The Rise Of Reusable

And Sustainable
Packaging In Canada
The Rise of Reusable Packaging in Canada's Cold Chains

Speaker eBook
1

The Rise of Reusable Packaging in Canada's Cold Chains

Cold chains in Canada must be robust due
to the countrys vast territories and extreme
temperatures. Manufacturers rely heavily on
the durability of their packaging to preserve
the quality of pharmaceutical products. The
vast distances encountered in particular place a
strain on packaging. Also, unexpected weather
scenarios - bridges ruined by rain, roads blocked
by ice - can add major delays to the transit. This
translates into major impacts on costs for the
providers and a reduced service level received
by customers.
On this subject, Jim Bacon cold chain Industry
Expert (formerly with Grifols) explained: For a
moment, consider just the driving challenges
encountered over the vast Canadian landscape
including distance, mountain winter conditions
in the west, long hauls from Ontario to Alberta around the Great Lakes, and the ferry trips to Newfoundland,
to mention a few.
Couple this with the sophistication of a reefer trailer today, maintaining various temperatures (2-8C,
15-25C, <-20C, etc). Also the need for location tracking, security, geo-fencing etc. These all need to be
considered and reliable well before the product is picked up at the clients site.
Canadas extreme temperatures, high heat in the summer to its very deep winters, can force firms to seek
cold chain packaging solutions that are equipped and uniquely calibrated for the region, so product can be
maintained and conserved through transportation. The vast size of the country also impacts the durability
expected of packaging used. The wide temperature ranges across Canadas seasons can spark the need for
personalized solutions within its cold chain. When a personalized cold chain solution is required, clear and
well-defined criteria is of the utmost importance to allow for accurate communication with partners
Its important for those in sourcing to understand that a cheaper container may provide
savings in the material expenditure category but it may increase the shipping cost category. Work with the
packaging expert to rank suppliers based on the impact to the logistics landed cost.
In deciding between reusable and single use containers, Andreas Seitz, Managing Director, DoKaSch
Temperature Solutions GmbH explains that the best selection will become apparent on conducting a clear
annual cost review - comparing the annual costs of the disposable unit to the yearly rental costs of reusable
units
When evaluating your packaging approach, be sure to pay attention to the total cost - a low price does not
guarantee a high quality of service. Also, the less expensive price per pound can often end up costing more
in the long run through transportation costs, etc. 6
In recent times, there has been a marked shift towards the use of reusable containers within Canadas cold
chains.
As reusable containers are purchased on a lease or rental basis and will be used in multiple shipments
pharma firms can invest more into financing the acquisition of a unit. However, unlike single use containers,
reusable containers do not enjoy the flexibilities of open ended distribution. Reverse logistics and the

The Rise of Reusable Packaging in Canada's Cold Chains

Expert Panel
Andrea Guisbert-Williams
International Consultant North American
Logistics Organization at Eli Lilly
attached environmental emissions are seen as large
drawbacks to reusable containers.
In order to delve deeper into whether reusable
packaging is the right choice for the Canadian
market, Pharma Logistics IQ gathered insights from
a selection of experts due to feature in the 15th Cold
Chain Canada Conference.
Would you agree there has been a shift towards
reusable and sustainable packaging within
temperature controlled logistics? What are the
possible reasons for this?
Andrea: I think its a pleasant by-product of
the [modal] shift in regards to transportation, in
particular ocean as opposed to air. Not only is
it more desirable as far as the carbon footprint
and the effect on the environment, its also much
cheaper. The example I can give you concerns
some of the research I have done here at Lilly with
shipments of insulin.
Some of the packaging that we are using is
reusable and we are developing a new blanket
for cold temperature protection. The temperature
range that we are shipping in is two to eight for
these particular products that we have validated
so far. These blankets have a ten time reuse. After
the usage, cleaning and all the steps involved with
recycling them, it boils down to about US$15 per
use. We are using a refrigerated reefer to ship our
products on ocean vessels.
They are strapped and wrapped as any normal
pallet would be for our shipping processes, but no
secondary temperature control [is used] outside of
the blanket.
Gilles: At Pharmascience we have seen that shift:
going from single use packaging to reusable. To be

Gilles Gregoire
Global transportation Manager, Pharmascience:

Nathalie L Ecuyer
Quality and Compliance Director, McKesson
Canada

honest, we were able to do this shift because we

have quite a fair amount of shipments that require
this packaging per day, per week, but this [involves]
a lot of reverse logistics and the cleaning process is
very heavy in order to use those types of packaging.
[However], if I transpose myself into a company
where the volume being shipped out is not big, I do
not see how [reusable packaging] can be very value
added to their company.

