One of the great unsung miracles of modern life is the comprehensive logistics chains that can bring products from one part of the country—or even the world—to another part in days or even hours. This level of coordination is impressive, with one link in the logistics chain smoothly handing off to another, but for all this precision, that doesn’t mean that precautions shouldn’t be taken. This is especially true when it comes to temperature control for medical products.
It’s Not Just Physical Protection
One of the biggest factors in successfully transporting medical products is not necessarily the physical safety of those products. In many cases, such as pills or vaccines, the product itself is already durable or stored in a durable container, making it more resistant to physical handling than something more delicate, like fruits and vegetables.
However, what makes medical products especially fragile is their ideal temperature. In many cases, medical products that can get too cold or too warm lose their effectiveness. If that happens, the ability to treat illnesses or even save lives may be compromised in a batch of medication if it is not stored at the optimal temperature during transportation.
Insulated Packaging Makes A Difference
This is where precautionary measures like insulated packaging can be a critical layer of added protection. “Cold chain logistics” is the specialized shipping practice of maintaining lower temperatures for temperature-sensitive products. However, not every stage of a shipping journey guarantees total temperature control. At some point, such as transferring products from a warehouse to a truck, cargo may be taken out of a climate-controlled environment.
Insulated packaging becomes essential in these moments, especially if the unexpected happens, such as a traffic accident causing a delay in the arrival of the next link in the logistics chain. Without any added protection, a delay of just an hour or two can ruin a medical product. However, with insulated packaging, the interior temperature of the medical products is maintained, even without a climate control system.
Take No Chances
Pharmaceuticals and vaccines, in particular, are susceptible to temperature changes and sometimes even exposure to light. Insulated packaging is that extra bit of insurance that provides another layer of risk mitigation so that even if something should go wrong and your medical products are exposed to the elements, this only means that the shipment may experience a delay in arrival, as opposed to being rendered unusable, or even dangerous when it reaches its destination. If you’d like to know more about it, contact Protek Cargo with your questions and get a quote.
