Ember Technologies and Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) announced that they are partnering on the Ember Cube digital shipping box.
The two companies will collaborate to offer what they are touting as the world’s first self-refrigerated, cloud-based shipping box, according to a news release. They will work together to deliver a cold chain solution designed to ensure product integrity and security throughout the supply chain while also significantly reducing shipping waste in the transport of temperature-sensitive medicines.
Ember Cube features cloud-based temperature reporting, GPS location tracking and return-to-sender technology, whereas the current industry standard includes single-use ice packs, styrofoam and cardboard, the company said.
The digital shipping box uses an onboard cellular radio as well for reporting real-time temperature and humidity tracking and GPS location information that can be viewed through its proprietary cloud-based dashboard, allowing for precision control so products arrive at the required temperature range, ready for use.
“Since Ember’s inception, it has been our goal to leverage our temperature control technology to serve the healthcare industry, with the ultimate mission of helping to improve and save lives,” Ember Founder and Group CEO Clay Alexander said in the release. “We have formed a powerful new partnership with Cardinal Health to codevelop and commercialize many of our patented healthcare industry inventions to bring this vision to life.”
Cardinal Health intends to use the partnership to leverage its technology infrastructure and national presence as a leading distributor of pharmaceutical and medical products to deploy Ember’s cold chain technology to ensure that patients can access life-saving therapies.
The company plans to launch a customer pilot for the Ember Cube in 2022.
“Cardinal Health is investing in digital solutions and technology to help our healthcare customers solve problems in innovative ways,” Cardinal Health Specialty Solutions President Heidi Hunter said. “Our partnership with Ember utilizes technology solutions to set a new industry standard for real-time visibility and product integrity, while also providing transformative waste reduction.”