Today started with a quick breakfast and we were out the door, on the way to Medochemie. After yesterdays demonstration, I was very interested to see the testing and distribution of pharmaceuticals at a much larger level. As soon as we walked in I was super impressed with the office building and its modern design. We then sat in their conference room, where the presentation began. 

I quickly learned they place value on creating affordable products, while also being the most efficient manufacturer. They are able to accomplish this by having operations win over 106 countries worldwide and also having affiliates in countries that do their own distribution, which helps ease different regulations and costs within foreign governments. 

One thing I was slightly surprised by was their lack of knowledge on blockchain and the fact that it appeared that they had no plans to implement it, or if they did, their procedures were very vague. Especially since are a large section of the supply chain, I would think they would be trying to implement these procedures to optimize their processes, especially if a part of their mission is efficiency. As my friends and I discussed at lunch, it really highlighted the lack of innovation in basic processes of the healthcare supply chain, and how as we progress further into a more digitized world, this may prove to create a disconnect between past and present. 

After this visit, we had some free time in the Limassol Marina, where we had some quick lunch and coffee at Cafe Nero, and spent the 2 and a half hour break talking and enjoying one another’s company.

After lunch we headed to Columbia Ship Management, which has proved to be my favorite site visit of the trip. This shipping company was the most interesting to me, because it focused on the management and tracking of ships, as opposed to managing the actual cargo. Being one of the first shipping companies established, they manage over 400 vessels worldwide. There were two main things that really stuck out to me during this presentation. The first is that they have a client portal so clients have access to information about vessels. This was a huge technological jump from the other companies we have talked to, and they seem to be the most connected to the client and invested in the client relationship and well-being. Along with client wellbeing, they also are very interested in keeping the wellbeing of the seafarer. For example, they were the only company we have talked to who has a designated mental health program and services for its employees. This really stood out to me, as this is a topic that is very important to me, and seeing a company make strides to take away the stigma is encouraging to hear.

After hearing the presentation, we headed to the emergency room, which has been my favorite experience of the trip. They explained that in this room, in case they were to be called that there was an emergency, there is a designated team and assigned seating in order to optimize the emergency protocols. It was fascinating to hear the training that goes into being able to be prepared for a situation that could literally be something they could have never imagined.  I could have sat in the room for hours asking questions, however from their we moved to an equally interesting spot, the control room.

In the control room, you could see the routes of all the vessels, as well as all their statistics and paths. As someone who loves data and statistics, this was incredible to see and I could have stayed looking through and examining every route for hours. 

Sadly, we did have to head back, and after a lovely group dinner at the Agora, and some time on the roof, we headed back and prepared for our next day.