Thermal Protection Buyer’s Guide Pt. 1
A definitive resource for shipping pharma, life sciences and healthcare products
Buying thermal protection shouldn’t be a gamble. If you’re a shipper of pharmaceutical, healthcare, or life sciences products, you understand that payload integrity is of the utmost importance. But there is a myriad of thermal protection suppliers in the industry, all promising to solve your thermal shipping challenges.
So, how do you choose the right thermal protection supplier for you? Unfortunately, many buyers don’t know what to look for, or worse — may shop on price alone. In this guide, we’ll look at what the right thermal protection supplier should be doing, and questions to ask a supplier before making a buying decision.
Let’s look at 6 Considerations you should discuss with every potential supplier.
- Performance
The real world doesn’t operate by test chamber, and you shouldn’t either. Any supplier can show you pre-planned graphs of well-controlled test scenarios. Ask for more. Ask for real world results on actual shipping lanes and ask if they have any third-party independent tests.
- Thermal Options
No two shipping lanes are the same. Let’s face it, meeting pharmaceutical product requirements are difficult. No two payloads, or shipping lanes are the same and for every instance, the onus rests on the shipper to ensure the product’s integrity remains intact through to its final destination. Therefore, it is important to find a supplier with a robust offering of thermal options.
- Application Versatility
Do you want to manage one supplier, or many? It would certainly be easier if pharmaceutical shippers faced the same payloads and same applications every day. But we know that’s not the case. Stringent product requirements, applications, regions, transit times and more, vary greatly. Check if your thermal protection supplier has you covered over land, air, and sea.
- Availability
Healthcare is always time sensitive. Availability should be a key consideration before deciding on a thermal shipping supplier. Many times, a supplier will prioritize a prospect with quick replies, and fast turnarounds for samples and quotes. But once you enter a long-term contract, ask how your supplier will continue to be timely, responsive, and reliable in the future.
- Sustainability
It’s all in the details. Sustainability is more than just eco-friendly materials. It is the whole process of how the product is imagined, from raw material sourcing through the production process, transport, and wastage. “Green” is not black and white. Too many suppliers claim to be sustainable without detailing exactly how their overall process creates value for you or your customer.
- Asset Tracking
Thermal protection suppliers should be more than thermal protection. Anyone can sell you a thermal cover. But what happens after that? The difference between an insulation seller and a true cold chain partner is what they can offer you beyond the product itself. Consider a supplier that can help you manage your inventory of thermal covers.
The right supplier can make or break your business. If your supplier isn’t reliable or if the quality starts to slip, then your business will also struggle to provide reliable service. Or perhaps worse, will leave you scrambling and wasting unnecessary dollars trying to remedy their shortfalls.
Ready to get started?
A call or email to QProducts & Services is a great way to start the search. Even if we’re not the right supplier for you, we’d love to get you set on the right path.
Written by Tony Dellumo, Marketing Manager at QProducts & Services
