Strategnos Workstream

Strategnos: Expert Insights In Good Distribution Practice

26TH March	Time	Topic	Synopsis	Speaker	Bio
10 mins	09h30-09h40	Welcome	Welcome and Opening. Run through the agenda and speakers.	Sarantis Kosmas	Sarantis Kosmas is a highly experienced Supply Chain Management professional with over 18 years of experience in the field. He holds his Masters degree in Supply Chain Management of the Cold Chain. Sarantis has worked in a variety of industries including Pharmaceutical, Mining, Personal Care, Fashion Accessories, Food and Retail. He has a wide range of skills and accomplishments, including analytical and process thinking, strong interpersonal skills and publications.
30 mins	09h40-10h10	Temperature Mapping the story beyond the process	Temperature mapping is a critical quality requirement in a GxP environment. In recent years there has been increased guidance on how to execute a temperature mapping, which has helped align industry standards and best practice. Now we must go beyond the process, beyond the data and interpreting the story that the data tells to solve deliver real risk mitigation and quality outcomes.	Sarantis Kosmas	Sarantis Kosmas is a highly experienced Supply Chain Management professional with over 18 years of experience in the field. He holds his Masters degree in Supply Chain Management of the Cold Chain. Sarantis has worked in a variety of industries including Pharmaceutical, Mining, Personal Care, Fashion Accessories, Food and Retail. He has a wide range of skills and accomplishments, including analytical and process thinking, strong interpersonal skills and publications.
30 mins	10h10-10h40	A case study on the benefits of using multi-sensor devices for pharmaceutical cold chain monitoring.	Temperature monitoring is a critical component of pharmaceutical product distribution, however many challenges in ensuring effective and integral data collection exist. This case study will illustrate the benefits of leveraging additional sensing and location capabilities to address these challenges.	AJ Barnard	AJ Barnard is a pharmacist and cold-chain logistics professional with over 20 years’ experience across pharmaceutical distribution, hospital pharmacy, and temperature-controlled supply chains. He holds a B.Pharm (1999) and M. Pharm (2002) from North-West University. He began his career in clinical and retail pharmacy, including oncology compounding in the UK, before moving into senior operational roles within pharmaceutical warehousing and distribution. AJ is currently General Manager at The Vaccine Bureau, supporting vaccine distribution in collaboration with Biovac. He has led multiple Warehouse Management System implementations and GDP-aligned warehouse transformations across several pharmaceutical organisations, bridging regulatory requirements with real-world operational execution.
10 mins	10h40-10h50	Q&A
30 mins	10h50-11h20	BREAK
30 mins	11h20-11h50	The next stage of cold chain packaging development in South Africa	With the increased scrutiny on cold chain packaging and temperature monitoring, it is critical to ensure that temperature-sensitive pharmaceutical products not only look like they are in compliant packaging but that the packaging is actually compliant. We discuss the benefits and approach to implementation of global best practice solutions.	Sean Petzer
10 mins	11h50- 12h00	Q&A
30 mins	12h00-12h30	Defrost Cycle: A necessary evil in the cold chain	A defrost cycle is a key element of refrigeration systems, when poorly specified equipment and incorrectly configured parameters are used this introduces real risk to product. We will work through the key technically elements to be considered with refrigeration's systems and there related defrost cycles.	Sarantis Kosmas	Sarantis Kosmas is a highly experienced Supply Chain Management professional with over 18 years of experience in the field. He holds his Masters degree in Supply Chain Management of the Cold Chain. Sarantis has worked in a variety of industries including Pharmaceutical, Mining, Personal Care, Fashion Accessories, Food and Retail. He has a wide range of skills and accomplishments, including analytical and process thinking, strong interpersonal skills and publications.
10 mins	12h30-12h40	Q&A
80 mins	12h40-14h00	LUNCH
30 mins	14h00-14h30	Key Updates for Computer System Validation.	In the ever changing technology environment, computer system validation is becoming increasingly important, as well as a constraint to the deployment of innovative technologies in Pharmaceutical distribution. The purpose of this discussion is to share key updates in GAMP that support efficient deployment of new Technologies such as AI and Agile methodologies.	Micaela Costa	Micaela Costa is a Senior Systems and Test Analyst at Strategnos. She studied BCom Informatics and has her honours in BIT specialising in Information Systems from the University of Pretoria. Her knowledge and interest in the Information Technology industry have allowed her to create concepts that assist with solving business problems and providing solutions using systems.
10 mins	14h30-14h40	Q&A
30 mins	14h40- 15h10	AI for business users	With the pace of AI development making it seem as if Chat GPT was released in the 1900s it is key for business users to stay up to speed with the basic foundational principles and ongoing changes. This session provides a great opportunity for business users to sharpen their understanding of AI and its application in a business context.	Joe van der Walt
10 mins	15h10- 15h20	Q&A
		EXHIBIT BROWSING

