Arvato expands the Alcalá distribution centre near Madrid to include healthcare services


Arvato Healthcare is extending its offering on the Iberian Peninsula. From autumn 2016, medicines and medical technology products will also be dispatched from the company’s distribution centre in Alcalá in Spain. To do this, the existing warehouse has been extended by 4,500 sq m, with the new space dedicated to the requirements of pharmaceutical and medical technology companies.

“This allows us to optimize transport times and to provide pharmacies, hospitals and wholesalers throughout the Iberian Peninsula with improved customer services,” explained Christian Wolf, Executive Vice President at Arvato Healthcare. As a legal requirement in Spain medicines must be received by recipients such as pharmacies within 24 hours of dispatch. “Embedded in Arvato’s existing European site network the new Alcalá distribution centre helps our clients to meet this requirement, with reduced transport costs and increased delivery reliability”, said Wolf.

“The healthcare offerings in Spain comprise the entire order-to-cash cycle, from customer services and order management, warehousing and transport management, through to invoicing, accounts receivable management and credit control. This also includes GDP-compliant storage for products between +2°C and +8°C, as well as their actively and passively cooled transport in insulation boxes,” stated Emilio Juaranz, General Manager of Arvato SCM Solutions in Spain, who is also directly responsible for the healthcare business on the Iberian Peninsula. The warehouse also provides an area covering 3,900 sq m for storing ambient products in the +15°C to +25°C temperature range required for most medicines.

The warehouse and all Arvato Healthcare activities in Spain meet the requirements for Good Manufacturing Practice and Good Distribution Practice. “The quality management system in Spain is fully integrated in our European QM system and the quality organisation,” said Carsten Thiemt, Director of Quality Management for Arvato Healthcare in Europe. The new location is also fully integrated into the SAP-based Arvato IT structure.

The distribution centre in Alcalá was commissioned by Arvato SCM Solutions in February 2015 and has to date been used exclusively by the high-tech and entertainment sectors. Following the extension, services for customers from the health and pharmaceutical industries will be processed there from autumn 2016 onwards. To further expand its European healthcare network, Arvato has also opened two further locations, one in Italy and the other in the Netherlands, and continues to enlarge its existing warehouses.

Source: Arvato Healthcare