CASE STUDY Innovative Hybrid Courier Model in Central and Situation
A sponsor engaged ACM-Pivotal with their large Phase III protocol proposal after we had successfully completed their Phase II. For the first time, the sponsor was expanding their site selection into Central and
Objective To utilize our central lab expertise and regional experience to establish best practices and cost savings for our sponsor’s protocol budget.
Solution
ACM-Pivotal has a very good relationship with the regional courier the sponsor selected. However based on the sponsor’s particular needs for the Phase III protocol, we proposed a hybrid courier model that would offer cost savings for their study budget. Ultimately, after soliciting bids from at least three couriers, we proposed the following model:
1) We retained the original contracted courier for all return specimen shipments from primary and capital cities of Central and South American countries, due to their cost estimate being less than half of the other two couriers for those locations. Return shipments from these cities were significant since they typically represented the most individual site locations for each country. 2) For all return specimen shipments from secondary cities in Central and South American countries, we utilized a second courier, which we also have a close working relationship with on a global level. This courier also quoted those locations at half the price of the other bidders. 3) For all bulk shipments into Central and South American countries, we added a third courier, which is the dominant The sponsor ultimately adopted this proposal as their best practice for logistics for this Phase III protocol. While additional challenges can occur with utilizing three vendors for a service that can be fulfilled by one vendor, our strong working relationships with all three easily overcame any obstacles. Benefits
The hybrid courier plan resulted in a 25% cost savings of the sponsor’s protocol logistic fees. Because the logistic fees originally represented 50% of the total central laboratory costs for the large Phase III protocol, the Central and South American courier cost savings made a significant impact on reducing the overall protocol budget.
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