RIYADH — This year NAQEL’s Pharma division has played a major role in extending its supply chain solutions towards COVID-19 mitigation efforts by the Ministry of Health.

During the onset of COVID-19 infection at the start of the year, NAQEL has played an important role in the transportation of COVID samples from various healthcare service providers in the Kingdom to the testing labs.

Besides, NAQEL processed and cleared 13 air charters and 78 trailer loads of medical consignments for Ministry of Health to support Kingdom’s fight against the COVID pandemic.

The next phase of COVID mitigation involves express transportation and distribution of COVID vaccines from vaccine manufactures around the world to our customer door-steps in the Kingdom.

Since 2018, NAQEL has invested over SR250 million in developing its temperature control logistics infrastructure ranging from cold chain clearance to temperature control during the course of last mile distribution.

Cold storage solutions: Facilities with temperature control solutions for vaccines were set-up at NAQEL’s Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam Airports with airside access and working 24x7 with priority clearance for vaccine consignments.

The company has built GDP (International Goods Distribution Practice) compliant cold storage hubs and distribution network in all the three main cities — Riyadh, Dammam, Jeddah, Madinah and Abha.

Besides, NAQEL has now built capabilities of providing packaging solutions that maintain temperature required for storing vaccines (-70 C & -20 C).

Cold Chain Distribution: NAQEL has developed 20 distribution hubs and implemented 24x7 monitoring of both shipment movement and temperature levels across all its distribution hubs. The company has launched 300+ temperature control vehicles in the Kingdom dedicated for vaccine distribution.

The transportation infrastructure has been developed to reach and deliver any vaccine consignment within 24 hours to health care centers and individuals anywhere in the Kingdom including the remotest locations.

Special sensors and controls are used during the transportation journey to measure, monitor and control the active temperatures on a real-time basis. Specialized staff experienced in the handling and processing of pharmaceutical cold chain consignments are working 24x7 to support its suppliers.

Thus, NAQEL is providing complete end-to-end solutions that will cover the entire vaccination journey from the vicinity of vaccine suppliers until its delivery to the hospitals and other healthcare service providers across the Kingdom.

Coordination Centers in Source Countries: NAQEL has set-up coordination centers in the key sources countries in Europe, US and Asia to coordinate the pick-up and transportation of vaccine consignments to the clearance points in Saudi Arabia.

Besides, NAQEL has worked jointly with a group of companies in Germany to develop cold chain storage solutions to meet the temperature requirements for COVID vaccination manufactured by Pfizer Inc.

“A successful vaccination program requires secure storage and safe and efficient distribution of vaccine. Our cold storage and distribution facilities are flexible, scalable, and tested to meet the requirements of the final mile customers,” said Fahad Al Salhi, director, Pharma Business Solutions, NAQEL Express. — SG