First station receives CEIV pharma certification

Rupert Batstone, VP Business Support Swissport Cargo Services, receiving the certificate at the World Cargo Symposium in Shanghai in March 2015.

Zurich, Switzewrland—Swissport Cargo in Brussels has successfully completed the validation process for IATA’s “Center of Excellence for Independent Validators” (CEIV) on Pharmaceutical Logistics. The certificate was handed over to Swissport at the World Cargo Symposium in Shanghai in March 2015, making Swissport Brussels the first station to receive the certification.

In 2014, IATA established the Center of Excellence for Independent Validators (CEIV) on Pharmaceutical Logistics in close cooperation with the pharmaceutical industry, regulators and industry stakeholders. The certification aims at helping airlines, handlers and forwarders improve their share of the $60 billion a year pharmaceutical logistics market.

The program, which includes implementation planning, on-site assessment, training and validation, marks a new standard in the pharmaceutical logistics industry and raises the benchmark for compliance with industry regulation.

The pharmaceutical logistics market is the most regulated and fragile cargo business in the world. As a consequence, the CEIV certification program comprises numerous modules focusing on equipment requirements, storage facilities, pharmaceutical handling procedures and internal pharmaceutical handling know-how. By being compliant with these modules and the strict requirements of IATA’s new industry standard, Swissport Brussels is in a position to meet the high standards set by the pharmaceutical industry and legislators globally.

“We are proud that Swissport Cargo Brussels has successfully completed IATA’s new CEIV pharma certification process. This is an important milestone in the joint project led by the Brussels Airport Company to strengthen the location as a major logistical platform for the pharmaceutical industry”, said Daniel Setz, Senior Vice President and Head of Global Cargo Operations at Swissport. “This further enhancement of our quality service offering goes in line with our constant product development to respond to the need of our customers. The know-how and competence learned in Brussels will support the further roll-out of our quality pharma handling products within our network.”