Ultra-Cold and Ultra-Critical: Inside Pharmaceutical Supply Chains with Joel Wayment of Cardinal Health
Hosted by Santosh Sankar on June 11, 2025
Summary
During this episode, Santosh is joined by Joel Wayment, VP and GM of 3PL logistics at Cardinal Health. Joel provides an in-depth exploration of pharmaceutical cold chain logistics, highlighting the critical evolution of medical product transportation. He discusses how emerging technologies, sustainability efforts, and innovative packaging solutions are transforming the supply chain, particularly for ultra-sensitive medical products like cell and gene therapies. Joel also emphasizes the importance of minimizing product touches, leveraging AI and data insights, and creating environmentally friendly shipping solutions. Key takeaways include the role of technology in improving supply chain visibility, the impact of disruptions like COVID-19 on logistics innovation, the ongoing challenge of getting critical medical products safely and efficiently from manufacturers to patients, and so much more.
Show Notes
During this episode, Santosh is joined by Joel Wayment, VP and GM of 3PL logistics at Cardinal Health. Joel provides an in-depth exploration of pharmaceutical cold chain logistics, highlighting the critical evolution of medical product transportation. He discusses how emerging technologies, sustainability efforts, and innovative packaging solutions are transforming the supply chain, particularly for ultra-sensitive medical products like cell and gene therapies. Joel also emphasizes the importance of minimizing product touches, leveraging AI and data insights, and creating environmentally friendly shipping solutions. Key takeaways include the role of technology in improving supply chain visibility, the impact of disruptions like COVID-19 on logistics innovation, the ongoing challenge of getting critical medical products safely and efficiently from manufacturers to patients, and so much more.
Highlights from their conversation include:
- Cardinal Health Overview (1:10)
- Joel’s Background and Journey (1:58)
- Evolution of Cold Chain Logistics (2:49)
- Advancements in Packaging Solutions (4:43)
- Visibility and Transparency in Shipping (5:40)
- Patient-Centric Approaches (7:30)
- Monitoring Product Conditions (9:20)
- Sustainability in Packaging (11:14)
- Consolidation and Optimization Strategies (14:52)
- Lessons from Supply Chain Disruptions (16:41)
- Balancing Regulation and Flexibility (19:40)
- Data Insights for Accountability (21:46)
- The Role of AI in Logistics (24:45)
- Proactive Decision-Making with Data (26:54)
- Final Thoughts and Takeaways (28:13)
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