Quick Group of Companies Blog - Quick Group of Companies

Essential Breast Milk Shipments for AIDS/HIV Stricken Babies in South Africa Arrive in Time for the Holidays

dominique_brown@qintl.com (Dominique Bischoff-Brown) — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 19:00:00 GMT

On December 5, 2011, the US-based International Breast Milk Project (IBMP), Prolacta Bioscience and Quick International Courier joined forces once again in a major humanitarian effort to deliver donor breast milk to be utilized by premature, sick and orphaned infants in Cape Town and Durban, South Africa. The shipments, holding 10,000 ounces of donor breast milk arrived safely in both cities in the early afternoon on December 7th. The milk banks there are especially excited because they know that with the holidays coming they are going to be experiencing extreme shortages and this milk will help them considerably!

Since Quick has expertise in temperature-sensitive shipping, we provided the cold chain logistics planning and transportation to safely deliver the frozen milk. To maintain the integrity of the milk, it is crucial to maintain a specific temperature throughout transit. In such situations, we use dry ice, a frozen carbon dioxide, with surface temperature of -109.3 degrees Fahrenheit (-78.5 degrees C), and monitor the temperature at all checkpoints.

IBMP has provided over 267,682 ounces, or 66,920 bottles, of life-giving donor breast milk to infants in South Africa

The Cape Town and Durban based non-profits, Milk Matters and iThemba Lethu, distribute donor breast milk to over 25 major hospitals and two orphan homes for children affected by AIDS, helping save the lives of premature babies. Emphasizing the need for continued supply of donor breast milk, Dr. Max Kroon says “In the developing world, breast-feeding and breast milk feeding are key interventions to promote child health and survival. These benefits are greater in preterm babies and are undermined if they get any non-human milk.

An estimated 1.9 million children were orphaned in South Africa due to HIV/AIDS in 2009.

With up to 200 HIV-exposed babies born at Cape Town’s Mowbray Maternity Hospital every month, donor milk is critical to ensuring that these babies only get human milk which reduces the risk of HIV transmission while retaining the benefits of breast milk.” International Breast Milk Project is the only organization in the world to provide large provisions of donor breast milk to infants suffering from HIV/AIDS, malnourishment, poverty and disease in Africa.”

Prolacta Bioscience, a life science company, that creates specialty formulations made exclusively from human milk for the nutritional needs of critically ill premature infants, partners with International Breast Milk Project by processing and safely packaging the donated breast milk while Quick International Courier donates their services to provide the fastest and most secure cold chain transportation.

International Breast Milk Project helps new Moms in the U.S. join the fight against poverty and disease by providing an avenue to donate breast milk to infants in South Africa and around the world. The donor milk is unquestionably lifesaving for many of the tiny, premature babies who receive it. Because so many babies have been abandoned, orphaned or have moms that are too sick or malnourished to breastfeed, there is a significant gap in the current supply of available local milk. You can help by donating milk, making a donation or spreading the word about the project.

For full information, please visit http://www.breastmilkproject.org/

6 Helpful Tips to Keep Your Supply Chain Intact During Natural Disasters

randy_jackson@qintl.com (Randy Jackson) — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 20:00:00 GMT

From a business standpoint, you know that some challenges are to be expected while others may appear with little or no warning. Unfortunately, these unexpected challenges are happening all too frequently lately. Whether it’s an earthquake, hurricane, volcanic eruption, or civil unrest, like the riots that recently devastated London, it is hard to plan for every global event.

During these difficult times, many companies or their supply chain systems come to a grinding halt because they are unprepared and unable to adjust. So, it’s important that your company has a contingency plan for unforeseen events.

You also need a shipping company that can create contingency plans and alternative solutions on the go. One that has specially trained disaster recovery teams responsible for evaluating situations and implementing appropriate programs of disaster preparedness, mitigation, and management.

To ensure your shipments are delivered safely and securely—even in the most difficult situations—we have developed a flexible, extensive network, with many delivery options. Whether its AOG aircraft parts, clinical specimens, life-saving medical organs and blood, or parts to keep your supply chain intact, our team can create comprehensive logistics solutions and back up plans in order for you to meet your deadlines.

