GMR Hyderabad International Airport

Transcription

1 BUILDING A LIFELINE FOR LIFESAVERS INITIATIVES BY RAJIV GANDHI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, HYDERABAD TO BRIDGE CRUCIAL GAPS IN INDIA S PHARMACEUTICAL SUPPLY CHAIN GMR Hyderabad International Airport

2 BUILDING A LIFELINE FOR LIFESAVERS INITIATIVES BY RAJIV GANDHI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, HYDERABAD TO BRIDGE CRUCIAL GAPS IN INDIA S PHARMACEUTICAL SUPPLY CHAIN HYDERABAD THE PHARMA HUB OF INDIA The city of Hyderabad has been a pioneer in promoting the development the pharmaceutical industry in India and today, the city is the clear leader in the field. Some of the biggest names in India s pharma industry can trace their roots to the city and today almost every major pharma and biotechnology company in the world has a presence in Hyderabad. Not surprisingly, Hyderabad is now a major production hub as well for pharmaceutical products. It is estimated that currently as much as 70% of the exports from Hyderabad constitute pharma products alone, which are further complemented by exports of biochemicals and biotechnology ingredients from the city which also happens to be known as the Genome Valley thanks to its vibrant bio tech industry. BUILDING A COLD CHAIN FOR PHARMACEUTICALS A Cold Chain catering to the pharma sector has to cater to some special needs, which place it on a different level as compared to the cold chains designed for handling other perishables. End to End Cold Chain Integrity is critical even a minor break in the cold chain or a momentary spike in temperature can result in irreversible damage to cargo, loss of business and hurt the organization s reputation at large. Extreme hygiene is a primary requirement in handling pharmaceuticals Pharmaceuticals need to be segregated from other perishable items being handled through the cold chain BEFORE: GAPS AND CHALLENGES IN PHARMA COLD CHAIN When a consignment of pharmaceuticals traverses a path from the shipper s location to its ultimate destination, it passes through multiple modes of transportation and handling, each of which is potentially a source of undesirable temperature spikes. Often, the pharma consignments being exported from India are destined for developed markets, with well developed and highly reliable cold chain infrastructure at the receiving end. The challenge therefore is most likely to be encountered on the shipment s journey from the shipper s location to the cargo hold of the chosen mode of international transit. Page 1 of 7

3 The above illustration depicts the case of a typical pharma shipment being exported out of India by air. GMR Hyderabad International Airport conducted a thorough analysis of the existing supply chain arrangements in place and found that there are at least 4 major points in the path from the shipper s/consignee s location to the aircraft which are highly vulnerable to potentially damaging temperature spikes: 1. Surface transport from shipper/consignee location to the airport s cargo terminal 2. Loading/unloading and clearances at the cargo terminal 3. Storage and handling within the cargo terminal 4. Movement to the aircraft and loading at the ramp SURFACE TRANSPORT In many cases, it was found that even critical lifesaving medicine consignments were being moved between the warehouse/factory and the terminal by means of non refrigerated and in some cases even in open trucks, which compromised the integrity of the entire cold chain in the very first step itself. The problems caused by the use of such vehicles would get further compounded when the vehicles were forced to wait outside the airport cargo terminal due to delays caused by regulatory checks or by congestion at the terminal. Page 2 of 7