MEET THE SPEAKERS

Sarantis Kosmas

Sarantis Kosmas, the Business Development Director at Strategnos, is a highly experienced Supply Chain Management professional with over 18 years of experience in the field. He holds his Masters degree in Supply Chain Management of the Cold Chain.

Sarantis has worked in a variety of industries including Pharmaceutical, Mining, Personal Care, Fashion Accessories, Food and Retail. He has a wide range of skills and accomplishments, including analytical and process thinking, strong interpersonal skills and publications.

AJ Barnard

AJ Barnard is a pharmacist and cold-chain logistics professional with over 20 years’ experience across pharmaceutical distribution, hospital pharmacy, and temperature-controlled supply chains. He holds a B.Pharm (1999) and M. Pharm (2002) from North-West University.

He began his career in clinical and retail pharmacy, including oncology compounding in the UK, before moving into senior operational roles within pharmaceutical warehousing and distribution.

AJ is currently General Manager at The Vaccine Bureau, supporting vaccine distribution in collaboration with Biovac. He has led multiple Warehouse Management System implementations and GDP-aligned warehouse transformations across several pharmaceutical organisations, bridging regulatory requirements with real-world operational execution.

Sean Petzer

Sean Petzer is the Founder and Managing Director of ESBD, a specialist provider of validated cold chain packaging and compliant distribution solutions. Having cut his teeth in the logistics industry, Sean spent 18 years in the field before identifying a critical gap in South Africa’s market, the absence of an exclusive focus on validated thermal packaging.

Determined to change that, he introduced the first PCM-based solution dedicated solely to compliant packaging in South Africa, independent of traditional 3PL models, offering both rental and sales options. Recognising that Africa’s supply chain challenges are unique – and that no single solution fits all – Sean expanded his portfolio to represent leading global innovators, enabling tailored, fit-for-purpose solutions.

Today, he works closely with pharmaceutical, healthcare, and export clients to align Good Distribution Practice (GDP) compliance with practical, cost-effective strategies that reduce temperature excursions, minimise waste, improve efficiencies, decrease costs, and eliminate risk.

Through a strategic partnership with Strategnos, Sean ensures every solution is grounded in data, accuracy, and transparency, because in cold chain logistics, performance isn’t optional, and compliance cannot be compromised.

Micaela Costa

Micaela Costa is a Senior Systems and Test Analyst at Strategnos. She studied BCom Informatics and has her honors in BIT specialising in Information Systems from the University of Pretoria.

Her knowledge and interest in the Information Technology industry have allowed her to create concepts that assist with solving business problems and providing solutions using systems.

Joe van der Walt

Joe van der Walt is the Founding Director of Kohde (Pty) Ltd and a seasoned software leader with roots in enterprise application development. He co-founded Kohde in 2015 with a clear mission: to build custom software that delivers measurable, strategic value.

Under Joe’s leadership, Kohde has grown into a high-performing South African technology partner specialising in end-to-end solutions, from UX/UI and mobile development to cloud architecture, DevOps, and Azure integrations. Recognised as a Microsoft Solutions Partner, Kohde supports clients across banking, telecoms, logistics, agriculture, and security.

Joe is committed to keeping the business at the forefront of modern engineering practices, driving innovation in cloud, AI, data platforms, and intelligent automation. With nearly a decade of leadership experience, he focuses on designing scalable, resilient systems that bring clarity, momentum, and long-term value to every engagement.

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