DHL Global Forwarding seeks IATA CEIV Pharma certification in the Americas

Since 2015, the International Air Freight Assn. (IATA) has been promoting a Center of Excellence for Independent Validators in Pharmaceutical Logistics (CEIV Pharma) program to certify carriers, airports and freight forwarders for handling pharmaceutical shipments according to industry standards. Now, DHL Global Forwarding (US HQ in Miami) has received the first of an expected eight facility certifications—seven in the US, plus Bogota, Colombia (the first to be so certified). The US locations are: Atlanta, Chicago, Cincinnati, Los Angeles, Miami, Philadelphia and San Juan, Puerto Rico. The effort for these facilities is expected to be complete by the end of Q2.

CEIV Pharma entails audits and reviews of logistics practices, training and facilities, carried out by independent auditors. Compliance with IATA Temperature Control Regulations (TCR), EU Good Distribution Practices (GDPs) and relevant standards of the US Pharmacopeia, among others, is part of the process. According to IATA literature, some 170 entities have already obtained the CEIV Pharma certification, mostly in the developing world, although the Brussels International Airport and France’s Charles de Gaulle airport have also won certification. Kuehne + Nagel announced in January that it had obtained CEIV Pharma certification for all 86 air-freight facilities around the world that are part of its KN PharmaChain network. IATA’s goals are ambitious; although its main business is air freight, it is promoting CEIV Pharma for other supply chain entities, including warehouses and ground transportation.

“Over many years, DHL has been actively involved with IATA’s continuous efforts to adequately answer to the regulatory demands of the pharmaceutical industry,” said states David Bang, Global Head of DHL Temperature Management Solutions and CEO LifeConEx at DHL Global Forwarding. “This standardized approach in the air freight industry means productivity, accuracy, and reliability. All of those lead to product integrity and patient safety.”