Contingency Plans at Work

When a volcanic ash cloud disrupted many flights and delayed countless numbers of packages, we successfully delivered 22 frozen samples of human tissue, blood, and other biologics from the country of Georgia headed for the U.K. We had to stop the shipments in Turkey, re-ice the frozen ones and re-issue documents to fly it to a lab in the U.S, salvaging millions of dollars worth of clinical research.

In 2010, as relief efforts streamed into Haiti following a destructive 7.0 earthquake, the traffic at the Port au Price airport intensified. There were limited landing slots and the requests for clearance were backlogged up to 5-6 days. This obviously was not ideal when delivering shipments for survivors who are in critical need of medical help. It took us just 12 hours to successfully deliver much needed blood and breast milk to the survivors in Haiti, by utilizing charter aircraft, helicopters and ground delivery services.

Here are some tips on how you can prepare for the unexpected:

1) Find a courier company you can trust, and that can provide alternate modes of transportation to help streamline your supply chain. And, make sure you’re working with companies recognized by the local government.

2) Pay attention to changes in the weather. Stay current on all international weather issues that might affect shipments.

3) Be Flexible. Plan for delays, and be creative.

4) Consider chartering a flight. When shipping to sensitive areas it is sometimes impossible to use commercial flights. A charter service may be your only alternative.

5) Keep in touch. Make sure you keep all involved parties up-to-date on any issues or problems that may arise.

6) Be prepared and have a contingency plan of your own. Your company should be equipped and prepared with a contingency plan of its own. That way, in an emergency situation you and your Courier provider can work together to ensure you get what you need in the most cost effective and timely manner.

Quick Welcomes the New Mercedes-Benz Sprinter Fleet

ed_mcnally@qintl.com (Ed McNally) — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 19:45:00 GMT

In order to protect and replenish our environment, QIC continues to implement environmentally-friendly practices in various aspects of our company, for example in operations, transportation, marketing and printing. One of our recent initiatives was to replace our fleet with new customized Mercedes-Benz Sprinter vehicles, which were designed to maximize efficiency, minimize carbon outset and reduce greenhouse emissions. These new vehicles meet the strict 2010 EPA/CARB emission standards for Diesel powered engines by utilizing the SCR (Selective Catalytic Reduction) system. The SCR system is an exhaust after treatment that significantly reduces NOx (Nitrogen Oxide).

The design provides maximum load capacity and flexibility. Sprinter's wide doors, low threshold and stand-up interior height make it extremely versatile for the many types of shipments we pick up and deliver.

Plus, they're great for getting around in city traffic, their fuel economy is terrific, and our drivers love them. The Sprinters are easy to drive and very comfortable, and drivers really appreciate that. City driving is very tough on a vehicle, so reliability is a big consideration. I'm very pleased that Quick has invested in vehicles that help the environment while also providing the reliability our customers rely on.

Limited and Excepted Quantities of Dangerous Goods

michael_gotz@qintl.com (Michael Gotz) — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 19:00:00 GMT

Customers often ask us about shipping small amounts of hazardous materials by air. The fact is that IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations contains provisions for shipping limited quantities of Dangerous Goods that can save you both time and money. These regulations can be confusing at times. Here is an explanation of excepted or limited quantities that may make things a bit clearer for you.

The Regulations offer certain rewards to shippers who keep package quantities down to low levels, presumably because less quantity means more safety. There are two different types of “limited quantities” differentiated in the IATA DGR, Excepted Quantities and Limited Quantities. The differences are as follows:

Shipping dangerous goods in excepted quantities

Applicable to shipments where each inner receptacle contains, in general, no more than 30 ml or 30 g, and each complete package contains, in general, no more than 500 ml or 500 g.

There are no shipping papers required, the box is a normal inexpensive one that can pass a drop test and stacking test, and there is just one label to be applied to the outside of the box:

Shipping dangerous goods in limited quantities

Applicable to shipments where each inner receptacle contains, in general, no more than 0.5 l or 0.5 kg, and each complete package contains, in general, no more than 1 l or 1 kg.

