SAS Cargo successfully completes CEIV pharma re-certification remotely

SAS Cargo has successfully completed the IATA CEIV (Center of Excellence for Independent Validators) Pharma re-certification and was one of the first in the industry to perform a full audit of all its pharma processes remotely.

The IATA CEIV Pharma certification was developed to meet the needs of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies and sets the standard ensuring the highest service and quality standards through uniform processes and a compliant network for pharmaceutical shipments via airfreight.

The emergence of COVID-19 and its related worldwide travel restrictions, combined with the continuous need to conduct audits for certifications and re-certifications, has led to a need for finding alternatives to the traditional face-to-face audit. Undertaking a remote audit provides better outcomes than no audit at all. To achieve this, IATA has integrated guidance provided by the Healthcare sector, Health Authorities, and certification bodies on how to manage the program to be compliant.

“The transport and handling of pharmaceuticals creates both challenges and opportunities for all cold chain industry participants, even in the best of times,’’ says Nick Careen, IATA’s Senior Vice President, Airport, Passenger, Cargo and Security (APCS). “In the middle of a global pandemic, those challenges are greatly exacerbated, while the need for safe transport of potentially life-saving products is even more pressing. But we are a resilient industry, and we always will find solutions to put safety first. We congratulate SAS Cargo on successfully completing their CEIV Pharma re-certification, offered by IATA in a stringent remote process to ensure continued gold-standard transport and handling of this critical cargo, even in these tough times.”

The IATA appointed independent assessment focuses on the quality assurance processes, operational and technical innovation, risk management, and the preservation of all relevant shipment data along the entire logistics chain. The successful re-certification reaffirms SAS Cargo’s ability to safely handle high value, time-sensitive, and temperature-controlled pharmaceutical cargo with speed, reliability, and efficiency. 

During COVID-19 air freight has been a vital partner in delivering much-needed medicines, medical and protective equipment as well as in keeping global supply chains functioning for the most time- and temperature-sensitive goods. It has never been more crucial meeting the specific needs of the life science and health care industry than now. By receiving the re-certification for IATA CEIV Pharma we clearly demonstrate our continuous focus on delivering the highest quality and being a reliable partner for transporting temperature-sensitive products, says Leif Rasmussen, President & CEO of SAS Cargo.

“In collaboration with our handling partners, our primary purpose is to ensure that SAS Pharma Cargo shipments are forwarded as booked and that the shipment is transported and stored within the agreed temperature”, says Lone Riise, Acting Head of Handling & Quality Management at SAS Cargo. “The remote audit and re-certification went very smoothly, and we were extremely pleased with the remote audit process put in place””, Riise continues.

This renewed certificate, initially obtained in 2017, is applicable for a period of another three years.