DHL Global Forwarding ships COVID-19 vaccines weekly as New Zealand rolls out vaccination program

• Delivery
  will take place on a weekly basis further to the first successful delivery on
  February 15 
• Expansion
  of DHL’s global presence in vaccine logistics

 

AUCKLAND,
NEW ZEALAND – Media
OutReach – 24 February 2021 – To
support the New Zealand government’s inoculation program, DHL Global
Forwarding, the air and ocean freight specialist of Deutsche Post DHL Group, will deliver additional doses of COVID-19 vaccines on a
weekly basis into the country. DHL Global Forwarding
arranged for the collection of the vaccines from the manufacturing site in Europe
and upon the vaccines’ arrival at Auckland Airport, handled the customs
clearance and final delivery to designated locations in New Zealand.

 

“Globally we have worked across many markets to deliver the
vaccines successfully in markets we’ve been engaged in, and we will continue to
do so. Logistics plays a critical role in getting vaccines to where it is
urgently needed.  Our cold-chain network
and pharmaceutical logistics expertise have meticulously planned every last
detail to manage an extremely complex operation seamlessly,” said Charles
Kaufmann, CEO, DHL Global Forwarding North Asia & South Pacific.

 

“The deliveries
were smooth as can be expected, thanks to the significant effort and rigorous
planning by the teams involved. Working in close coordination with our partners
on the ground and New Zealand’s regulatory authorities, all measures have been
taken to ensure not just the speed of deliveries, but also ensuring
the quality and safety of these critical shipments,” said Zane Morton, Managing
Director, DHL Global Forwarding New Zealand.

 

Across DHL’s dedicated
global network, more than 9,000 specialists work to connect pharmaceutical and
research organizations, wholesalers and distributors, as well as hospitals and
healthcare providers across the value chain. With this contract, the logistics
expert for air, ocean and road freight expands its global presence in vaccine
distribution.

 

DHL’s portfolio for the
healthcare industry includes 150+ pharmacists, 20+ clinical trials depots, 100+
certified stations, 160+ GDP-qualified warehouses, 15+ GMP-certified sites,
135+ medical express sites, and an international network covering 220 countries
and territories.

 

On a global scale,
logistics providers are challenged to establish
medical supply chains rapidly to deliver vaccines of unprecedented amount of
more than 10 billion doses worldwide — also in regions with less developed
logistics infrastructure, where approximately 3 billion people live. To provide global coverage of the next
two years, DHL estimated in its vaccine whitepaper report that up to 200,000 pallet shippers and 15 million
cooling boxes as well as 15,000 flights will be required across the
various supply chain setups.