UPS Healthcare facility seeks to capitalise on pharmaceutical trade with dedicated healthcare logistics facility in Germany

Published: Friday, March 31, 2023

UPS Healthcare has opened its first dedicated healthcare logistics facility in Germany as it seeks to further capitalise on pharmaceutical trade.

The 27,200m2 GMP and GDP compliant facility in Giessen will house over 30,000 pallet positions capable of supporting storage of a range healthcare products at 2C to 8C, 15C to 25C and up to -20C degrees.

UPS said of the facility: “Its proximity to UPS’s European air hub at Cologne Bonn Airport and UPS Healthcare’s European hub in Roermond also provides customers with shorter domestic and global transit times, potentially increasing production windows and offers next-day delivery to 80% of Europe as well as access to major ports including Rotterdam, Antwerp and Amsterdam.”

The facility will also support hospital & pharmacy distribution across Germany.

This new facility is a part of UPS Healthcare’s continued investment in Germany, where it recently launched UPS Premier, a service that can prioritise and track critical shipments within 3m of their location anywhere in UPS’s global network.

“We have created a truly pan-European cold chain network, capable of providing end-to-end range of quality specialist storage and handling services,” said John Bolla, president, Global Logistics and Distribution, UPS Healthcare.

“In opening our first facility in Germany, we can provide greater visibility and control to ensure our customer’s patient-critical products are delivered where they need to be, at the right time and at the right temperature.”

The roof of the facility features a solar system that produces more than 850,000 kWh of electricity annually – more than the facility consumes. The building also meets the Gold Standard of the German Sustainable Building Council.

Throughout 2023, UPS Healthcare plans to add over 200,000 m2 of warehouse space, of which about half will be in Europe. This new facility will add to the existing 217 facilities in 37 countries and territories.

Through these investments, UPS Healthcare anticipates it will have more than doubled its presence in dedicated healthcare facilities in 2023 compared to 2020.