DHL Global Forwarding, the air and ocean freight specialist of Deutsche Post DHL has opened a new €3.4m logistics centre for the pharmaceuticals industry, in Leipzig, Germany.
The 3,000m2 facility will serve as a competence centre for active and passive temperature-controlled pharmaceutical products. It has resulted in the creation of 30 jobs.
'With the opening of this new life sciences and healthcare competence centre we are further expanding our network of temperature-controlled stations to support our customers’ global expansion and growth aspirations,' said Angelos Orfanos, President, Life Sciences and Healthcare, DHL Customer Solutions & Innovation.
'Providing quality service to life-saving products is a big responsibility, which we are committed to by continuously investing in sector-specific expertise and infrastructure.'
The facility includes a 2,175m2 warehouse and office space of 600m2. In July, it was certified in accordance with the good distribution practice guidelines and offers two temperature-controlled areas for pharmaceutical products that must be kept at a constant temperature between either 2–8°C or 15–25°C. The areas are equipped with numerous temperature and humidity sensors that immediately sound an alarm should conditions fall outside established parameters.
DHL Global Forwarding, together with its customer Octapharma, designed the new pharmaceutical cold storage facility and is responsible for managing the transport and warehousing of active and passive air freight shipments.
'Our products based on human plasma have to be delivered to customers reliably, fast and on time, without fluctuations in temperature,' said Marc Rechsteiner, Global Senior Director of Operational Excellence at Octapharma.
'We are delighted to have found in DHL a logistics partner that is versed in industry requirements and can ensure that our air freight products are stored, handled and distributed in accordance with statutory regulations.'
The logistics centre will primarily provide DHL Thermonet, the standard product from DHL Global Forwarding for managing temperature-sensitive air freight shipments. DHL Thermonet provides seamless temperature visibility along the supply chain, 24/7 monitoring and intervention based on pre-determined touch points and DHL's RFID SmartSensor technology.
The new building has also been accredited as a qualified Envirotainer provider, thus ensuring competent handling of Envirotainer containers and certification in accordance with ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 standards for quality and environmental management.
In the future, 30 people will organise the transport and customs clearance of air freight and ocean freight shipments mostly for regional customers. The logistics centre will also serve as an air freight transshipment hub for pharmaceuticals going to Germany, Poland and Slovakia. On-site staff will co-ordinate transport solutions for the automotive, chemical and technology industries as well as the life sciences and healthcare sectors.