Part of the Solution: How Freight Experts Keep Medical Production Running
Better HealthCareers
Mar 23, 2023
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4 min read
Developing and manufacturing a biopharmaceutical drug literally is a long way. It is not only the development that has a long route, with only one in 10,000 candidates reaching the market after a ten-year research period, but the raw materials and technologies used in the process also travel tens of thousands of miles. Have you ever thought about the different logistics steps required for life-saving medications to be developed, manufactured and finally reach the patient?
At the bottom of the supply chain, raw material producers supply companies that manufacture equipment for the biopharma industry.
Life Science and biopharma suppliers, like Sartorius, use these raw materials to manufacture equipment for research and production.
The biopharmaceutical manufacturer uses these products for research and large-scale production of drugs and delivers these to clinics or medical offices.
The patients are at the top of the supply chain. They finally receive the medication or vaccine at clinics or medical offices.
One thing becomes obvious: Supply chain management and logistics are key for researching and producing medicines. With the ambition to simplify progress for our customers, a more than 100 people strong Freight and Distribution Management Team at Sartorius makes sure to have the right products with the right quality in the right amount in the right place at the right time and at the right costs.
"We are in charge of managing all shipments globally. This includes end customer deliveries, meaning our products reaching biopharmaceutical companies, intercompany shipments within the Sartorius Group, and supplier shipments to our production facilities worldwide," says Mike Jacobi, who has been with the company for nearly a decade, and has built up the team from scratch. "We make sure that our sites have what they need to produce equipment for the biopharma industry – and that these technologies then reach our customers in time to manufacture medicines," Mike explains.
We make sure that our sites have what they need to produce equipment for the biopharma industry – and that these technologies then reach our customers in time to manufacture medicines.
Mike Jacobi, Head of Freight and Distribution Management
A Freight Expert’s Everyday Life: Tackling Challenges
To handle logistics operations worldwide, the team is spread out over 14 countries on five continents and includes units for Freight and Warehouse Operations, Global Freight Solutions and Purchase & Administration.
Working in Freight and Distribution Management means tackling challenges all the time, such as labor strikes, driver shortages, the COVID pandemic or issues arising from geopolitical situations. Especially during the pandemic, the team had to cope with major challenges, for example supplying biopharmaceutical companies with bioreactors in the shortest possible time, so they could produce newly approved vaccines in large quantities.
"We also had the situation of an immediate lockdown in a country – but we gave our customers a delivery promise. We then had to find quick solutions and applied for special permissions to import our goods, for example, so we could continue supplying customers," says Mike, pointing out another typical obstacle they faced in times of the pandemic.
Another challenge has been the dynamic growth of the company. "Let’s be honest – this has been keeping us very busy. Acquisitions not only bring new colleagues and new processes, but also new products, which need to be stored globally. And we don’t only need to make sure we find available space to store them, but also a space that is suited for those kinds of goods, because in our industry we often work with temperature-controlled shipments that require temperature mapping, or with certain goods that require special handling, such as easily flammable materials, which can’t just be put in the next available truck or be stored in any warehouse," says Mike.
The team addresses these challenges through close cooperation with preferred carriers, in-house transportation experts at key logistic points, global distribution centers for optimized delivery routes, and digital risk analysis. In addition, the company has teamed up with a local logistics service provider at its headquarters in Göttingen and bundled its warehousing and logistics activities in a joint venture in order to develop an efficient and customer-oriented last mile delivery concept.
Smart Software and Big Data for Digital Risk Analysis
In the attempt to achieve smooth deliveries, the team uses an analytics software to identify possible risks. And this is how it works: The software mines bulks of global data, such as news or weather incidents, which could potentially lead to supply chain disruptions, and bundles them in a digital platform.
Jonas Hinz explains how the company uses smart software to identify risks and ensure smooth deliveries.
Jonas Hinz manages the Freight Operations unit and explains the advantages: "We use the platform to monitor our network, that means Sartorius locations, such as production facilities, distribution centers, warehouses and sterilization locations, but also airports or seaports that we highly frequent. In addition, shipment data is uploaded into the system, so we can even see the geographical pathway of our shipments, giving us an even more detailed picture. The software then maps risks that could potentially affect these shipments or the locations, such as political unrest, strikes, or natural disasters."
The team is then able to react and implement countermeasures. "When we have, for example, temperature-controlled cargo in a certain location that is at a risk to be stopped, we can proactively put it into a cold-room storage to avoid any temperature deviations," Jonas elaborates.
When we have, for example, temperature-controlled cargo in a certain location that is at a risk to be stopped, we can proactively put it into a cold-room storage to avoid any temperature deviations.
Jonas Hinz, Manager of Freight Global Operations
"Digital Tools therefore contribute to the reliable supplying of our customers, and, in the end, help us to support our customers in keeping biopharma research and production running," Mike says. "And one thing is for sure," he adds. "It never gets boring in logistics. That's what I love so much about my job: Everything that happens in the world affects supply chains, and we need to cope with new challenges on a daily basis. You need highly motivated experts that literally go the extra mile to navigate such challenges – and that is what you find here at Sartorius."
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