BERLIN — IATA\u2019s Center of Excellence for Independent Validator\u2019s CEIV program has been around since August 2013, but still remains a mystery to many in the industry.
\nBut that mystery is dissolving as the number of CEIV certified entities — a certification that the enterprise adheres to the highest standard of excellence for the handling of pharmaceuticals — start to accumulate.
\nAt\u00a0Monday\u2019s\u00a0workshop at the 2016 World Cargo Symposium here, Ronald Schaeffer, project lead, CEIV Pharma, IATA, said that at present 28 companies are certified, 55 are in progress and more than 99 are in discussion. He said to expect 80 entities in 29 locations to be certified by the end of this year.
\nThat is quite impressive, since, as Fabrizio Iacobacci, vice president of ground handling company BCUBE said, \u201cCEIV is not a diploma hung on the wall. Everyday variables change, so you need to continually reassess your risks.\u201d Fellow ground handler, Barbara Col, marketing and communications manager with ALHA Group at Malpensa and Fumicino Airports in Italy, said the validation process is tough, but since ALHA completed certification in September 2015 the company has grown 15 percent in exports and 42 percent in imports. \u201cWe consider ourselves a local hero in Italy,\u201d she said.
\nAndrea Gruber, senior manager, special cargo for IATA, said CEIV was initially targeted at ground handlers but it\u2019s evolved to include companies dealing with storage, transport and all of the links in the supply chain. All of these entities need to comply with required regulations, such as the EU\u2019s Good Distribution Practices (GDP), regardless whether or not they achieved CEIV certification. Compliance depends on the activity of the company, whether it be national, international or global. There are some authorities that do not endorse CEIV she said, mainly for political reasons. But at Changi Airport in Singapore, the country\u2019s minister of health is going through CEIV training. Right now, six companies at Changi are getting trained.
\nThe workshop also shed light on just who these independent validators are. Celine Crahay is a project lead and independent validator for IATA. To become one she said it helps to have auditing and\/or pharmaceutical experience, attend training, and to not have had a commercial relationship with any company in the industry for 12 months prior to the engagement. She said the scope of CEIV is much wider than the EU\u2019s GDP. Warehousing, lane validation, supplier management and freight forwarding are all in the CEIV scope.
\nAirport communities are springing up as well, that are rallying companies to gain certification. Miami-Dade airport created a community that was CEIV certified late last year. Joe Napoli, chief of staff for Miami Dade Aviation Department, said one out of four jobs in Miami depends on the airport. As the No. 1 airport in the U.S. for international cargo and the largest gateway to Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as an area with a large pharma base, it made sense. Napoli said the certification brought great interest to the airport, which was the point. Diego Sandoval of LAN Cargo said it is also in the process of CEIV certification since it is based in Miami. Likewise for Lufthansa, which is pursuing verification for both its Lufthansa Cargo and Cool Center hub in Frankfurt.
\nCAL Cargo Airlines\u2019 Navot Hirschhorn said 65 percent of the cargo it carries is special cargo, so CAL became the first certified all-cargo airline worldwide to be certified across the entire chain \u2013 its hub, airline and road feeder service are all certified. He said it has minimized and controlled tarmac time and increased pharma awareness and the result has been a return on the investment, which was the goal. Air France\/KLM is certified at CDG and Schiphol Airports, as are Air France and KLM both. Bert Allard Jorritsma, a manager at AF\/KLM, said it sets a standard for the chain. The benefits, he said, are transparent quality service standards, alignment in the pharma supply chain and improved training for all AF\/KLM operations.
\nBack to the \u201cnot just a diploma on the wall\u201d comment, Gruber said it\u2019s all about quality. Once a company receives certification, there are frequent compliance checks, and after three years a re-validation is required, so it\u2019s not as though a company can relax once it is certified.
\nCEIV could become even more critical. CEIV may soon become mandatory, or at least the baseline for handling pharmaceuticals transported by air, and that might lead to more systemic changes in the industry.
\nAir Cargo World is the Official Media Sponsor of the IATA World Cargo Symposium.
\nSource: aircargoworld<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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