Fujitsu, Logistics Knight Japan (LKJ) and Isuzu Motors have announced a joint pilot project to build a platform for integrated management of pharmaceuticals across the entire logistics network – from manufacturing sites to final delivery destinations such as pharmacies and hospitals.

Expected to begin in early November, the pilot project will focus on ensuring transportation quality and temperature control in pharmaceutical logistics. It will also test joint and pallet-unit transport simulations aimed at improving logistics efficiency.

Specifically, the project will address three themes: visualisation of theoretical inventory values and transport/storage temperatures of pharmaceuticals throughout the entire logistics network in compliance with Japan's Good Distribution Practice (GDP) guidelines for the proper distribution of pharmaceuticals, joint transportation to improve logistics efficiency, and verification of the effectiveness of introducing palletized transport to streamline operations.

The initiative aims to address pressing challenges in Japan’s logistics industry, including labor shortages, aging workforce, reduced transport capacity, increased transportation costs, extended delivery lead times, unnecessary disposal of pharmaceutical products due to supply uncertainties, inventory imbalances and strict temperature control issues.

Jointly proposed by LKJ, Isuzu and Fujitsu, with participation from TRANSTRON Inc. and Ridgelinez, the project has been selected by Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) as the “Pharmaceutical Logistics Platform Project” under the Logistics Innovation Implementation Support Project.

Under this partnership, LKJ will provide expertise in pharmaceutical logistics and Isuzu will offer its fleet management system via the “GATEX” platform to collect vehicle and operational data during transport.

Meanwhile, Fujitsu will supply technologies for data extraction, transformation, and access control using its logistics and commercial data platform developed under the government’s Smart Logistics Services initiative, alongside its Dynamic Supply Chain Management solution.

Going forward, the three companies plan to strengthen data collaboration to ensure quality management across the logistics network, reduce inventory waste and resolve inventory imbalances to maintain a stable pharmaceutical supply. They also intend to work closely with the Japanese government’s pharmaceutical working group.