The Shipper's Declaration for Dangerous Goods is required. Note that as of January 2011 no longer should the words "LTD QTY" appear in the "Authorizations" column, as the "Y" before the PI number is considered sufficient to indicate the use of the Limited Quantities Provision. The box may be a normal, inexpensive one that can pass a drop test and stacking test. The box must be marked with the Proper Shipping Name and UN Number. In addition, the box must bear the Dangerous Goods in Limited Quantities label (technically a mark but best purchased from a label printing company):

The advantages of Limited and Excepted Quantities

You must have noticed that I kept adding “in general” to the descriptions above. That's because each Dangerous Goods commodity has its own quantity requirements, and those do vary. But the central advantages for Excepted Quantities is the savings in preparation time and package costs, and of Limited Quantities - the considerable package cost savings.

These provisions are described in detail in the IATA DGR, Section 2.

Significant regulation changes for shippers of Dangerous Goods

michael_gotz@qintl.com (Michael Gotz) — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 03:00:00 GMT

There is a multitude of rule changes in the 52nd Edition of the IATA DGR. The new regulations will take effect on January 1, 2011. Below is a summary of the important changes for your reference. As always, the IATA DGR should be consulted for details. You can also review a full listing of changes on the IATA website.

Packaging Instructions
Most of the packing instruction numbers have changed. This is true for Classes 3, 4, 5, 6.1, 8, and 9. Here are some examples of the new numbers:

Dry Ice: UN 1845 PI 954,
Consumer Commodity: ID 8000 PI Y963
Batteries, wet, filled with acid: UN 2794 PI 870
Life saving appliance, self-inflating: UN 2990 PI 955

If you or your company uses electronic computer applications to complete shipping papers, you must obtain updates for your applications from the respective vendors.

Note: Shipments with paperwork indicating they were prepared for shipment prior to January 1, 2011 may use current packing instructions until April 1, 2011. [Page 361 “NOTE”]

Magnetized Materials, UN 2807
There is a new PI number: PI 953. Magnetized materials meeting the scientific criteria of PI 953 will not require a Shipper’s Declaration; instead the shipper must provide documentation using the words “magnetized material” when stating the nature of the commodity to be shipped (those words must be on the air waybill). However, as before, the box must bear the MAGNETIZED MATERIAL label.

IATA DGR Section 2
The IATA Section number for Excepted Quantities has been changed to 2.6, Limited Quantities to 2.7, State and Operator Variations to 2.8.

Limited Quantities Shipments
You are no longer required to enter LTD QTY in the Authorizations Column of the Shipper’s Declaration [8.1.6.9.4]. Also, the requirement to mark LTD QTY on the box has been deleted. Instead, all packages of Limited Quantity shipments must bear the following mark (label can be purchased) [7.1.5.3]:

Consumer Commodities ID 8000
Each package of Consumer Commodities MUST BEAR THE LTD QTY MARK (label) shown above [PI Y963 (m)] (this is in addition to the Class 9 label).

Infectious Substances, CLASS 6.2
PI 602 has been changed to PI 620.

General Package Markings
The name and address of the shipper and consignee should be located near the Proper Shipping Name marking [7.1.5.1.(b)]. Note that the word “should” is preferred but not mandatory [1.3.1.3].

Radioactive Materials
When stating the package dimensions on the Shipper’s Declaration, the shipper must use the formula: Length x width x height (in centimeters) [10.8.3.9.3].

Teaming up for the green cause!

dominique_brown@qintl.com (Dominique Bischoff-Brown) — Thu, 13 May 2010 18:00:00 GMT

I have been following the news about green and sustainable living with great interest for years. It has always pleased me to see the environmentally friendly initiatives gain more and more followers. Just like many of you, I have been trying to be the apostle of the green cause and spread the word about using less plastic bags, changing the light bulbs or buying organic and locally grown produce, just to name a few.

The good thing is that I am actually able to extend my green philosophy outside my home and into the Quick Group of Companies. As a result, you will be happy to know that Quick has long been part of the team for the "green cause". Here are some of our environmentally friendly practices:

Saving Energy

Most of our vehicles are now high-efficiency to save fuel. And, we have implemented best practices for shipping to improve operational efficiencies and to reduce our carbon footprint.

We have locked thermostats in our Call Centers and offices, setting the temperature at reasonable levels. Most of our facilities are 24X 7 and cannot be powered down; those that are not 24 X 7 are set to automatically power down.

