Logistics biggest challenge for vaccine makers in Hyderabad

Whenever a Covid-19 vaccine is out and Hyderabad starts churning out millions of these life-saving doses, much will hinge on the logistics to ensure that vaccines are transported safely to every nook and corner of the world.

With Covid-19 vaccines expected to require very low temperatures on a continuous and consistent basis unlike conventional medicines and vaccines that can be stored at 2-8 degrees Celsius, Sameer Bhatnagar, partner, transport & logistics, KPMG in India, said there would be a requirement to develop a whole new supply chain.
“The immediate need is likely to be high while the distribution channels will be fewer, hence consolidated facilities with large stockpiling capacity may be required. Besides, scaling up the infrastructure on a pan India basis of the sub-zero supply chain with last mile delivery is a significant task,” said Bhatnagar.
Solutions would need to transcend conventional infrastructure and will require IOT, Blockchain and other digital solutions for cost efficient and effective demand fulfilment, he added.
With air cargo expected to play a critical role in the movement of Covid-19 vaccines, GMR Hyderabad Air Cargo (GHAC) has recently inducted one of India’s largest cool dollies to maintain the temperature integrity for sensitive pharma products. GHAC is also augmenting its landside and airside infrastructure, which will help in handling the projected demand of the Covid-19 vaccine, a GHAC spokesperson said.
All these additions would benefit exports of Covid-19 vaccines along with any other temperature controlled pharma products from the region including Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and adjoining areas, the GHAC spokesperson said.
Even International Air Transport Association (IATA) director general Alexandre de Juniachas recently warned that the air cargo industry will still face its largest single transport challenge ever. “In planning their vaccine programs, particularly in the developing world, governments must take careful consideration of the limited air cargo capacity,” he had said.
In fact, logistics players like Blue Dart are already charting out plans to ramp up capacities in and around the city to cater to the global vaccine supplies from here. The company is betting big on its facilities that include temperature controlled logistics (TCL) solutions meant for critical shipments such as vaccines, said Ketan Kulkarni, CMO & head (business development), Blue Dart.
“Apart from our mother HUB for the region and numerous service centres strategically positioned across the city & state, Blue Dart’s Boeing 757 freighters land into Hyderabad. We have an agile response team and can immediately ramp up to meet any customer demand,” he said.
City-based startups like Statwig too are gearing up to deploy their Blockchain solutions like Vaccine Ledger to track movement of Covid-19 vaccines to ensure they don’t fall into the wrong hands and make their way into the black market or even get spoiled during transport, said Sid Chakravarthy, founder and CEO, Statwig, which developed Vaccine Ledger with the funding and mentorship from UNICEF.
Vaccine Ledger captures serial numbers, expiry dates and other manufacturing data using 2D Bar codes and uses them to scan vaccines at various touch points along their journey.