Qatar Airways Cargo has enhanced its pharmaceutical cargo service to offer its clients a more diverse range of options for their healthcare shipments.
The new pharma product aligns with the carrier’s Next Generation and VISION 2027 strategy and it aimed at streamlining the handling of pharmaceuticals and healthcare products.
Qatar claims that today it carries more than one in ten global pharmaceutical air cargo shipments and this is an area that is evolving under its future vision strategy.
Guillaume Halleux, chief officer cargo at Qatar Airways, said: “In less than a decade, Qatar Airways Cargo has grown to become an acknowledged carrier of choice when it comes to pharmaceutical products.
“Since we first launched our pharma service in 2014, we have invested heavily to bring on board the best industry experts, equipment, and training. We have also proactively involved ourselves in leading industry working groups to keep a finger on the pulse of this ever-evolving market.”
The cargo carrier now offers five product sub-categories, up from two. These include: Pharma Critical Advanced, Pharma Critical Passive, Pharma Advanced, Pharma Passive and Pharma Care.
“These new enhanced categories enable Qatar Airways Cargo to offer customers a diverse range of solutions to transport their healthcare shipments and ensure optimal handling of all cool-chain pharma products transported on its flights,” the airline said.
Qatar has also introduced a two-tier system for its 90 approved pharma stations to provide more information and transparency to its customers. This will differentiate between the different capabilities available at various stations.
Active container milestone updates have also been introduced to regularly inform customers via email on the status of their shipments.
Important information includes the temperature and battery readings of each unit transporting the shipments. The project has been rolled out to selected locations only and a global roll-out will take place over the course of this year.
Qatar said animal health is a top priority and it offers “comparable solutions through its Pharma product to transport animal healthcare shipments in a safe and efficient manner, all within the customer’s sub-category of choice”.
Miguel Rodríguez, senior manager cargo product, said: “With ‘Next Generation Pharma’ we are working on evolving product offerings to meet new and anticipated industry needs, and focussing on digitalising processes and activities to increase transparency and provide more real time information to customers.
“Better visibility means greater assurance, and faster information flows lead to a more agile, collaborative supply chain, enabling decisions based on actual, in-the-moment facts. Our endeavour is to offer customers a wide range of options based on their transport requirements.
“We aim to be a one-stop-shop for our customers, providing every packaging and container uplift solution necessary to match their diverse product portfolio, and complementing this with our flexible network, temperature-controlled facilities and equipment, as well as professional, expert handling.”
