Our Cool Dolly acts as a mobile temperature-controlled facility: Prakash Nair

Emirates SkyCargo offers innovative cool chain solutions for temperature and time sensitive cargoes enabling to preserve the high quality of goods and extend their shelf life. As the carrier’s service in the air is always matching those on the ground, Dubai Cargo Mega Terminal (CMT) houses independently-controlled, special storage zones to maintain the critical requirements of the time and temperature-sensitive products throughout the entire journey of the cargo. Shippers can also relax in the knowledge that SkyCargo meets the extra attention and special handling, acceptance and delivery processes required by IATA and other governing bodies. And throughout, Emirates’ network of multiple destinations worldwide and the airline’s Cool Chain ensure the consignment arrives in good condition, perfectly on time. SkyCargo’s Cool Chain solution offers protective measures during ramp transportation in Dubai, plus temperature-controlled handling and storage in desired temperature zones, in its warehouses, and expedited delivery on arrival depending on local infrastructure. SkyCargo says that in cooperation with research institutes and leading suppliers, it has developed the latest technology in temperature-controlled cargo solutions to preserve the product quality and integrity of temperature-sensitive pharmaceutical and healthcare products in numerous destinations in the world. In an exclusive interview to INDIAN TRANSPORT & LOGISTICS NEWS (ITLN) Prakash Nair, Manager - Network Cargo Sales Development, Emirates SkyCargo, talks to V. RAMANUJAM. Excerpts: ITLN: Explain the process on how temperature-sensitive goods are protected to perfection at Emirates SkyCargo. PRAKASH NAIR: Based on the Special Handling Codes (SHC), the cool chain shipments are identified from the rest of the cargo that is received at Emirates SkyCargo’ s Cargo Mega Terminal and stored in its respective temperature zone. Of course, each consignment cannot have more than one primary SHC, i.e COL, CRT, FRO and AC, which relates to a specific handling temperature in the warehouse system. On the rare occasion that this should happen, a manual intervention is required and the 24/7 emergency contact information provided by the shipper or his agent comes in to play for clarification on the storage temperature. ITLN: Emirates SkyCargo claims that the carrier has developed a range of protective techniques and solutions for time and temperature-sensitive goods. What are those techniques? PRAKASH: We have a product called a White Cover which is designed to shield temperature-sensitive cargo from solar heat during transportation. In addition, we use our unique Cool Dolly to transport temperature-sensitive intact units from ramp to cool area and vice versa. ITLN: You said Emirates has uniquely developed Cool Dolly. How is this put into use for temperature-controlled cargo handling? PRAKASH: Cool Dolly was conceived with the idea of protecting BUP units of healthcare products from extreme tarmac conditions. Vaccines, insulin and other time and temperature sensitive cargo has low tolerance to temperature spikes especially during the harsh summer conditions. As Dubai International Airport expands, so does the distance from the Cargo Mega Terminal to the aircraft. The Cool Dolly acts as a mobile temperature-controlled facility to ensure an unbroken Cool Chain even when on the tarmac. ITLN: Emirates Cool Chain has three different products: Basic, Advanced and Premium. What is the logic behind in separating the products into three different categories? PRAKASH: Due to the various commodities and products within the Cool Chain that require specific handling, products cannot be generalised and grouped together. There are perishables such as edibles like fruits and vegetables, and perishables such as cut flowers, which require different temperatures, while on the other hand you have healthcare products that can withstand temperatures of up to +45°C and others that have to be transported between 2°C to 8°C. Each industry in the Cool Chain, be it a farmer or pharmaceutical company, has their own requirements and expect a certain level of service and commitment from us. Cool Chain Basic, Advanced and Premium were developed to meet the requirements of each industry. We have “Basic” that caters to the needs of our day-to-day edibles and other perishables, while “Advanced” caters to the passive pharmaceutical shipments. “Premium”, as the name suggests, is our top of the range of Cool Chain solutions that provides our customer with an end-to-end temperature control in the form of active containers. In short, we refer to them as Economy (Basic), Business (Advanced) and First Class (Premium) seats. ITLN: In your view, what are the current challenges in the transport of perishable cargo? PRAKASH: I believe that there are limitations with ground handlers at some points of origin and destinations in terms of the Cool Chain facility, handling and monitoring. ITLN: How far Emirates SkyCargo has understood the specific logistical challenges involved in transporting pharma and healthcare products? PRAKASH: We, at SkyCargo, are definitely not a novice in this field. We are constantly learning and adapting to the requirements of our shippers. We have also successfully introduced IATA’s PCR CH17 recommendation for a Standard Operating Plan (SOP) with our shippers.