Due to the new EU GDP guidelines for the transportation of pharmaceuticals, the trans-o-flex Logistics Group has decided to introduce active temperature control in the range of between 15 and 25 °C for the nationwide network of its trans-o-flex Schnell-Lieferdienst.
With this decision, the Group has initiated a massive expansion of its capacities for actively temperature-controlled transports. "The new EU GDP became effective in September ", explains Oliver Rupps, Chairman of the Board of Managing Directors of trans-o-flex. "From our point of view, the concept of active temperature control at room temperature will establish itself as the new standard for pharmaceuticals." Therefore, the company expects a strongly growing demand for actively temperature-controlled transports. "As the leading logistic service provider for the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries, we will also have a GDP-compliant solution for large quantities, thus extending and securing our market position."
Within the scope of actively temperature controlled transportation, all goods are handled and transported at their ideal temperatures. The use and return of expensive insulated packaging is no longer necessary. Instead, customers benefit from higher reliability, especially for transports over the weekend. The capacity expansion in the trans-o-flex Group will take place in several steps. For the time being, the active temperature control for both ranges, i.e. between 2 and 8 °C and between 15 and 25 °C, remains with the specialised subsidiary trans-o-flex ThermoMed. "We already expanded the capacity existing there and now have initiated the additional expansion", continues Oliver Rupps and gives an outlook for the next step of the expansion plan: "If the volumes develop in line with our expectations, we will, in our trans-o-flex-Schnell-Lieferdienst business, offer active temperature control in the range between 15 and 25 °C from the middle of 2014 onwards."
Once the conversion of trans-o-flex Schnell-Lieferdienst has been completed, trans-o-flex ThermoMed will be converted from a two-temperature to a one-temperature system. "ThermoMed already meets the technical requirements for this. For example, the vehicles' loading space, in accordance with the specific volume requirements, can be flexibly divided into zones for temperatures of between 2 and 8 °C and 15 and 25 °C. Due to the concentration on the range of between 2 and 8 °C, ThermoMed can then use the free capacities for the transportation of refrigerated pharmaceuticals. "Following the conversion, we, as the trans-o-flex Group, will continue to offer our customers the transportation of all of their pharmaceuticals from one single source. In addition to this, we, as the clearly leading provider of actively temperature-controlled transports for the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries, will have sufficient capacities to transport all expected volumes safely and reliably."
Source: trans-o-flex
