Pharma ocean freight enters new waters

 The Poseidon pharma ocean freight program with its unique ‘one team culture’ went live today at the Seafreight Focus day held by Temperature Controlled Logistics 2018 in London. 

Poseidon is a strategic supply network comprising all the principal actors involved in transporting a pharma product by sea.

Poseidon’s Mark Edwards, responsible for operational aspects of the program, clarified: “Poseidon is aimed at any shipper of pharmaceuticals that wants to enter, or increase its presence in the ocean freight market.

“By coming into the Poseidon program a pharma company will get immediate access to the combined expertise and experience of some of the industry’s leading ocean freight practitioners.”

Poseidon provides a series of off-the-shelf, GDP-compliant, fully-insured, door-to-door sea freight solutions with both full-load and part-load options. This one -stop-shop approach intends to bring sea freight into the reach of pharma shippers of all sizes.

The logistics and supply partners in the network have been subjected to a rigorous pre-qualification and selection process. They have been validated to be of high technical competence, being committed to working in a collaborative environment and adaptable to change.

Stay tuned for video footage and coverage on the key topics discussed at Temperature Controlled Logistics 2018

A Poseidon Partner Agreement governs the relationships between the parties and this allows them to work together as a single team with common rules, common goals and common standards.

At the heart of the program is the Poseidon Management Group (PMG): a democratic body comprised of senior representatives from each of the participant organisations. This group is responsible for the strategic direction of the program.

Alongside the PMG is a neutral company that manages the day-to-day and operational side of the initiative and provides a 'filter &  sanitise' function to facilitate the sharing of data, the consolidation of shipping loads and the sharing of assets.

The Poseidon network is diverse and far flung. To accommodate this, it has introduced a cloud-based Collaboration Hub in order to facilitate long-distance communications, exchange ideas and information, share up-to-date documentation and manage projects.

Speaking at the launch of the exciting Poseidon integrated ocean freight program at the IQPC Temperature Controlled Logistics Conference in London, Alan Kennedy one of the architects of the new model said: “This is a completely new approach to pharma-logistics fulfilment which harnesses the collective knowledge and power of the entire supply chain to drive innovation, realise efficiencies, improve safety and, ultimately, save money. It’s the difference between an outdated logistics chain that pillages profit and a new one that creates competitive advantage and adds value.”

Proven model

Kennedy pointed out that although the Poseidon partnering model is unique in pharma-logistics it is an approach that has been employed with great success in other industries: “The barriers to adopting this ‘one-team’ approach are all in the minds of those who fail to see, or refuse to see, the clear benefits,” he explained.

“Integrated supply chains are increasingly the norm in those industries that need better supply chain efficiency and agility in order to adapt to an environment of constant change, whether driven by competition, product life cycles, technical innovations, or disruptive forces.“

This year's Temperature Controlled Logistics conference was chaired by Yoram Eshel, Senior Director and Head of Global Transportation at Teva and Nigel Cryer, Head of Compliance and Inspection Readiness at Sanofi. The event focused on a range of topics regarding excellence in transporting climate sensitive medicines.