Using Recycled Products

Whenever possible, we purchase recycled material products, such as our shipping supplies (bags, pouches and boxes). We also select vendors that provide environmentally friendly solutions.

Environmentally Friendly Practices

We use green products for cleaning and recycle in all offices to reduce waste. Marketing materials are printed on recycled paper with soy ink and we have reduced our printing of customer communications and invoices with digital technology. We buy local whenever possible, to reduce the need for shipping.

Of course, we keep looking for other ways to minimize our carbon footprint and we will keep you informed about all of our new green initiatives. Meanwhile, we encourage you to share your opinions and experiences about green and sustainable living.

Delivering Breast Milk - A Case for Cold Chain Logistics

dominique_brown@qintl.com (Dominique Bischoff-Brown) — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 19:00:00 GMT

In the midst of our vigorous efforts to deliver blood to the Haiti survivors, came a call from the International Breast Milk Project: the USNS Comfort's Medical Treatment Center stationed by the coast of Haiti needed donor breast milk for the premature and orphaned infants aboard the ship. Once again, we joined forces with IBMP and rushed to implement Cold Chain Logistics to safely deliver 500 ounces of donor breast milk.

IBMP received a call from a pediatrician on the USNS Comfort requesting
donor breast milk and immediately contacted Quick to arrange delivery.

Breast milk is an ideal nutrition for infants. In Haiti, where most mothers breast-feed, using formula that requires clean water, sterilized bottles and nipples could be devastating.

We picked the milk up at the HMBANA Ohio Milk Bank, where it was stored pasteurized and frozen. It's shelf life in such conditions is very long, but it is crucial to maintain its temperature throughout transit. In such situations, we use dry ice, a frozen carbon dioxide, with surface temperature of -109.3 degrees Fahrenheit (-78.5 degrees C), and monitor temperature at all check points.

We used cooler packaging and labeled the milk for air transport. At this point, we were familiar with the logistics challenges of shipping to Haiti: no scheduled flights, overloaded airports lacking precious landing slots and backlogged aircraft space for relief supplies. Fortunately, we have long-standing relations with many airlines. Our partners Southwest and Amerijet knew what was at stake and acted quickly.

Once the breast milk shipment reached Miami, we replenished the ice. A few hours later, it arrived at the Port-au-Prince, where it was picked up by the helicopter and carried to the US Navy ship. Less than 24 hours from when it was picked up, the milk was in the safe hands of doctors, integrity intact. The USNS Comfort is equipped with a neonatal intensive care unit and medical staff, as well as freezers able to store milk in the adequate temperatures.

Quick picked up 500 oz of frozen breast milk from Ohio Milk Bank and
delivered it to the USNS Comfort near Haiti, maintaining Cold Chain.

Cold Chain is one of the logistics areas that Quick specializes in. This means that we have experts on staff that handle just that. We have transported hundreds of thousands of perishable life saving shipments: blood products, cordblood, specimen for Clinical Trial testing, tissue and organs for transplant.

Maintaining Cold Chain differs with each type of shipment. Regulations also differ depending on many circumstances: country, air or ground transport, packaging, airlines used for transport. Our team knows the answers. They know what's at stake. They are the best people for the job.

For more information about donating breast milk, or to make a contribution, go to http://www.breastmilkproject.org/

Tiny Bottles of Relief Arrive for Haiti's Newborns
Breast milk project donates to Haiti's orphaned and sick infants
Breast-Milk for Haiti: Why Donations Are Being Discouraged

Blood for Haiti survivors delivered in just 12 hours

dominique_brown@qintl.com (Dominique Bischoff-Brown) — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 19:00:00 GMT

I'm happy to tell you that Quick delivered another shipment of blood to the survivors of the earthquake in Haiti. This time, 10 boxes (462 lbs) of blood on wet ice arrived at Port-au-Prince in just 12 hours, door-to-door.

As the relief efforts stream into Haiti, the traffic at the Port au Price airport intensifies. There are limited landing slots and the requests for clearance are backlogged, up to 5-6 days. Chartering a plane means a wait time of nearly a week. This obviously is not a viable solution when transporting blood for the survivors who are in critical need of medical help.

