Improving the logistics of pharmaceutical goods

Academics are working to improve the logistics of pharmaceutical goods, such as vaccines, as part of a new Knowledge Transfer Project (KTP) between Cardiff University and Tower Cold Chain.

The project involves academics from the Logistics and Operations Management section at Cardiff Business School, designing a decision support system (DSS) for the distribution network at Tower Cold Chain, a pharmaceutical logistics specialist.

The DSS will allow for a more effective and efficient flow of temperature-controlled reusable containers that transport pharmaceutical goods, such as vaccine vials, to health care providers, for the benefit of their patients.

Aligning to Cardiff Business School’s public value purpose, the KTP will deliver social, economic and environmental value to all stakeholders. The project aims to reduce total logistics costs, minimise CO_e2 emissions and maximise availability for the transportation of medical products to pharmacies and hospitals.

On the specialist knowledge Cardiff University will provide to Tower Cold Chain, Professor Mohamed Naim said:

Kevin Doran, Tower’s Global Head of Supply Chain, commented: “this study reflects Tower’s commitment to exploring innovated solutions to make a real-world impact on the consumption of resources of its operations and offer sustainable solutions to its customers.”

Natalie Robinson, Tower’s Global Head of Operations, said: “the movement of containers across our global footprint of hubs is extremely complex. The ability to model this and create a decision support system will democratise decision-making on fleet movements and significantly reduce waste”

The project, funded by Innovate UK, is an outcome of a successful ESRC Impact Accelerator Account study that ran from February 2022 to January 2023. This study involved creating a model to optimise global stock location strategies and minimise CO_e2 emissions caused by superfluous movements.