4 LOADING/UNLOADING AND CLEARANCES Even when the consignments were being moved on well equipped refrigerated vehicles in and out of the terminal, problems would be encountered at the truck docks and at the customs examination areas. Often, terminals would not offer temperature controlled facilities for truck docking for customs examination, overlooking a crucial link in the supply chain where the refrigerated contents of the consignment would be forced to wait for long intervals in non temperature controlled areas. TERMINAL HANDLING Storage and Handling operations within the cargo terminal being carried out in nontemperature controlled areas often damaged the shipments. Even within terminals with cold storages, lack of hygiene and lack of segregation between pharma and other perishables often compromised the quality of the medicines. Many terminals also failed to provide different climatic zones for different consignments, preferring instead to adopt a one temperature suits all approach to handling pharma products in their cold stores. RAMP OPERATIONS The final step in the movement of the pharma shipments out to the aircraft s cargo bay posed several challenges. The cargo aircraft would often be parked at locations far away from the cargo terminal depending on availability of suitable parking bays or due to congestion. This necessitates another leg of surface transport and associated delays in moving from the terminal out to the parked aircraft, once again potentially exposing the consignment to temperature excursions. THE RGIA SOLUTION: DEDICATED PHARMA ZONE Having done a detailed study on the existing state of the pharma supply chain in the country, RGIA team proceeded to isolate and attack the various pain points identified. The end result was a multi million dollar dedicated Pharma Zone at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport at Hyderabad, which has the unique distinction of the being the first facility of its kind in the country. In the course of developing the new facility, RGIA has tried to address all the challenges identified. Page 3 of 7

5 SOLUTION 1: THE TERMINAL The first step in the process of solving the problems was to look at elements within the airport terminal. The purpose built pharma terminal is a state of the art facility with multiple temperature controlled zones with custom temperature settings and humidity control features. The areas earmarked for Customs examination too are temperature controlled, eliminating any risks of temperature excursions occurring during the customs clearance process. SOLUTION 2: TRUCK DOCKS RGIA has invested in developing a modern set of truck docks which offer fully temperature controlled areas for carrying out loading/unloading operations safely. SOLUTION 3: RAMP AND AIRSIDE Having addressed the challenges at the truck docks and at the terminal storage areas, RGIA turned its focus on the airside facilities and operations. To cut down on transportation time and possible exposures to ambient conditions resulting from long transit times between the terminals and aircraft parking bays, RGIA has invested millions of dollars into developing new cargo aprons adjacent to the cargo terminal. The aprons are capable of handling large wide body Code F aircraft (e.g. Airbus A380 and other new large aircraft). SOLUTION 4: SURFACE TRANSPORT After ensuring the best of facilities for pharma handing within the confines of the airport, RGIA took on the task of addressing the biggest external challenge inbound and outbound surface transport leg. Realising that it would be difficult to enforce the standards and operational best practices on the largely unorganized truck transport trade, RGIA decided to opt for a novel option of moving the pharma consignments on a specially equipped Cool Container. The Cool Container is a selfsustained, refrigerated Unit Load Device (ULD) with the ability to the keep the shipment at the desired temperature irrespective of the ambient conditions. Cargo could be sealed inside a Cool Container at either end and moved between the cargo terminal and the warehouse/factory without any interruptions. However, achieving seamless movement of cool containers in and out of the terminal would require close cooperation and support from all the stakeholders involved. RGIA took the initiative to organize a common forum in the form of a workshop where all the stakeholders Page 4 of 7

6 including the Customs, airlines, cool container manufacturer Envirotainer, the Swedish Trade Council, Customs House Agents (CHAs), 3PL/FF, shippers and consignees participated and provided their inputs on the proposed initiative. Working closely with its partners, RGIA actively pursued the matter with the Customs authorities and obtained the approval for the movement of Cool Containers in September Envirotainer has chosen RGIA as the Regional Hub for their Containers. Envirotainer Cool Containers are currently being used for Import shipment regularly. Trial movement of Envirotainer has been successfully conducted for Exports and launch of shipment from Shipper to Airport is being planned. This once again is a first of a kind initiative and is going to bring about a paradigm shift in the way cold chains have been managed in this country. CONCLUSION In this fashion, RGIA has ensured that all the four challenges identified in the existing pharma cold chains have been addressed: 1. Terminal Pharma Zone 2. Loading/Unloading Truck Docks 3. Ramp and Airside Cargo Apron 4. Surface Transport Cool Containers Page 5 of 7

7 Having addressed all the pain points in the pharma cold chain, the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad now offers the only unbroken cold chain in the country for pharmaceuticals handling. Page 6 of 7