Quick loading blood onto a charter leaving for Haiti - 4AM, MA.

Our challenge was to find an aircraft that already received clearance and was scheduled to leave shortly for Haiti. However, most planes were running with full capacity. Finding space for a nearly 500 lb shipment was not easy. We left no stone unturned and contacted many relief organizations and agencies. At 4AM in Massachusetts, our staff loaded the shipment. It landed at 2pm and was met by the UN, who delivered it to the hospital by 4pm. Record time, even in the best of situations!

Creating solutions in the current reality required that we step out of our usual operating procedures and tap into all of our resources and contacts. Through the cooperation of many determined and caring individuals, we were we able to get the blood to Haiti in an amazing 12 hours, integrity intact.

Thanks to all who are participating in creating solutions for these critical shipments. As an organization, we will continue to do what we can to help the people of Haiti.

Racing Against the Clock - Delivering Blood to Haiti

dominique_brown@qintl.com (Dominique Bischoff-Brown) — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 22:00:00 GMT

Quick, with the help of CBS News team, successfully delivered an urgently needed supply of blood to Haiti in under 20 hours, despite the many logistical challenges.

Just a day after the devastating earthquake in Haiti, we were contacted by the American Red Cross who needed emergency logistics assistance to transport donor blood to the survivors. At the same time, we received a call from CBS News who needed to transport their staff and equipment into Port au Prince. What followed was an example of synchronized logistics and cooperation that allowed for the safe delivery of donor blood to the region.

A victim is carried into the Hospital Universitaire de la Paix in Port-au-Prince, where
the blood is desperately needed Thursday, Jan. 14, 2010 (source: MSNBC)

Natural disasters of such magnitude, especially in isolated areas, always present exceptional challenges for recovery missions. The earthquake caused problems with communications and air traffic control at the Port-au-Prince airport. The airport was reopened to emergency flights but was quickly overloaded.

For that reason, we had to charter planes to the nearest available airport - Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic, which has been used as the back up staging area and was also being heavily overloaded. Delivery of perishables, in this case blood, is always threatened in such conditions, as it needs to remain at a certain temperature to be viable. We were investigating every possible mode of transportation to get the shipment to the Haiti hospitals as soon as possible.

Delivery by land was quickly out of the question due to security issues. Plus, we simply did not know whether Port-au-Prince was accessible, or how extensive the damage was to the roads and bridges. We also feared that using boats may take too long, possibly compromising the integrity of the shipment.

Delivery by air was our best option, but presented a challenge since many of the available charter planes were already involved in the relief efforts. Others were not able to fly to the disaster area due to the local communication issues, air traffic issues, and fuel shortages.

We were already in the process of chartering a plane for CBS News to Santo Domingo. With the overloaded airports, the best solution was to send the crew and the shipment of blood on the same aircraft. We asked CBS News if they would be willing to carry four boxes of blood to Haiti, and, of course, they agreed.

We charted a plane to deliver the blood from the American Red Cross' New England Blood Region facility in Dedham. The other charted plane with CBS Crew was waiting at the airport in New Jersey for the blood shipment. We literally landed the plane with the blood shipment next to the one with the CBS News team and ran the packages over.

It was a close call, but fortunately, we managed to deliver the blood to Haiti in under 20 hours. It was retrieved by the UN personnel who delivered it to the hospital in Port-au-Prince.

My sincere thanks to everyone who improvised to move the blood safely from point to point until it safely reached the hospital.

Quick delivers breast milk to babies in the Philippines

dominique_brown@qintl.com (Dominique Bischoff-Brown) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 21:00:00 GMT

I’m pleased to let you know that once again we were able to help make a difference in the lives of orphaned babies. In what took tremendous work and extraordinary logistics capabilities, our JFK Operations Team was able to coordinate a delivery of 200 bottles of donated breast milk to the disaster stricken Philippines in just 24 hours!

As you remember, last September, a tropical storm and a typhoon devastated Philippines, leaving more than 500 people killed and thousands more homeless. The most affected were as always children and infants.

That’s why we reacted immediately when a nurse in Manila sent an emergency request to the International Breast Milk Project and Quick asking for breast milk for babies, whose moms died in the recent typhoon. We formed a partnership between Prolacta Bioscience that was going to provide the milk, Philippine Airlines and JNE to get this done.

