Blog Post

How Specialised Asset Tracking Solutions Are Helping Develop A More Compliant Cold Chain

Adapt Ideations • Oct 24, 2022

Pharmaceutical Cold Chain Management.

The Role Of Pharmaceutical Cold Chain Management & The Importance Of Compliance


The pharma industry has one of the most complex supply chains globally and is known for the vast amount of regulations and compliance measures in place. To understand the extent of the complexity, one simply has to consider the processes involved and geographic spread. This ultimately relies on companies to ensure correct processes are in place and that they are occurring at the right time to meet deadlines in addition to ensuring they remain compliant throughout.


In many cases pharmaceutical cold chain management goes all the way down to batch level traceability with each country commonly having their own set of regulations in place to protect the standards of how pharmaceutical products are handled and stored throughout the entire supply chain. This is naturally furthered by pharma companies own compliance measures that need to be adhered with whether this be their own processes, their suppliers, contractors, manufactures, distributors…the list goes on.

Pharmaceutical Cold Chain Management

Regulations On Pharmaceutical Cold Chain Management.


For some time, standards have been coming into place tightening these regulations such as the Drug Supply Chain Security Act. However, the pandemic has highlighted further and to some degree sped up compliance in relation to traceability of pharma products particularly within the cold chain. This has led to the transition of a greater digital supply chain including the use of active asset tracking solutions taking companies from more traditional track and trace processes with non-connected devices to real-time solutions.


Pharmaceutical cold chain management has a significant role to play as supply chains in the industry are exposed to a number of unique risks. This is furthered by the impact it can have on end-consumers in relation to how products have been handled throughout the entire cold chain. Depending on the sensitivity of the product being distributed one breach can leave the supplier and distributor having to immediately dispose of the product and re-send another batch. This points to the importance of having real-time data in your hands to achieve greater compliance.



  • Challenges Experienced In Pharmaceutical Cold Chain Management

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The Challenges Faced In Pharmaceutical Cold Chain Management.

What Are Some Of The Challenges Experienced In Pharmaceutical Cold Chain Management & How Can They Be Overcome?

Some common challenges experienced in the pharma industry include difficulty in coordination and collaboration between all stakeholders, the storage and transportation of temperature-controlled products, lack of visibility, delayed decision making, and damage & waste of products. With this being said, the challenges above can relatively be overcome through the implementation of greater integrated systems and complete visibility throughout the cold chain. Via the implementation of these two aspects, traceability and compliance can be significantly improved throughout the pharmaceutical cold chain.


A considerable amount of tracking products was previously manual due to manual checks and paperwork. Technology is now enabling the remote monitoring of products throughout the cold chain helping to simplify pharmaceutical cold chain management. This is particularly important for some biopharma products including vaccines whereby pharmaceutical cold chain management is critical all the way down to timing. Visibility needs to be consistent for all stakeholders to understand how these temperature-sensitive products are being handled and stored leading to proactive action being able to be taken.


With so many solutions being in the market today what type of solution should be used? One way of achieving greater visibility is through the implementation of an asset tracking solution designed for use within the pharma industry. This way you can feel comfortable knowing that the solution in use will meet certain pharma industry standards and can be tested against quality assurance processes not only by the direct user of the solution but also clients if required.


  • Some Of The Challenges Experienced In Pharmaceutical Cold Chain Management

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Greater Compliance In Pharmaceutical Cold Chain Management.

How Is Greater Compliance In Pharmaceutical Cold Chain Management Being Achieved With Specialised Asset Tracking Solutions?


Innovative asset tracking solutions along with secured cloud platforms are helping pharma companies achieve greater compliance and to digitalise their supply chain. Some of the technology being used includes different network connectivity, the type of sensors integrated into the solution itself and other technology such as IoT and machine learning.


These capabilities are allowing the pharma industry to embrace digital transformation and achieve end-to-end visibility at a relatively low cost. This is in addition to simplified implementation with assistance from solution providers who can offer a complete service from assessing their needs through site visits, understanding their challenges and what they require from the solution, deployment, and technical support.


Ultimately active asset tracking solutions that are designed for the pharma industry are helping create a connected ecosystem and is assisting in improving pharmaceutical cold chain management. This is furthered by the solution being able to act as a single source of truth for all stakeholders within the cold chain allowing for a greater understanding of everyday operations, how products are being handled and stored, trends and greater intelligence.


Specialised pharmaceutical asset tracking solutions.


Specialised pharma asset tracking solutions not only enhance visibility but also help to eliminate where gaps in visibility exist in the cold chain. The power of these solutions and the embedded technology can significantly contribute and drive digitalistion for global pharma supply chains.


The device alone is simply one aspect to the entire solution, with a cloud connected platform playing a critical role in visibility for each stakeholder. The platform acts as a consolidated dashboard where all data on consignments can be accessed, reports can be viewed, the location of assets, all violations & the number of violations experienced and can act as an audit trail.


All in all, this enables pharma companies and all supply chain stakeholders to make necessary decisions based off the data received helping them to take timely and proactive steps to help protect their products. Some companies are taking this a step further by integrating specialised asset tracking solutions into their packaging thereby enabling a complete solution to be deployed.


Benefits Of Using Specialised Pharma Asset Tracking Solutions.

What Are The Benefits of Implementing Innovative Specialised Pharma Asset Tracking Solutions?

There are a number of benefits that can be achieved from the use of active asset tracking solutions. First hand greater traceability throughout the cold chain, elimination of tampering of products, increased visibility and compliance between all parties, and reduced manual processes. Second hand benefits are flow on effects such as improved reputation due to greater transparency, reduced negative effects from products not remaining compliant, data is no longer siloed across stakeholders within the supply chain, and greater analysis of data and trends allowing improvements to be made and for decisions to be based on data received. 


  • ADAPT Ideations Innovative data loggers

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The Impact That Adapt Ideations Has In This Space

Asset Trackers and Data Loggers used across a wide range of industries.

Adapt Ideations is significantly contributing to the digitalisation of asset management for the pharma industry with specialised asset tracking and monitoring solutions. The complexity of pharma supply chains only signifies the need further to digitalise tracking of their products for timely decisions to be made and to transform end-to-end visibility of the supply chain. Whether this be tracking vaccines, non-temperature specific pharmaceuticals, active asset tracking solutions has a role to play in transforming how visibility is achieved. From ensuring products remain 100% compliant throughout the supply chain, ensuring that tampering and counterfeit pharmaceuticals do not enter the market, or implementing a greater audit trail for any stakeholder within the supply chain specialised asset tracking solutions can transform how this achieved.

Get in touch with us today at enquiries@adaptideations.com for further information on our solutions.

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Powerful and reliable, asset tracking and monitoring solutions.

Innovative monitoring solutions for high-value & temperature-sensitive assets.

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Awards & Recognition


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Best Temperature Monitoring Solution Provider


Awarded by India Biologics & Vaccines Outstanding Industry Awards 2022

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Adapt Ideations Recognised As A Supply Chain Leader


by Alcott Global on Supplify's Supply Chain Tech Map 2.0

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Technology Excellence in Cold Chain


Awarded at the 15th ELSC Leadership Awards


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