Shipping internationally is a logistics puzzle that can bring studies to a screeching halt. Clearing customs is usually the biggest hurdle. Here are the top two reasons why imports get stopped at customs:
Proactive global logistics planning is worth the effort. Imperial begins by getting everyone involved on the same page in advance. This includes study sponsor or CRO, exporter, courier, freight forwarder, importer of record, importer broker, and country customs.
Failure to get all of these pieces of the puzzle in place can lead to lengthy delays
Importer of record is especially important, as this business or other type of legal entity is recognized as the government responsible party in conducting import transactions, and is responsible for hands-on support of the shipment.
Using Imperial to procure your medical and non-medical ancillary supplies is a smart choice.
We customize our approach to meet your study’s needs. Imperial does not have an agenda based on current inventory or manufacturer relationships.
Imperial maintains its own warehouses, which are climate controlled, with appropriate storage space for the kinds of equipment or supplies you need to maintain. Warehouses are located in areas that accessible to the majority of carriers, in regions of the country that facilitate importing and exporting.
You can access your inventory through the Imperial Marketplace online portal, 24/7. You don’t need to call or email to check your inventory or move your materials.
Imperial can also repackage based on site needs. If your product comes in cartons of 1,000, and you need to send only 10 to the site, Imperial will repackage and also meet repackaging requirements to maintain its properties and meet regulations. For example, if the equipment is sterile, it must maintain its sterility. If it is CE marked, it must remain in its original marked packaging.
Imperial’s expertise and systems are in place to work effectively for your study.
Calibration Tracking & Service Reminders
Keeping track of calibration schedules and calibration documentation is important to ensure ancillary supplies and equipment can be properly maintained. This is accomplished easily through the Imperial Marketplace portal. The Site Manager feature allows you to view calibration schedules, store calibration documentation, and receive notifications of upcoming calibration requirements.
Patient Recruitment Outreach Through Digital Marketing
Creating a study website as a convenient information source is only the first step in online marketing. Digital outreach to drive traffic to the site is necessary. Imperial’s targeted strategies employ social media and search engines to reach potential participants and drive them to your study site. Once there, they will learn about your study and can contact the site. Imperial tracks results to measure the program’s success, and will analyze these metrics to make recommendations to fine tune your program’s digital strategy.
Patient Recruitment: Pre-Screening and Referrals
Digital tools bring efficiencies to patient recruitment. Imperial’s pre-screening and referral system allows potential participants to express their interest in your study and pre-screen through the convenience of the internet or their phones. Study sites receive notification via email, and a link to an online dashboard with the referral’s contact information.
Study websites are robust tools to promote your study and to pre-screen potential participants. Even simple sites are complex, requiring the collaboration of different talent bases. Imperial can handle all of the details, including URL selection, site creation, site hosting, results tracking, and patient referral management.
Study Identity and Design Concept
Your study materials need a compelling and uniform look and feel. This requires a professional deliberate design, with messaging, design, and images that appears across all study materials.
Study Branding - A Fitting Name for Your Study
A fitting name, rather than a protocol number, establishes a distinctive identity for your study in both written and spoken form. It transforms your study from a cold clinical designation to a more descriptive one.
Names can be singular for individual studies, program level or a thematic series of names can be created for study families.
A Logo to Give Your Study Name a Distinctive Look
First impressions are important, and your study logo will bring distinctive messaging that will brand your materials. A professionally designed logo, though its text and imagery, will be a relevant representation of the mission of your trial. It will appear across your study materials to appeal to participants, site staff, and professionals, to quickly identify your study and to unify your materials.
Study Materials Content Creation
Imperial will help you connect with your audience through digital and print materials, written and designed by Imperial’s award-winning creative team.
Imperial’s medical writing team is made up of experienced professionals with extensive backgrounds, writing to support clinical trials reflecting numerous indications. Writers thoroughly review your protocol and ICF to create materials that are customized to your study and your audience, including pediatric and adult patients, medical professional, and study site staff.
How does your study present itself? An established study design brings a professional appearance and uniformity to your site, physician, and patient-facing materials. The Imperial team will work with you to create a purposeful, compelling custom look to reflect the uniqueness of your study, command attention, and appeal to your target demographic. Your selected design will be applied across all of your digital and printed pieces, with appropriate custom tweaks formatted for each individual piece.
Translation and Formatting to Take Your Study to its International Audience
Translations require human beings for accuracy, especially with trial documents where precision is key. Imperial employs professional translators worldwide who understand the study and the documents, including industry-specific acronyms and phrases, and effectively translate to each local audience.
Online translation tools can be a tempting instant solution, but they do not guarantee accuracy, and using these sites may even break your company’s confidentiality requirements.
Imperial’s dedicated translation project managers oversee your study’s different documents, files, and languages, which can quickly add up with global studies. This includes timelines, changes, and amendments.
Traditional materials, such as brochures, posters, patient diaries, educational materials, and study reference documents continue to play an important role in study conduct, patient recruitment and retention. Imperial has long been a preferred choice for the creation, printing, and management of these materials.
Full printing operations located in the U.S. and in the U.K. gives Imperial flexibility for its international client base. Imperial’s creative team and printing team work in harmony to oversee quality and ensure consistently excellent results.
Imperial also provides translation management services, warehousing, and distribution. This full-service range of capabilities brings streamlined consistency and continuity to your projects.
Customer-Supplied Warehousing and Fulfillment
Imperial maintains its own warehouses, which are climate controlled, with appropriate storage space for the kinds of equipment or supplies you need to maintain. Warehouses are located in areas that accessible to the majority of carriers, in regions of the country that facilitate importing and exporting.
You can access your inventory through the Imperial Marketplace online portal, 24/7. You don’t need to call or email to check your inventory or move your materials.
Imperial can also repackage based on site needs. If your product comes in cartons of 1,000, and you need to send only 10 to the site, Imperial will repackage and also meet repackaging requirements to maintain its properties and meet regulations. For example, if the equipment is sterile, it must maintain its sterility. If it is CE marked, it must remain in its original marked packaging.
Imperial’s expertise and systems are in place to work effectively for your study.
Dedicated Oversight of Your Project Through Expert Project Management
Imperial’s contribution to your study is coordinated by a dedicated, experienced project manager. Imperial project managers are process-oriented, problem-solving professionals who take ownership of your study’s success.
Your Imperial project manager partners with you throughout your study to deliver on all details, from planning to oversight to execution.
They leverage the skills of the entire Imperial team of experts to partner with you throughout your project.
