DHL Supply Chain has announced its Life Sciences and Healthcare (LSHC) sector is investing upwards of $400m to expand its pharmaceutical and medical device distribution network footprint by 27% this year – nearly 3m additional square feet. With the goal of bringing critical healthcare products closer to trade partners and patients, DHL Supply Chain’s new investment includes six new U.S. sites by the end of 2022. The investment includes costs to invest in new buildings and technology, as well as the fit-out and start-up of new or expanded operations.
The expansion will grow the list of DHL Supply Chain’s LSHC sites to 34 by the end of 2022, strategically located across the U.S. This includes Atlanta, GA, Cincinnati, OH, Memphis, TN, Reno, NV and Lebanon, PA. The new builds will be fully licensed with temperature-controlled space that supports pharmaceutical storage requirements. The sites will also allow integrated solutions for both packaging and managed transportation.
DHL Supply Chain has a myriad of services in the life sciences and healthcare sector, including warehousing, secondary packaging, managed transportation, and end-to-end supply chain management services. According to DHL, LSHC is the fastest growing sector at DHL Supply Chain.
DHL Supply Chain’s LSHC sector aligns with the organization’s Accelerated Digitalization agenda to drive mass deployment of new technology. DHL hopes that this strategy will enable DHL Supply Chain to continuously increase efficiency and change the way supply chain operations are run by concentrating on mature technologies like collaborative robotics, autonomous guided vehicles, smart wearables, and augmented reality. According to DHL, automation technology responds to the ongoing labour shortage challenge – not as a replacement – but rather complements our associates by supporting repetitive and strenuous tasks while improving efficiency and reducing error rates.
Source: DHL