The delivery conditions were extremely difficult. Because of the typhoon, all flights were grounded, resulting in long delays. We started making inquiries to expedite licenses and permits and called the Philippine’s Embassy to get help cutting the red tape. We also contacted the airline management both in Los Angeles and Manila to let them know about the life-saving shipment and to plead our case.

Getting the package swiftly through the backlogged airports and customs was quite a challenge. But thanks to the collective effort, it was delivered to the hospital in less than 24 hours! The milk was secured in a freezer and it is now being distributed with the help of UNICEF to the evacuation shelters throughout the Philippines.

It's not the first time that Quick has donated its services to deliver donor breast milk, but I have never seen our JFK Team so excited. They did a great job.

Here are some of the pictures from the delivery in Manila:

Quick is committed to the security of global supply chain

randy_jackson@qintl.com (Randy Jackson) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 20:00:00 GMT

Did you know that Quick is helping the U.S. government fight terrorism? You may be wondering how a priority courier is involved in homeland security. Well, we are C-TPAT certified -- we partner with the U.S.Customs and Border Protection to strengthen international supply chain and U.S. border security.

C-TPAT (The Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism) was introduced in 2001 by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection following the 9/11 terrorist attacks. That's when the government realized that a secure supply chain is critical in keeping the country safe and started promoting a strong anti-terrorism partnership with the trade community.

Quick, as well as other companies that are C-TPAT certified, have to meet extensive screening and audits proving tight security in their supply chain. In fact, we have employed a management team to set and monitor procedures for service partner qualification, management and auditing programs. These procedures include employee security and identification, securing cargo areas, freight inspection, following strict delivery instructions, ongoing communication with our clients, and other security measures detailed under the criteria required by C-TPAT.

What does this mean to our customers?

In short: fewer supply chain disruptions, reduced border delay times and increased supply chain security. With C-TPAT membership, our customer shipments are less prone to customs inspections. And, in case inspections are necessary, they are expedited. But the most evident benefit is that if your service provider is C-TPAT certified, you can be sure that they are totally reliable and trustworthy as they adhere to the strictest security standards.

As a participant in C-TPAT, Quick is committed to enhancing the security of the global supply chain, and to being in full compliance with all security measures as they relate to all government offices such as the Department of Homeland Security.

H1N1 Flu: We are prepared

dominique_brown@qintl.com (Dominique Bischoff-Brown) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 21:00:00 GMT

The flu season is here and will last through the winter. As many of you, we are concerned about the possible implications of the widespread virus, especially the H1N1 Influenza. We are keeping a keen eye on the situation through the World Health Organization and the US Centers for Disease Prevention and Control.

As a response to this situation, we have prepared an H1N1 Flu Contingency Plan for each of our offices throughout the world to make sure that we are operational 24/7/365, even in case of a pandemic. We also have taken precautionary measures to protect the health of our employees and their families.

For instance, our IT and telecommunications systems have been networked globally, with back-up systems in place, so that we can cross-utilize our resources. Customer calls can be immediately re-routed from specific Call Centers to any other worldwide Quick location. We have also cross-trained our employees to handle Call Center and Operational functions.

If you are interested in learning more, please view the Quick's H1N1 Flu Contingency Plan.

Welcome to the Quick Blog

bob_mitzman@qintl.com (Robert J. Mitzman) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 19:00:00 GMT

Welcome to the official blog of the Quick Group of Companies! We look forward to sharing our goals, initiatives and visions with you. We'll take you behind the scenes of some our amazing deliveries, and tell you about our team of hardworking, creative and dedicated professionals who'll stop at nothing to achieve success for our clients.

Our steady growth over the past 30 years is largely due to the unique technological and complex logistics solutions that we are able to offer to our customers. We'll keep you posted on the latest innovations that our IT and Corporate Solutions teams are developing.

Whether we are helping to save lives with our medical transportation division or getting grounded aircraft back in flight with our Sterling division, or simply helping shippers sleep better at night knowing that we will never compromise, it remains our mission to set the industry's gold standard for service.

We look forward to many more successes with you, and thank you for your continued reliance upon us for your most critical shipping needs.