more companies to join the
platform should be easier
going forward, he continues.
“It will take a lot less effort
than in the past 12 months. I
think we will always have to
convince every new partner
to get on board, but the big
difference is that it has been
proven that it can be done.”
The data details
The team has focused on three
layers of data to feed into the
platform, the fi rst of which is
transactional data. “That’s the
typical freight status update
messaging, which is quite
common among the supply
chain partners in the air
cargo community, but which
is often not automatically
available for shippers,” says De
Valck. “Second is the typical
temperature data, which today PHARMACEUTICALS
It’s a way to
connect all these
different silos of
data from multiple
parties... in a single
window
Nathan De Valck, Chairman,
Pharma.Aero
higher. Second, the technical
integration: building the
digital link between the supply
chain participants and the
data-sharing platform,” asserts
De Valck.
As a result , encouraging
Going global
The next stage of the project is to build the commercial model
around the platform. “We hope and expect a couple of shippers
to join the commercialisation of the platform in the next step
so that we can start enabling end-to-end supply chain visibility
on a global level. Not just in a pilot set-up but in a truly open,
commercial set-up,” De Valck continues.
Commercial partner Nallian will begin taking steps to sign
contracts with potential users and build up the network, and
Pharma.Aero will shift from a leading role to a support role. With
a view to globalisation, De Valck highlights that entities wishing
to participate in this data-sharing initiative need not be members
of Pharma.Aero. “The commercialisation of this data-sharing
service will be something that is not uniquely linked to Pharma.
Aero. Our mission is to bring people together. To pilot projects,
to try to innovate by collaborating and once something new
is developed we are going to support the dissemination, but it
should not be exclusive to our members.”
Moving forward
Yip picks up the thread: “Pharma.Aero’s technical report will be
made available for its members and a white paper outlining the
value proposition will be released at a later date. The value is
simple – and critical,” she notes. Indeed, Senior Manager at Pfi zer,
Eddy Weygaerts, speaks highly of the project. “Pfi zer was actively
involved in the Global Pharma Tracker project. We welcome this
innovation project launched by Pharma.Aero on digitisating
the air cargo supply chain. In our role as strategic member
we supported both phases of the project from the defi nition
of the requirements to the testing of the pilot with some of
our shipments. The GPT platform clearly has the potential to
bring added value to the supply chain management of pharma
shippers, including our own,” he asserts.
At the time of the interview, Pharma.Aero had just started
communicating the results of the prototype at industry
conferences. “We just started the dissemination of the message
and I can say that we’ve received very positive feedback from
events where we have presented the results of the project. At
a lot of conferences, people have been discussing the need to
collaborate. We have shown that it can be done. It took us
more than a year, but the only way to make it work is to start
doing it and identify the challenges and solve them one by
one,” she concludes.
... people have
been discussing
the need to
collaborate. We
have shown that it
can be done
Jaisey Yip, Vice Chairman,
Pharma.Aero
is not always available. You
could combine the temperature
data of a sensor that travels
with the shipment with the
temperature data of a cool
room or a pharma dolly to see
the impact of a deviation in
the transport on the product,”
he says of the possibilities. The
third layer is quality data, such
as quality or type of packaging
and pictures of damage.
“So there’s a lot of data that
even a low-tech operator has
available, which can enrich the
data set of a shipment in the
data platform. Not everybody
has to be playing in the
Champions League; even the
less technologically advanced
would have basic visibility
on temperature data or how
shipments are handled.”
GPT will be a single
window into all of this data,
Yip enthuses. “Today, we see
that a lot of forwarders and
airlines do excellent work, and
they all make sure they have
their part of the supply chain
under control, but data resides
in their own operational silo.
The shipper needs to have full
visibility in order to confi dently
release his goods to the market.
Instead of having to ask
everyone to send required data
in an Excel fi le and waste two
weeks of time, this data will
now become available at the
click of a button,” she asserts.
“Some have the
misconception that the GPT
is a competitive solution to
existing in-house solutions,
which is not the case,” De
Valck reassures. “It’s a way to
connect all these different silos
of data from multiple parties
and to visualise data in a single
window. The different parties
can still maintain their own
data control tower and systems,
and integrate the rich data from
the GPT into theirs.”
24 December 2019 www.airlogisticsinternational.com
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