There are many rules from the GDP guidelines that one has to follow when dispatching parcels containing pharmaceuticals but here are some additional ideas to help keep your products safe!
When testing your packaging, do you ever think of doing ‘drop tests’?
Being compliant with GDP guidelines the packaging has to be suitable for the products being carried and so much emphasis is put onto temperature controls but what about damage control? Ideally that box should be able to take the knocks and bumps experienced in transport routes. In the courier supply chain, boxes get dropped, bumped, thrown around in vehicles and unfortunately in a small amount of cases deliberately mistreated (as per a recent Dispatches documentary on TV). Test that box for sturdiness before completely validating it; kick it, throw it, run it over in the car – just make sure there is no product in it at the time!
Make sure all the paperwork is affixed securely!
I’ve had previous observations where people just hand the driver the paperwork without attaching any copies to the box. They are entrusting someone else to do their work for them. You should put several copies of the AWB (courier docket) and any invoices and licenses on the box. This will help for several reasons; the first being that the box has the right paperwork for a start. The second reason is to minimise the time being handled and processed by warehouse staff. Thirdly, in the case of Exports, it means Customs have the right paperwork there to arrange clearance and it minimises the delays.
Make that box easily identifiable.
Unfortunately, on occasions, parcels can lose their labels and paperwork or get misrouted to an incorrect depot and in even rarer occasions staff can swap paperwork without realising their mistake until it’s too late. If your parcel goes missing in a courier network how would you describe it? What colour is the box? What markings are on there? What colour is the tape? Was anything written on the box? Make your box clearly identifiable as it will help those in the supply chain find it quicker and thus reduce delays on your parcel.
Will your temperature controls survive a delay?
From my experience in the logistics industry, the majority of customers believe that transit times are set in stone but many things can influence these. Bad weather, technical issues with the aircraft, traffic jams, Customs and human errors, volcanoes, earthquakes and many more things can influence your parcels journey time. If you are quoted a transit time of 2 days; do you pack for 2 days or 3 days?
Know your logistics provider!
Many people take advantage of the cheap courier rates offered by the larger integrators but how well do you know them? Do you have a direct line for an account manager in the event of a problem or a recall? How quickly will they provide responses to your queries? I’ve had dealings with a well-known large courier company in the UK who advised their turnaround time for a missing parcel enquiry was 10 DAYS! Is this acceptable? Ask your supplier simple questions – what is their turnaround for enquiries, problems and even prices. Sometimes it is worth spending an extra pound or two per shipment with a smaller company to get the account management you deserve!