually the implications during the journey, depending on the choices made.

3. Training globally

To follow Global Distribution Practices (GDP process) and the best handling of pharmaceutical products across the entire globe, Envirotainer has trained over 10,000 stakeholders across the world in the last 3 years. The company aticipates that people sometimes have difficulty reading and/or understanding complex instructions on how to ensure the integrity of pharmaceuticals during transportation. With help of virtual reality, training of stakeholders in the temperature controlled supply chain around the world could be greatly improved.

4. Repairs and maintenance

To make sure that solutions used for shipping pharmaceutical materials are as protected from human error as possible, Envirotainer foresees a solution where the testing and potential repairs are supported by Augmented Reality technology. A solution that visually helps the operator to take correct actions and handle the product in the appropriate way.

 

Envirotainer is the world-leader in secure cold chain logistics solutions, primarily within the life science industry. Its customers include every major pharmaceutical manufacturer, ranging from biotech to blockbusters and medicine to medical devices, supplying up to 2 million doses of medicines in Envirotainers' ULD's every day. Achieving its market position, as an industry pioneer, comes with great responsibility. Envirotainer's focus is centered on the end users – the patients – and nothing could be more important than securing the many times life-saving medicines getting to the patient securely and without delay. Working collaboratively with airline, forwarder, customer partners, Envirotainer has created the industry standard in training to support best practice through the temperature controlled supply chain.

Founded in 1985, the privately held company is represented in over 50 countries around the world, with Headquarters, R&D and Manufacturing in Stockholm, Sweden. Envirotainer manufactures and leases active temperature-controlled container solutions, including validation, support and service; its reach encompasses 200 airports in over 100 countries worldwide. 

Find out more about Envirotainer at the forthcoming Global Disaster Relief & Development Summit on 6-7 September 2017 in Washington D.C.