Natalie: I think so and the main reason I believe

is because of the cost of the boxes. Being able to
reuse them significantly decreases the cost and
also sustainability is important because Styrofoam
packing is not very good for the environment.
So everybody is looking for something more
sustainable.
Benefits of Reusable Packaging for the
Canadian Market
Reusable systems on the market are becoming
more robust in regards to their exterior with hard
shells now being deployed in comparison to the
cardboard material structuring disposable solutions.
This packaging is more durable in structure. Also,
high end active reusable solutions can be pluggedin and recharged, acting as an extra safeguard for
long-term routes that may involve delays in customs
clearance. Simple passive containers may not be
able to provide this sort of cover.

The Rise of Reusable Packaging in Canada's Cold Chains

Reusable systems offer a quite substantial
environmental profile, with the fact that the
solutions components will be reused. More
sustainable designs may even contain recyclable
components or be made of renewable materials. 4
Also, reusable containers tend to come in larger
dimensions - useful for driving down costs in
relation to the amount of the cargo shipped per
batch. A wider choice in payload volume sizes will
allow pharma firms to be more efficient with the
packing of shipments and avoid incurring overspend from ill-fitting containers.

able to get those pack-outs back is the challenge.

Especially if you are going to very far destination like
up North where there is not a dedicated courier that
goes there.
[In some cases] the cost of returning those boxes
may seem to be too high, so the customer will
keep them. I think those are the main challenges getting the container back and having the process
in place to make sure we can track them. Also,
working with the customer to put the process
together so it is easy for them to return them back.
How can these challenges be best navigated?

Carolyn Williamson Scientist II at Bristol-Myers

Squibb noted said, The advantage of using [dewars]
is that you can ship with non hazardous status. You
need to be able to maintain the temperature, but
the paperwork and the difficulty of logistics [are
both] reduced when you are able to say there is no
liquid nitrogen present.

Reusable Packaging Limitations in the

Canadian Market
Are there challenges to implementing reusable
packaging for temperature controlled logistics
within Canada?
Andrea: The biggest hurdle that we run into is
returning the packaging. If you send one container
that contains 18 pallets, we have 18 covers. You can
fit six covers in a pallet box, so it takes some time to
save up enough to fill an entire container and make
it financially feasible to send the container back.
Its more expensive to
return them separately.
So we are running
into working with the
company we are using to
establish some facilities
in the areas where we
are sending the blankets
so they can do the
inspection, the cleaning
near the site.

Nathalie: It is the
transportation and the
reverse logistics - Being

Andrea: The only other option we have thought of

is having a central hub. A central hub [in a location]
where you can just [link on to other] shipments. In a
typical container with 18 pallets, there is still quite a
bit of headroom you are only using an estimated
43 inches of the 92 inches available. So thats an
option- taking advantage of the extra space.

Nathalie: Providing an incentive to the customer

is important. We either charge them if they dont
return the package or we have a reward if they
return them quickly. So I think to be able to be
efficient and provide an incentive to the customer is
important.
Reusable containers are more complicated to
manufacture and require further planning in their
application in comparison to single use. Also,
more data will need to be shared with the service
provider.
The situation may occur
that they may not be
enough containers
available in the loop,
Andreas Seitz explains: Its
not just [a case of ] source
it - buy it. You have to go
one step deeper with your
service provider to say:
Okay, how many units do
I in general need? How
many units should I have
on stock? And what is the
total number of units I need
to fulfil a constant flow?

