BERLIN — IATA’s Center of Excellence for Independent Validator’s (CEIV) program has been around since August 2013, but still remains a mystery to many in the industry.
But 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 — begin to accumulate.
At Monday’s workshop at the 2016 World Cargo Symposium, 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.
That is quite impressive, since, as Fabrizio Iacobacci, vice president of ground handling company BCUBE said, “CEIV is not a diploma hung on the wall. Everyday variables change, so you need to continually reassess your risks.” 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. “We consider ourselves a local hero in Italy,” she said.
Andrea Gruber, senior manager, special cargo for IATA, said CEIV was initially targeted at ground handlers but it’s 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’s 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 in Singapore, where six companies at Changi Airport are going through CEIV certification, the country’s regulator for health products is open to endorse CEIV and will be observing the CEIV training.
The 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’s GDP. Warehousing, lane validation, supplier management and freight forwarding are all in the CEIV scope.
Airport 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.
CAL Cargo Airlines’ 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 – 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.
Back to the “not just a diploma on the wall” comment, Gruber said it’s all about quality. Once a company receives certification, there are frequent compliance checks, and after three years a re-validation is required, so it’s not as though a company can relax once it is certified.
CEIV 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.
Air Cargo World is the Official Media Sponsor of the IATA World Cargo Symposium.