Making the best of the crisis
In conversation with Fabrice Panza, Etihad Cargo’s global manager for cool-chain solutions. Market observers expect to see twice as many Covid-19 vaccines produced in 2022 as last year – with 40% distributed by air. Fabrice Panza reports on how collaboration in the sector allows Etihad Cargo to work more for the benefit of the logistics chain and of customers – true to the adage (attributed to Winston Churchill) to never let a good crisis go to waste. The Frenchman has worked in the sector since 1998 and, after 20 years with AF, has now been in charge for two years of Etihad Cargo’s services that focus on perishables.
Mr Panza, how has Etihad Cargo’s pharmaceuticals sector developed since 2020?
Etihad Airways’ air cargo business has been transformed over the last two years. Active and passive cold-chain solutions played a critical role in tripling our pharmaceutical volumes vis-à-vis 2020.
Our involvement in the Hope Consortium [see also page 6 of ITJ 11-12/2021] is a new and unusual development for an airline. It allows us to offer pre-transport to Abu Dhabi warehouses and global onward distribution of medical goods.
We transported about 250 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine to about 40 countries in 18 months. The fact that these vaccines account for only approximately 30% of our pharmaceuticals volumes illustrates the efficiency of comparatively small Etihad Cargo’s operations.
What are Etihad’s short-term plans?
We’ve invested in a new pharmaceuticals infrastructure, which went online in June. We’re also extending the use of the latest generation of thermal covers to every one of the 70 stations in our network that specialise in pharmaceuticals.
What about the digital dimension?
We’re working on what we call the ‘pharmaceutical corridor 2.0’, in which the status of every consignment is completely traceable digitally. This allows us to call up the effective data on the location and temperature of a consignment at any time, compare it with the intended status and take immediate corrective action in the event of any deviation. We want to launch it on the Abu Dhabi–Brussels route.
Was this developed in your airline?
Cooperation has been brought back to life in recent years. In our case the examples include the Hope Consortium and the Pharma.Aero advocacy group – we enjoy very constructive exchanges with all of their members.
The results include the joint establishment of said corridor, and the founding of a ‘Pharma Supply Chain Master Class’ in Abu Dhabi. A second cohort is set to graduate from it in September. Research and industry exchange ideas directly and develop concrete projects, for example in the fields of AI or packaging.
How important to Etihad Cargo is the field of business that you manage?
The overall share of our freight transport activities that involves temperature-sensitive goods has grown by around ten percentage points since 2020, to around 20% of Etihad Cargo’s total activity.
What ‘fresh’ news do you have to report?
We’re setting up an exclusive warehouse for perishable goods, and are generalising the use of thermal covers. As is the rule in the pharmaceuticals sector, we focus on compliance, and have now also obtained Iata’s CEIV ‘Live Animals’ certification. This has made Etihad Cargo one of the first airlines worldwide to be certified according to all three of Iata’s CEIV standards, that is to say ‘Pharma’, ‘Fresh’ as well as now ‘Live Animals’.