KN: meeting the challenges of Covid-19 vaccine roll-out

Leading global pharma logistics specialist Kuehne + Nagel (KN) is confident of meeting the logistics challenges of the rollout of Covid-19 vaccines and readying itself for the transition this summer to greater volumes of airborne shipments – as more doses find their way to countries around the globe, according to a senior company executive.

“When we set up our Covid-19 Response Task Force last year, we described the undertaking of flying billions of temperature-sensitive vaccines worldwide as complex but definitely manageable for the air freight sector – and nothing has changed our view over the intervening months,” KN’s senior vice president for Pharma & Healthcare, Robert Coyle, told Lloyd’s Loading List in an interview.

“And the good news is that our model of predicted volumes has remained pretty accurate and has even been downsized a little as a result of the number of doses per vial increasing. It works out at an increase of around 5% in our pharma/healthcare volumes and less than 1% of KN’s air capacity globally. These are numbers we are comfortable with and we do not see any risk of air capacity issues emerging as a result of these shipments – either for us as a company or for the sector as a whole.”

He continued: “We’ve been very thorough in our groundwork, mapping out the entire globe, conducting a network assessment of the major lanes and looking at all of our key airports and their capabilities to handle all three temperature ranges of the vaccines while also signing agreements with airlines on volumes.”

Coyle noted that it had been “a tough time” for carriers during the pandemic, especially those that are passenger focused. “But they’ve gone above and beyond what might have been expected of them and responded positively to any requests for additional space for vaccines. We’ve not had any shipments delayed or bumped – which in the currently unpredictable air cargo market is to be applauded.”

End-to-end supply chain

Speaking with analysts last month, KN CEO Detlef Trefzger said the company was set to increase its Covid-19 vaccine volumes five- to seven-fold in the second quarter (Q2) of this year on the 50 million doses it handled in the first quarter.

Coyle explained: “So, what do these doses represent in terms of volume? Well, there are some companies that have 115,000 doses on a pallet, others that have 150,000. If we take an average figure of 125,000 doses, that works out at 2,800 pallets and we handle a heck of a lot more than that on a normal day in pharma/healthcare.

“Of course, on top of that we are also handling all of the support material that goes with the vaccines – the syringes, the glass bottles and the vials, the PPE. It’s an end-to-end supply chain we’re engaged in right down to the patient receiving a jab.”

Co-loading flow

When asked several months ago about the air cargo capacity that would be required for the global roll-out of the vaccines over a two-year period, Coyle estimated this to be the equivalent of less than 1,000 flights for a 70-tonne capacity freighter.

“While this provides a useful picture of the scale of the operation in hand, we shouldn’t get the idea that the air transport of the vaccines is all about freighters criss-crossing the globe with nothing but doses on board, as the situation on the ground is very different,” Coyle now explains. “Vaccines are being co-loaded on to freighters, ‘preighters’, and standard passenger aircraft, along with other categories of air cargo in compliance with the controlled temperature requirements.

“In the current pandemic-response mode, doses are not coming off the production line and sitting in inventory. A typical batch will be between eight and 15 pallets when it enters the distribution chain.

“Batches are not being built up into full loads for B747Fs. So, right now, we’re not seeing a big influx of vaccines being transported by air – more a steady flow of volume being directed to the markets as soon as possible.”

Supplying developing nations

However, Coyle highlighted the “transition” that is set to take place in the coming weeks and months as the focus switches in the main manufacturing countries and regions – the US and Europe, China and India – from their own populations, where the inoculation programmes are now well-advanced and the logistics for the vaccines have been largely road-based, to supplying developing nations by air.

“China and India have been at the forefront distributing Covid-19 vaccines in Africa and Latin America, but India has imposed a ban on exports in order to concentrate fully on demand at home where infections have surged,” Coyle noted. “So that’s one to keep eye on, especially if the ban is prolonged and alternative sources of supply need to be found.”

Coyle highlighted that roughly 50% of the world’s inhabitants have yet to gain any access whatsoever to Covid-19 vaccines and the major obstacles to delivering doses to populations in often outlying parts of the globe concern inadequate air transport provision – which was already a factor pre-pandemic – and a lack of controlled-temperature storage infrastructure.

‘Milk run’ regional air hub concept

“With regard to air connectivity, KN has identified several international airports in strategic locations – among them Dubai, Miami and Johannesburg – which have the capability to handle each of the temperature categories for the vaccines (2 to 8°C and -20 to -70°C).

“They have the potential to operate as regional air hubs serving developing nations, where a ‘milk run’ concept could be deployed, with aircraft delivering vaccines in small quantities to a number of destinations on a regular basis,” he explained.

Scant reefer provision

As for addressing the need to set up refrigerated facilities in areas where provision is scant or non-existent, Coyle revealed that KN’s PharmaChain has been working on the development of temporary infrastructure in the form of ‘temperature pods’ the size of 20-foot reefer containers, which can accommodate product stored as low as -70°C and are specifically tailored to the small-scale delivery of vaccines – as well as ultra-low temperature freezers. 

“We’ve tested out these pods successfully in North Rhine Westphalia in Germany and they have proved their worth as mini-hubs supplying dispensaries. Deploying them elsewhere around the world, including in remote locations and where climatic conditions are challenging, is definitely on the agenda – the major plus points with the pods being their mobility, which allows them to be located in proximity to where the vaccines are administered. Being agile and flexible during this rollout is critical.”

Coyle concluded: “In recent years, KN has pursued a strategy to increase its global reach in the pharmaceutical vertical in general, and today we have a total of 240 GxP-certified (Good Practice in Pharma) facilities in service, covering 98% of the world’s population. Obviously, this will hold us in good stead in rolling out the vaccines wherever they are required. We are well-equipped to meet the challenge.”