According to data obtained from Statista, about 55% of organizations that perform clinical trials utilized outsourced logistics providers. Logistics is a crucial aspect of the clinical trials process. It deals with the shipment, warehousing, and the delivery of the trial drugs to the participants. If you are tasked with delivering trial drugs safely to participants, then you know you have people’s lives in your hands.
Furthermore, reliable logistics helps the company maintain a positive public image. It’s important that you ensure that packages are delivered in the exact condition to the participant. This may require taking additional steps than your logistics company is normally used to. Here, we will briefly discuss six important tips that can help make the clinical trial logistics flow smoothly.
Customize Your Logistics for Each Country or Region
If you are handling clinical trial logistics for different countries, it is important that you tailor your logistics to suit the environmental conditions of the country. Prepare for weather changes or poor road conditions. Personalizing your logistics for different regions will help guarantee safety and ensure cost-effective deliveries.
Know the Import and Export Rules for Each Country
While planning for clinical trial logistics, it is important that you consider specific rules that apply to certain countries. To ensure that you don’t encounter any major problems, familiarize yourself with the latest import and export licenses and regulation documents for each country.
Plan Your Clinical Trial Logistics and Set Goals
Delivering trial drugs safely to participants requires a great deal of planning. You need to identify how to meet the shipping regulations of the country where the trial drugs will be supplied, plan for customs clearance, optimal packaging conditions to maximize safety, and determine how to manage inventory efficiently. You should also plan for how the drugs will be tracked until they reach the final destination.
Be Realistic With Your Schedule
It’s easy to overestimate your abilities when it comes to making deliveries. Since trial drugs are special packages that require careful handling at every stage of delivery, you need to ensure that your delivery schedule accounts for this. You may be required to take longer with the delivery to ensure the packages are delivered in optimal condition.
Communication Is Key
Communication is of great importance when you are handling the deliveries of trial drugs. You must maintain ongoing communication with all key stakeholders in the supply chain. Make sure that all the teams are communicating efficiently, and this will significantly help you to ensure smooth delivery with every batch.
Provide 24-Hour Technical Assistance
While proper planning can help you avoid many potential problems in clinical trial logistics, you can never completely rule out hiccups. Always ensure that you have a personnel on ground to help with any issue encountered by the delivery team.
Endnote
Healthcare and pharmaceutical deliveries are often sensitive and have to be handled properly. When you are tasked with delivering trial drugs safely to participants in different locations, you have to treat them with utmost care and concern. The six tips discussed here can help you deliver in the most effective way.