Life sciences logistics start-up · Digital foundation and governance
One Pilot Site to a Global Network, on a Foundation Built Before the Doors Opened
Manufacturers of critical therapies and their regulators hold a logistics provider to a high standard even before its first shipment. Validated systems, controlled documents, and qualified sites come before customers.
A next-generation logistics disrupter, built exclusively for life sciences from the ground up, set out to offer the full spectrum of services: temperature-controlled storage, air and global logistics, foreign trade zone operations, and inventory and shipping management. Its purpose centers on the integrity of the life sciences supply chain. It removes the fragmentation between transport and storage, so product moves through one global gateway with zero losses.
The company passed its quality audit with no findings, a result the COO summed up as "zero means zero," and opened its first purpose-built facility. Ten technology partners under contract now work inside one portfolio, with a dozen more in talks.
We joined through a partnership with an industry services firm, held the executive director position for the portfolio, and led systems and services through a transition in the operations role.
The situation
One pilot location had proven the model. A global network required every function to level up at once: validated systems, controlled documents, qualified infrastructure at each site, serialization readiness, and one view of the portfolio. Construction ran on two continents at once. The commercial team answered requests for quotation and prepared for inspections. The digital foundation had to be in place before the doors opened.
What we did
We organized the work as one portfolio. We set six groups and marked each partner as contracted, in negotiation, or considered. Portfolio reviews gave leadership every program with its total cost, its status as critical or roadmapped, and the decision it needed. The reviews ran in step with the commercial team answering customer questionnaires, proposals, and inspections.
We worked the categories that needed the most attention. Secure infrastructure came first: network, security, and cloud designed and qualified across sites to GMP, trade zone, and customs requirements. Quality and validation followed: the procedures, document control, and validation approach that make the rest auditable. Enterprise applications came next: diligence supporting stronger warehouse operations, and a serialization position for track-and-trace.
We maintained the master list of compliance requirements and frameworks across agencies, standards, and jurisdictions. We served as the subject-matter expert across builders and developers, building management, quality, security, infrastructure, finance, and IT.
We stood up the initial transportation capabilities with the executive leading transportation. We contracted the cargo management platform and the market data agreements. We set the requirements for temperature monitoring in transit, chain of custody, and carrier qualification.
Ten technology partners under contract, a dozen more in talks, and the decisions needed to prioritize critical resources surfaced within one portfolio. A portfolio lead whose job we defined, sourced, interviewed, and onboarded now runs it.
What's running now
The audit and the facility opening came on that foundation. The portfolio structure, the compliance master list, and the partner ecosystem belong to the company, and the portfolio lead runs them. The foundation work also produced a business plan for a tech-enabled services arm. It supports each customer at the level its requirements need, beyond the core business.