In addition, UPS has upgraded its international shipping practices to speed sensitive shipments across borders. It has also expanded
its network of partner carriers that can give customers extra time to
pack their parcels with coolants at the last minute before handing them
off to couriers, adding precious minutes to the cold shipping chain.
By combining these specialized capabilities with its existing core
shipping infrastructure, UPS says it can better serve the demands of
medical researchers, who use these services to ship specimen kits and
medical devices between investigator sites and diagnostic labs.
That urgency in monitoring the shipping time and temperature of
each package is driven by the high costs involved in this type of research,
said Ron Swistock, director of healthcare strategy at UPS. Clinical trials
can burn through millions of dollars in funds and six to eight years of
work before the FDA approves a new drug for U.S. markets.
The job is even harder because of logistical hurdles, such as delays in
crossing international borders and a 48-hour limit on shipping blood
samples to testing labs. Despite these challenges, business is booming
in pharmaceutical research. The FDA approved 57 new drugs in 2015,
its highest approval total in a decade, Swistock said.
UPS will target that growing market by offering specialty services
around its existing parcel distribution system. “Ninety percent of
this can be done without additional investment, through our global
small-package network,” Swistock said. “We’re adding investments
around the margin, such as a third-party partner for first-mile pickup
or enhanced monitoring in case a package needs additional dry ice.”
LEARNING THE ROPES
As U.S. carriers expand into new countries in pursuit of greater market
share for pharmaceutical shipments, their success will hinge on their
ability to operate efficiently in unfamiliar regions.
Pharmaceutical companies are conducting drug trials in a growing
number of global locations, so their carriers must be able to deliver
reliable service in countries such as India, which is famously difficult
to navigate for logistics providers that do not have an established network in the country, said Paul DellaVilla, product marketing engineer
at Onset Computer Corp., a Bourne, Mass.-based firm that makes
wireless data loggers to monitor and report temperatures of pharmaceutical cold-chain shipments.
UPS’s success in expanding internationally will depend on its ability
to provide the specialty services demanded for handling vaccines and
other biological products, he said. No one doubts that UPS already
has a strong network for delivering standard parcels, but most existing
providers of clinical logistics services offer white-glove end-to-end
hand delivery complemented by additional services such as warehousing, temperature monitoring, and consulting.
“There’s a reason these are usually handled by specialty couriers; you
have shorter timelines and a need to get materials to their destination
within certain temperatures,” DellaVilla said. “Clinical trials are massively expensive to run, and having logistics services to get products
to their destination is integral to their success, which is why specialty
couriers can charge a premium. So this is an opportunity [for UPS] to
expand its portfolio.”
—Ben Ames
Creform Corp., a manufacturer of
adaptive material handling systems,
has broken ground on a new production and administrative facility
in Georgetown, Ky. … New England
Motor Freight has expanded its terminal network by opening a new facility
in Belle, W.Va. … Crown Equipment
Corp. has opened a new regional
service training center in Kansas
City, Kan. … Cushman & Wakefield
has brokered a
lease expansion
and renewal for
the California-based online art retailer Art.com Inc.,
expanding its U.S. distribution facility
in Lockbourne, Ohio. … Total Quality
Logistics has opened new sales offices
in Minneapolis and Boston. … On Trac
has expanded in the Southwest with
a new facility in Tucson, Ariz. …
Hannibal Industries Inc. welcomed
material handling leaders from all
over the country to the grand opening
of its new Hannibal South pallet rack
manufacturing facility in Houston. …
To provide a higher level of service
to its Minnesota customers, Dayton
Freight has relocated its Minneapolis
Service Center to Roseville, Minn. The
new center has 71 doors and will
allow the company to offer faster and
more consistent less-than-truckload
(LTL) service. … Old Dominion Freight
Line Inc. has relocated its Newburgh,
N.Y., service center to an 86-door,
17-acre facility in Middletown, N.Y.
… The South Carolina Ports Authority
has announced plans to pursue a
second inland port facility. … Penske
Truck Leasing has opened a full-service truck leasing and contract maintenance facility in Mira Loma, Calif.
… Dachser USA Air & Sea Logistics
Inc., a subsidiary of Dachser SE, has
opened its third office in the U.S.
Northeast. The new Baltimore office
is located two miles from the Helen
Delich Bentley Port of Baltimore.
ground breakers
CUSHMAN & WAKEFIELD
