Logistics
Warehousing, cold chain and how the goods actually travel
A vaccine that has spent nine hours on a hot apron at an airport is worthless, and nobody can tell by looking at it. This is how we make sure that does not happen, and what we do when it does.
The warehouse
Everything is held in our own facility in Nagpur, not at the manufacturers' plants. That means one pick, one pack and one set of batch records per shipment rather than consolidating six deliveries at the port and hoping the expiry dates line up.
The general storage area runs below 25 degrees with continuous monitoring and out-of-hours alarm callout. Cold-chain product has its own qualified room at 2 to 8 degrees with a backup generator and a second compressor. Stock rotates strictly first expiry, first out, and we will not ship a line with less than two-thirds of its shelf life remaining unless you specifically agree to it in writing.
Cold chain
Vaccines, some biologicals and a handful of injectables need 2 to 8 degrees from our door to yours. We use validated passive shipping systems qualified to 96 or 120 hours, conditioned phase-change packs rather than loose gel, and a calibrated electronic logger placed inside the payload where the product is.
Cold-chain consignments go by air, and we book the lane before we pack rather than after. If there is no routing that gets the box to you inside its qualified duration with a margin, we say so and we do not ship. A shipment that arrives warm is worse than one that never left.
When it goes wrong
Excursions happen, usually at a transit hub over a weekend. The logger file tells you exactly when and for how long. On arrival, a flagged consignment is quarantined and not distributed. We send the excursion profile to the manufacturer, who assesses it against their stability data and mean kinetic temperature, and issues a written opinion.
If the product is out of specification we replace it at our cost. If it is still within specification, you get the written assessment for your own records, because your regulator may ask for it later. What we do not do is tell you it is probably fine.
Packing standards
- Five-ply export cartons, strapped and edge-protected, palletised and stretch-wrapped
- Carton marking with product, batch, quantity, gross and net weight, and the order reference
- Fragile liquids double-boxed with moulded inserts, never loose fill alone
- Shock and tilt indicators on request for high-value consignments
- Pallets heat-treated and ISPM 15 marked as standard, which several markets require
- Photographs of the packed consignment sent before the container is sealed
Routes and transit times
| Destination | Sea transit | Air transit | Usual origin |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northern Europe (Rotterdam, Hamburg) | 18 to 24 days | 2 to 3 days | Nhava Sheva / BOM |
| United Kingdom (Felixstowe, Southampton) | 20 to 26 days | 2 to 3 days | Nhava Sheva / BOM |
| Canada east coast (Montreal, Halifax) | 28 to 35 days | 2 to 4 days | Nhava Sheva / DEL |
| Australia (Melbourne, Sydney) | 16 to 22 days | 3 to 4 days | Nhava Sheva / BOM |
| Gulf (Jebel Ali, Dammam, Doha) | 8 to 12 days | 1 to 2 days | Mundra / BOM |
| West Africa (Lagos, Tema) | 22 to 30 days | 2 to 4 days | Nhava Sheva / BOM |
| Southeast Asia (Ho Chi Minh, Laem Chabang) | 10 to 16 days | 2 to 3 days | Chennai / BOM |
Transit is port to port and excludes customs clearance at either end. Add roughly three days for inland movement from Nagpur to the port, and whatever your own clearance normally takes.
Common questions
Do you ship vaccines and other 2 to 8 degree products?
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Yes, in validated passive shipping systems with a calibrated data logger inside the box, not taped to the outside. Duration is qualified to 96 or 120 hours depending on the lane. Air freight only, and only to destinations where we are confident of the last mile.
What temperature is the warehouse held at?
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The general area is held below 25 degrees Celsius with continuous monitoring and alarm callout. Cold-chain stock sits in a separate qualified 2 to 8 degree room with a backup generator and a redundant compressor. Mapping studies are repeated annually and after any layout change.
What happens if a data logger shows an excursion?
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The consignment is quarantined on arrival and not sold on. We take the logger file, the manufacturer's stability data and the excursion profile, and the manufacturer issues a written assessment on whether the product remains within specification. If it does not, we replace it. The assessment goes to you either way.
Can you ship to a bonded warehouse or free zone?
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Yes. Jebel Ali, Rotterdam and Singapore are lanes we use regularly. It can simplify onward distribution across several markets, and it changes the documentation, so tell us at quotation stage rather than after the bill of lading is issued.