CJ Logistics to enter global pharmaceutical transportation market

South Korea’s CJ Logistics on Wednesday said it obtained the certification CEIV Pharma, or the Center of Excellence for Independent Validators in Pharmaceutical Logistics, that verifies expertise and excellence in pharmaceutical transportation by air. 

CEIV Pharma is a global certification authorized by the International Air Transport Association. The designation requires evaluation of over 280 items in the transportation process including management of delicate temperatures, staff operations and compliance with global regulations.

For temperature-sensitive medicines, a cold chain is essential to maintain constant proper temperature such as room temperature, refrigeration or freezing. Product deterioration or wrong delivery can directly affect life, so the difficulty of handling is higher than that of general cargo.

CJ Logistics has its own temperature control system, Cool Guardian, which can monitor indoor temperature and humidity in real time to store medicines with differing management temperatures efficiently and stably.

In addition, a drug distribution center of 5,800 square meters located at Incheon International Airport’s second airport logistics complex is designed to minimize external exposure of temperature-sensitive medicines.

CJ Logistics handles logistics for 70 domestic and foreign pharmaceutical companies,  runs 12 pharmaceutical centers nationwide that meet Korea Good Supplying Practice standards and has about 200 pharmaceutical vehicles.

The company said getting the CEIV Pharma certification, a prerequisite for project participation or service supply in pharmaceutical logistics, is an opportunity to boost its competitiveness in receiving orders. It added that it will use the designation to target the global pharmaceutical logistics market.

Write to Hun-Hyoung Ha at hhh@hankyung.com