UPS Healthcare heralds multiple facility expansion efforts

Atlanta-based global transportation and logistics titan UPS said today that it has rolled out various facility expansions for its healthcare-dedicated warehouse and distribution market in various global markets.

The new expansions include:

• a new GDP-compliant space to open in Central and Eastern Europe;
• additional cold chain space coming online in close proximity to the UPS Worldport facility in Louisville, Ky.;
• plans for up to 1.5 million square feet of cGMP distribution space for Coronavirus-related shipments; and
• a new Shanghai-based facility

These expansions follow an October 2019 announcement by UPS, in which it stated that UPS Healthcare plans to add more than 1 million square-feet of facility space in strategic markets across U.S. operations. 

What’s more, as part of these announced facility expansions, UPS said it is committed to building additional cooler space (2-8 degrees Celsius), and freezer space (minus-20 degrees to minus-80 degrees Celsius) in its new GMP facility in Louisville. And it added that UPS Healthcare is also expanding its GDP facility space in Hungary, and GMP space in the United Kingdom through its Polar Speed subsidiary, where it operates a dispensing pharmacy that serves more than 20,000 patients daily. The new GMP warehouse and transportation hub will be located in the Midlands, UK, to further facilitate its clients’ growth needs, UPS said.

UPS Healthcare President Wes Wheeler told LM that market demand is driving the need not only for storage and distribution space, but certified healthcare-dedicated space that includes specific requirements for temperature-sensitive products.

“The COVID-19 pandemic is also a driving force shaping the healthcare industry, and is heavily impacting global supply chains that require expanded logistics and distribution support,” he said. “By increasing warehouse and distribution space and optimizing multi-client facilities, our customers have greater opportunity to reduce supply chain costs, and get their shipments to the right places globally at the right time and in full regulatory compliance. We are also able to provide the speed and scalability required by our clients during a crisis like the one we’re currently experiencing. We can provide immediate warehousing and transportation options, rather than our clients attempting to manage these supply chain complexities on their own.

As for the competitive advantages of this news from a UPS perspective, Wheeler observed that  UPS Healthcare offers best-in-class healthcare supply chain services with a dedicated force of 5,500 healthcare logistics experts skilled at meeting specialized marketplace needs.

“Our scale, agility and more than eight million square feet of global healthcare-licensed facility space mean organizations can trust that their critical products will be stored, monitored and distributed with quality controls and patient-driven services like no other supply chain partner can provide,” he said.