Weather
has fascinated humans for thousands of years because it has a positive
or negative affect in daily life (e.g. food supply in gathering,
hunting, fishing, agriculture, traveling, etc.). Throughout history men
have created explanations for these climatic events that were not only
poorly forecasted but also misunderstood. The ancient Greeks for example,attributed
these climatic changes to specific gods and their temperamental natures
to explain everyday weather and gave meaning to the world around them.
Greek mythology includes many fascinating and colorful stories of more
than 40 gods, goddesses, nymphs, monsters and heroes related to weather
and climate. For example, Aeolus was the god and ruler of the winds. All
occurrences of favorable or unfavorable weather were interpreted as a
sign of divine intervention.
 |
| Aeolus, the Wind God (Source : http://www.flickr.com/photos/buecherwurm/486825832/in/photostream/) |
Cold
Chain Supply also demands understanding and managing the ambient
temperature that a shipping container is exposed to during its transport
(i.e. ambient profile) because these ambient temperatures greatly
affect the cold chain supply performance. Ambient profiles can be not
only as fascinating but also as intricate as Greek Mythology.
Fortunately, Cold Chain Supply professionals do not need the Greek
weather deities and their divine interventions to manage the ambient
profiles but a set of tools and practices to manage the temperature and
other logistics factors during transportation. Keep in mind (and this is
an important concept) that the ambient temperature may or may not be
the same as the actual weather temperature because a container can be
stored inside a warehouse with a temperature different from the actual
outdoor temperature . So let’s start with two frequently asked
questions many cold chain supply professionals deal with, “What is an
ambient profile?” and “Why are ambient profiles important?”
An
ambient profile refers to the ambient temperature that a shipping
container is exposed to during its transportation. It is common to find
three elements in an ambient profile; the temperature, the transit date
and time and the logistical step associated to this
temperature/date-time point. Note that placing an external temperature
logger to collect temperature data will provide the temperature the
loggers were exposed to but may not
guarantee that the shipping container is always exposed to the same
temperatures. Temperature variations in storage areas (refrigerated or
non-refrigerated warehouses), carrier fleets (aircraft, trucks, etc) and
logistics handling procedures could lead to differences in ambient
temperatures. The geographical location and season in which the
transport is performed may impact the temperature variations as well. A
well managed supply chain will be less influenced by weather variations
due to location and seasons because the shipping container is moving
through controlled and semi-controlled conditions of storage, carrier
fleet and logistics handling instructions.
Defining realistic ambient profiles is critical to the performance of the cold chain supply for many reasons:
1)
It supports the optimal packaging design of the shipping containers.
An incorrect profile drives over or under designed shipping containers.
For example, a profile with unrealistic extreme cold temperatures will
require more insulation and less frozen gel packs to reduce the risk of
product loss due to freezing. On the other hand, a profile with
unrealistic mild cold temperatures will demand less insulation and more
refrigerated gel packs but will introduce a higher risk for product
freezing.
2)
It helps the selection of the right distribution and logistics
partner. Long transit times as well as extreme temperatures recorded by the external temperature monitors may be an indication not only of limited supply chain
integration but also poor collaboration among the distribution and
logistics partners. This lack of integration and collaboration may
increase risks such as product loss or delays.
3)
It helps to maintain the identity, strength, quality, and purity of
the product from beginning to end. Unrealistic profiles create over and
under designed containers that expose the product to unnecessary hot and cold
temperatures. Creating a profile requires not only understanding of the
storage and transportation steps but also proper management of the
distribution and logistics partners to provide realistic expected
temperatures for the shipping container design and to align the
distribution and logistics handling procedures that protect the product.
4)
It ensures patient safety by maintaining the product temperature
within the manufacturer’s recommended allowable temperature ranges for
storage and distribution.
5) It increases customer satisfaction by minimizing product loss or temperature deviations that require product quarantine and investigation. A product loss event may require reverse logistics to bring the product back to the manufacturing or distribution location, to send the product to a laboratory for further testing or to ship it to a controlled site for incineration (i.e. destruction). An investigation will delay the product release upon arrival and may cause a stock out situation. Finally, product losses activates lengthy and expensive insurance claims processes and delays also trigger severe financial penalties for not meeting the delivery dates stated in the contract (i.e. supply chain agreements).
6)
It reduces the safety stock and pipeline inventory by reducing
transit time and temperature variability. Larger transit time and temperature
variability increase the risk and this increased risk requires more inventory
overall.
7)
It reduces material (i.e. shipping container) and freight costs by
removing inefficiencies in a container design (under or over design).
The unrealistic profiles usually drive over-design that translate in
bigger and heavier containers because more insulating material and
gelpacks are added. Bigger and heavier containers may also cause a capacity issue in the carrier fleet.
8)
Increases compliance by ensuring the container is qualified for the
worst case scenario so the Quality team has less temperature deviations
to process and the Regulatory team has a modular qualification document
that can speed up the submission to new markets.
9)
It calibrates and validates the dynamic environment found in the
logistics by ensuring regular confirmation that the distribution and
logistics handling instructions are being followed by the logistics
partners.
Selecting
or building ambient profiles for the shipping container qualification
is a difficult and intense task because an ambient profile requires a
deep understanding of the distribution process and the logistics
involved. In my next posts I will describe how to build or select
ambient profiles.
Until then...
Carlos
