Dallas, March 15th 2018
MVD Free Airport and Brussels Airport formalized their efforts in the development of a dedicated pharma route between Brussels and South America, addressing the increasing interest received from several global pharmaceutical shippers. The peak season for inbound cargo to South America, usually starting September through January, represents a real challenge for pharmaceutical shippers. Not only are costs increasing dramatically but it is highly difficult to achieve any type of foreseeability and reliability, this having many implications not only from an SCM but also a quality and security perspective., Nathan De Valck, Director of Business Development at Brussels Airport stated“Together with MVD Free Airport we’ve identified the need and are working towards the implementation of a dedicated pharma certified route, with reliable, cost-efficient weekly frequencies based on regular wide-body freighters.”.
“The benefits of such a route are many”, mentioned Bruno Guella, Managing Director at MVD Free Airport. “Not only can cargo arrive predictably and cost-efficiently from Europe and the US to South America entering via Montevideo, Uruguay, strategically located between Brazil and Argentina, but the last mile distribution can be tailored to client needs. Some shippers prefer reaching Brazil via truck leading to faster clearances at the dry border. Others prefer shipments via truck to Buenos Aires, to ensure traceability and temperature stability all the way to the bonded warehouse. Others just put focus on replenishing their small security stocks at our airport free zone to perform late customization activities two minutes away from the tarmac and for agile distribution by plane to the rest of the region. The possibilities are many”.
MVD Free Airport and Brussels Airport are currently in the latter stages of the product development phase. “So far this has gone really well, over a dozen pharma shippers have expressed interest and shared their yearly volumes, the business case is looking attractive. We believe we will be in a position to present product details to the industry very shortly and are looking at September as a tentative implementation date”, added Guella.