Now directly integrated with Flexport technology, International Medical Corps’ Pharmaceutical Information Management System (PIMS) provides additional visibility into the upstream management of the supply chain cycle for Flexport users.
International Medical Corps, a global humanitarian relief organization based in Los Angeles, has collaborated with Flexport.org to expand the capacity of its award-winning Pharmaceutical Information Management System (PIMS). Through the collaboration between International Medical Corps and Flexport.org, PIMS users that ship with Flexport now have the added ability to track and trace shipments with near real-time data, providing them with full, end-to-end visibility into the supply-chain cycle from the moment a shipment leaves its point of origin.
Developed internally by International Medical Corps’ Health Systems Applications team to manage the planning, delivery and distribution of pharmaceutical commodities, PIMS provides accurate, real-time data and analytics for the supply chain cycle—including planning, receiving, dispatch, dispensing, reporting and restocking— to stakeholders at all levels. In addition to pharmaceuticals, including vaccines and cold chain commodities, PIMS can also enable organizations to manage a variety of other supplies critical to providing disaster aid and humanitarian relief—including health and nutrition supplies, food and non-food items—in low-resource settings and areas with limited infrastructure.
According to International Medical Corps Vice President of Corporate Finance David Alarcon, who oversaw the development of PIMS and the collaboration with Flexport.org, “The integration of actual transport data from Flexport into PIMS provides enhanced forecasting and planning capabilities, providing organizations with a clearer, near real-time picture of the supply chain.”
“We’re thrilled to extend our longstanding relationship with International Medical Corps to include a deep technical integration that’ll provide PIMS users around the world who ship with Flexport the unprecedented ability to track their shipments from end-to-end. Together, PIMS and Flexport enables users to monitor transit time, detect delays, reduce waste and ensure that critical supplies reach their destination as quickly as possible,” said Kristen Czapar Dohnt, Head of Flexport.org. “This is the beginning of a collaboration that is bringing much-needed visibility and technology to the humanitarian sector and improving the delivery of aid around the world.”
PIMS, which recently was awarded the 2023 Lynn C. Fritz Medal for Excellence in Humanitarian Logistics, has also been recognized by Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (DG ECHO) as a standard trace-and-track system in managing the supply chain at the last mile. International Medical Corps is partnering with commercial entities, non-for-profit organizations and governments to make PIMS available to communities around the world.
Visit the International Medical Corps website for more detailed information about PIMS.
About Flexport.org
Flexport.org is the dedicated sustainability and impact team within Flexport that enables organizations to deliver aid and meet their decarbonization goals with greater ease and lower costs. Flexport.org creates value-added services for Flexport users to measure and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, bringing sustainability into the forefront of their business roadmap. Flexport.org also provides critically needed visibility and expertise to nonprofits and NGOs, governments, and social enterprises, helping deliver humanitarian aid, disaster relief and development shipments where they are needed most.