It goes without saying that all Thermo King dealers are stand out experts in the field of transport refrigeration. From helping customers select the right units for the task at hand, to fitting and servicing, all the bases are well and truly covered.
But is this enough in today’s hyper-competitive market? Or should dealers also be looking to go that little bit further, and extend their expertise to cover specific industry challenges? Could such a focus help dealers create a niche market for themselves – and strengthen their reputation with deeper levels of subject matter expertise?
To answer these questions, let’s take a look at one partner – TK Transportkoeling – and their focus on pharma distribution.
Experts in the pharma cold chain
Pharma distribution, like most industries, has to constantly adapt to meet evolving customer and regulatory demands. Pharmaceutical companies themselves now need to know more about their transport operations. They’re also under growing pressure to actively demonstrate the quality and safety of temperature sensitive products across the full length of their cold chains.
For TK Transportkoeling, a Thermo King dealer based in The Netherlands, that means starting conversations with organizations around the topic of best practices. In particular, the company works hard to promote its Fleet Consulting capabilities around key strategic themes such as:
- Detailed advice on meeting GDP guidelines* for safe pharma distribution
- Expert opinion on equipment options for last mile deliveries
- Insights for improving risk management during transport operations
*GDP guidelines: Good Distribution Practice guidelines, in this case specifically for medicines for human use, published by the European Union in 2013.
Putting the good in GDP guidelines
The impact of GDP is that pharma companies when audited need to prove that all ‘stakeholders’ comply with the regulations. The legislation is far reaching, and covers a range of topics aimed at ensuring:
- Medicines are stored in the right conditions at all times
- Medicines in the supply chain are authorized, not fake/counterfeit
- The right products reach the right addressee at the right time
Achieving these goals require a mix of best practices and a host of technology capabilities. Customers are therefore on the lookout for experts in the field, whose knowledge goes beyond a pure focus on the technology itself.
Building a reputation
This practical, industry-specific know-how is exactly what TK Transportkoeling has developed a reputation for delivering. As a result, pharma customers seek out the dealer in search of answers to their key questions including:
- What’s the best selection of equipment needed to meet a range of precise temperature ranges?
- How to enable standardization across the fleet while maintaining GDP compliance?
- What’s the best way to generate the data needed to demonstrate our compliance?
What’s more, TK Transportkoeling works closely with Thermo King to test their performance calculations. This adds a degree of reassurance for customers prior to purchase, and added to the industry expertise makes for a powerful offering.
Providing end-to-end visibility
TK Transportkoeling has also applied their knowledge of Thermo King’s Connected Solutions to a range of pharma scenarios. Knowing the damage and cost of allowing loads to drop outside their set points, the company offers Fleet Managers a full view of both vehicle and refrigeration data:
- Their end-to-end offering incorporates multiple sensors sending real-time data to a central TracKing platform
- The solution includes a focus on integrating third party data to provide a complete end-to-end view
- TK Transportkoeling has also equipped its service vans with telematics, to support a more proactive service and faster response times to any potential customer problem
Hands-on expertise
Not that TK Transportkoeling is only focused on providing the ideal technology solutions to customers. The company also recognizes the importance of reassuring customers over day-to-day usage. That requires driver training to help ensure the units are utilized to the fullest potential, with an offer that incorporates:
- 4-hour driver and Fleet Manager training
- Focus on fuel efficiency, modulation, optimal loading space, and airflow etc.
- A course that mixes theory with the practical
This training is fully certified, and designed to help drivers fully appreciate the technical side of what’s happening inside the trailer – and how best to respond to an alarm. For customers the result is greater confidence that TK Transportkoeling can deliver on their commitments – alongside practical benefits such as lower maintenance and repair costs.
