At its core, delivery is about getting goods to their destination quickly and accurately. But when those goods are biopharmaceuticals, vaccines, or treatments that protect people’s health and save lives, logistics takes on even greater importance. Pharmaceutical products require meticulous quality control throughout storage and transportation. Even slight temperature fluctuations or physical shocks during transit can affect their stability and efficacy. In biopharmaceutical logistics, a product’s value therefore depends not simply on whether it arrives, but on the condition in which it arrives. This calls for cold chain management to maintain the required temperature from pickup to final delivery, temperature loggers to track and record temperature changes throughout transit, and operations governed by a rigorous quality management system (QMS). Biopharmaceutical logistics is thus a highly specialized field that demands advanced technology and precise quality control.
As the global pharmaceutical and biotechnology market continues to grow rapidly, integrated logistics capabilities that reliably connect supply chains across borders are becoming increasingly important. For companies preparing to enter global markets, this means establishing a logistics framework that accounts for every stage of the journey, from product-specific temperature requirements and transportation conditions in each country to customs clearance and local delivery. CJ Logistics has built extensive expertise by safely handling pharmaceutical logistics for around 70 pharmaceutical companies in Korea and abroad. Drawing on this operational experience, the company has secured a contract to provide integrated global logistics services for Samsung Biologics, extending its pharmaceutical logistics capabilities into the global biopharmaceutical market and further strengthening its competitiveness.
Proven Expertise in Pharmaceutical Logistics Opens Doors to the Global Biopharmaceutical Market CJ Logistics’ successful expansion into the global biopharmaceutical logistics market is rooted in the specialized operational expertise it has developed while serving pharmaceutical companies in Korea and abroad. The company has established dedicated pharmaceutical storage facilities and sophisticated temperature control systems. It has also strengthened its operations to maintain product quality and the appropriate temperature conditions at every stage, from inbound and outbound handling to storage, packaging, and transportation.
These efforts have also been validated through international certifications. CJ Logistics has earned IATA CEIV Pharma certification, which assesses temperature management, personnel expertise, and compliance with international regulations in pharmaceutical air transport, as well as ISO 13485 certification for medical device quality management systems. These certifications demonstrate the strength of its quality management framework. Its accumulated experience in pharmaceutical logistics and systematic approach to quality management provide a solid foundation for global biopharmaceutical logistics operations. By combining its meticulous approach to pharmaceutical logistics with global freight forwarding capabilities spanning air and ocean freight, local customs clearance, and inland transportation, CJ Logistics provides integrated solutions tailored to companies seeking to enter the global biopharmaceutical market.
[Mini Interview] “Earning Customer Trust Through Global Biopharmaceutical Logistics” With Sun-a Eom, Global Division
We spoke with Sun-a Eom, who played a key role in securing and establishing stable operations for the Global Integrated Biopharmaceutical Logistics Project, as CJ Logistics took on the challenge of expanding its presence in the global biopharmaceutical logistics market. She shared how the team prepared and what went on behind the scenes.
Q. What prompted CJ Logistics to pursue the Global Integrated Biopharmaceutical Logistics Project?
“The biohealth sector offers strong growth potential while demanding highly advanced logistics capabilities. Building on customer relationships established through our domestic logistics services, we identified opportunities to deliver new value internationally and developed them into a proposal.
“As the customer expanded its global business, it needed a one-stop logistics partner that could reliably manage import and export volumes worldwide, maintain rigorous temperature and quality controls, and respond swiftly to emergencies. Having already experienced our domestic pharmaceutical logistics capabilities, the customer presented an excellent opportunity for us to meet those needs through our pharmaceutical logistics expertise and global network.”
Q. What was the key to earning the customer’s trust during the bidding process, given the stringent standards required in global biopharmaceutical logistics?
“We did not compete on international shipping rates alone. The decisive factor was our proposal for an end-to-end service that brought together cold chain solutions, a global network, and a comprehensive quality management system. What mattered most to the customer was reliable transportation throughout the entire journey.
“With strong support from management, our sales, operations, QA (Quality Assurance), T&I (Technology & Infrastructure), and overseas subsidiaries worked as one team to turn the customer’s requirements into practical operational solutions. That ability to execute earned the customer’s trust.”
Q. What was the most memorable challenge or concern you encountered during the project? “During preparation, the question we asked most often was, ‘Where could risks arise along the route?’ rather than simply, ‘How can we deliver faster?’ We assessed the entire journey to identify potential risks in advance, from temperature conditions at pickup through airport handling, transshipment, customs clearance, and final delivery.
“Translating frequently changing local conditions and detailed requirements into standard operating procedures (SOPs) was challenging. But our culture of working across departmental boundaries and persisting until we found solutions helped us establish stable operations.”
Essential Logistics Capabilities for Entering the Global Biopharmaceutical MarketSuccess in the global biopharmaceutical market begins with the expertise to preserve product quality and the logistics capabilities to seamlessly connect supply chains worldwide. What, then, should companies consider as they prepare to expand internationally? Here are the core logistics capabilities CJ Logistics offers to support their entry into the global biopharmaceutical market.