Standardisation
Forecasts: in
Single-Use-Systems
The Rise
of Reusable Packaging
Canada's Cold Chains
That has to be evaluated together with the service
provider.

shipper and the method of transport through the

logistics cold chain.

Companies should choose to continue data

collection after the initial purchase to track the
performance and relevant costs for a container
including scheduling, repairs, cleaning etc, to clarify
if there are sustainable cost benefits. 5

Reverse logistics attached to reusable containers

acts as a large blockade for pharma firms moving
more towards with the use of reusable systems.
With closed loops being a necessity, in this regard
reusable containers apply an additional cost and
operational burden. In response to this effect on a
pharma firm Jeroen Janssens
reminds: We are here to
manufacture pharmaceutical
products, not to organise
logistics flows of empty
containers.

Inspection and recertification processes

will need to be in place to confirm that the
reusable shippers are still viable. For example,
firms will want to avoid having any PCM
material encountering the pharma product.
Jeroen Janssens, Senior Manager, Vaccine
Distribution & Cold Chain,
GSK Vaccines noted
that an important point
of attention is gaining
assurance to confirm the
container is still integer
prior to the next use. These
checks will clarify there are
no cold breaches or any risk
of possible contamination,
which is not always that
easy to confirm.
Gary Hutchinson, Pharma Logistics IQ Columnist,
notes that when doing the financial calculations,
you can only estimate how many uses or shipments
you will get out of the container. You may calculate
that an average: 10, 15, or 20 uses. However, the issue
is determining what type of inspection process to
use to determine which ones are going to fail early
and why they are failing.
Considerations must be made in regards to the
carbon footprint for return shipments and the
additional fuel bills incurred by reusable containers.
Gary Hutchinson explains that although the
reusable containers are more robust in their design,
these containers weigh significantly more than a
typical single-use thermal shipper. The issue with
this additional weight is that every time you use
them, shippers spend more money on the shipping
process. This additional cost directly translates into
a significantly higher carbon footprint. Shipping
lighter packaging is an effective sustainability
strategy because greenhouse gas emissions are
almost exclusively driven by the weight of the

With these greener packaging

solutions on the rise in
popularity, the suppliers of
these packaging solutions,
or even LSPs, have started to include the reverse
logistics in the rental cost for the unit. Jeroen
Janssens notes that with this improvement,
todays reusable systems can compete with single
use containers.
Is popularity of reusable packaging in Canada
a trend that will keep growing into other
sustainable options?
Andrea: But right now I think one of the other
possibilities weve looked at are blankets that cover
the entire load.
Now, we have not done any validation studies with
those yet, but I think that thats something as we
move forward that we would probably look into,
where you would just be buying one piece.
With ocean, youre looking at ship times of up to
45 days without any real control over power. There
could be periods where that container is not being
powered. So any kind of shipping without some
sort of secondary protection I think is probably
pretty far out for us.

Nathalie: I dont know if its going to gain more

popularity because of the challenge with the
reverse logistics. So for smaller companies its much
easier to have non-reusable packaging, so they dont
have to worry about getting them back. But in the

Standardisation
Forecasts: in
Single-Use-Systems
The Rise
of Reusable Packaging
Canada's Cold Chains
long term, as the solutions [advance] and there are
more transportation companies involved, maybe it
will be easier. But I dont think its going to be very
high in the near future.
For a further breakdown of pros and cons of
reusable container read the latest column from
Gary Hutchinson - Sustainability The Pros and
Cons of Reusable Containers versus Single-use

Learn More......

February 27 - March 02, 2017 Hyatt Regency Toronto,

5 Reasons to Attend
EXAMINE UNICEFs Recent Vaccines Cold Chain Initiatives and Distribution
Management in Developing Countries
ADDRESS the Packaging and Temperature Monitoring Challenges
UTILIZE Historical Data Analysis to Mitigate Risks and Optimize your Global
Logistics
DISCOVER the Benefits of Moving to a Cloud-Based System and How to Ensure
Data Security
MASTER Clinical Supply Logistics in the Face of Canadas Extreme Temperatures &
Vast Geography

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the Agenda

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Call: 1-800-882-8684
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