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Predictive Technology Is the Future of Cold Chain

Insights provided at the ISTA Forum 2022 indicate that predictive technology for cold chain is becoming available, though challenges with the new process must be remediated.

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High on the minds of the healthcare industry is the state of predictive technology for cold chain failures. Transporting medicines and vaccines at appropriate, consistent temperatures is a persistent challenge with current real-time monitoring taking on a passive role as excursions cannot always be acted upon in time.

According to a Technavio report, the global cold chain logistics market is expected to grow by USD 9.37 billion from 2021 to 2025 at a CAGR of 9.03%. Yet, data reports show that 25% of vaccines are damaged due to cold chain malfunction, such as improper distribution and shipping. The data further shows that in some countries, about 80% of drugs are estimated to lose their potency due to inadequate temperature control during cold chain transportation. All of which results in money loss for the industry as well.

As the pandemic has settled in and vaccines have been made to protect the global population, this concern remains of utmost importance.

The current state of cold chain

The current industry practice is to use standard ambient profiles, lane ambient profiles, and lane risk assessments. Organizations base their decision of which shipper to use on these profiles. Custom ambient profiles can be made for a shipping lane over a period of a few years or more, which might provide better insight into the thermal stress the shipper could experience during transportation. However, this process is arduous and complex and these profiles cannot account for all real-world events. 

Real-time monitoring devices can transfer real-time location and some amount of condition and sensor data, which can be accessed to inform on the package’s journey. Default settings can include geo-fencing and binary high/low threshold sensor parameter alerts, but these have incomplete insights and are not always actionable in real-time. 

Advancements in predictive technology

MaxTrace is an “active prediction” technology.MaxTrace is an “active prediction” technology.At the ISTA Forum 2022 TransPack & TempPack conference held in San Diego, CA, industry experts provided intelligence on the headway made towards predictive technology for cold chain transportation. 

Saravan Kumar, CEO of MaxQ presented his company’s latest research and technology at the Forum, called MaxTrace, which he refers to as “active prediction” technology. Being alerted to an excursion occurring in real-time doesn’t necessarily allow the brand owner or 3PL to intervene. The company wanted to design a real-time monitoring system that would generate alerts as soon as a breach was predicted—well in advance of the breach actually occurring—allowing sufficient time to stop the temperature excursion. Such a system would increase efficiency, reduce wastage, confirm product safety, and ensure patient safety.


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