Agility is first forwarder to achieve QEP Experto status 28 September 2017

Agility is the first freight forwarder to receive QEP experto accreditation from Envirotainer for its cold chain management of pharma and life sciences products.

Envirotainer is the world leader in temperature-controlled air transportation containers for the pharmaceutical industry. The company’s Qualified Envirotainer Provider (QEP) programme evaluates freight forwarders and airline stations and recognises those able to meet the highest standards for Envirotainer shipments.

On its ten-year anniversary, QEP started recognising stations at either basico, advancedo or experto level. QEP experto is only for those having the highest level of training and quality, along with the physical capabilities and extensive experience handling pharmaceutical products.

The QEP experto accreditation applies to Agility’s operations at the EuroAirport in Basel, Switzerland, where Agility runs a Pharma Competence Centre (PCC) that manages global, temperature-controlled transportation as well as cold chain solutions for pharmaceutical products. The PCC handles more than 20,000 temperature-controlled shipments per year.

Pharmaceutical logistics is complex, and there isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach for customers. To achieve QEP experto recognition, a QEP-accredited provider must have a Good Distribution Practices (GDP) certification along with dedicated +15C to +25C pharma storage, and manage at least 15 Envirotainer containers per month.