DHL Supply Chain has launched a number of new healthcare-grade warehouses in Australia and New Zealand over the past year, with a combined total floor space of more than 75,000 sqm.
Featuring DHL’s leading cold-chain facilities, which store pharmaceutical products at between 2-8 degrees Celsius, the warehouses also support the storage and management of medical devices, vaccines, animal health, diagnostics, and consumer health products. The additional capacity also enabled DHL to efficiently manage the storage and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines in both nations.
Flexible operations are a key part of ensuring supply chains stay resilient, especially when it comes to critical cargo like healthcare products. While some healthcare products must be stored between 2-8 degrees, some require 8-25 degree Celsius temperatures. Others require extreme cold temperatures to maintain their integrity – this is why DHL Supply Chain augmented its cold chain capabilities with 12 specially designed freezers capable of storing vaccine products at below -70 degrees Celsius.
But storing products in a freezer is only one link in the cold chain. In order to safely and efficiently transport healthcare products around the country, DHL Supply Chain also launched 60 new, purpose-built temperature-controlled trucks that feature an Australian-made dual temperature cab solution with 2 -8°C and 15-25°C temperature ranges, to ensure label claim compliance (delivery as per the temperature instructions on the packaging of the product) as prescribed by the manufacturer. This solution is a first for the Australian market and ensures healthcare manufacturers can stay ahead of evolving compliance regulations. DHL has also invested in a new multi-million-dollar transport management system and national control tower, to support more efficient consignment planning and offer customers greater visibility of their deliveries.
To best manage the distribution of cold-chain products, DHL Supply Chain has proprietary packaging solutions which are designed specifically for pharmaceutical products to ensure health supplies are delivered in the perfect condition. This includes Woolchill, a FSANZ Food Safe certified natural cooling system made from sheep wool, which maintains chilled products for up to 50 hours, removing the need for refrigerated vehicles and plastic or polystyrene packaging.