Kuehne+Nagel expands its network with new temperature-controlled facilities in the US for efficient healthcare logistics.
Kuehne+Nagel has announced the launch of eight temperature-controlled, GxP-compliant facilities across the United States, aimed at enhancing cross-docking operations for temperature-sensitive medicines, vaccines, medical devices, and diagnostic kits. The expanded network now includes warehouses in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Atlanta, Georgia; Wilmington, North Carolina; and Los Angeles, California, with four additional locations set to open in 2024, according to an official release.
These facilities offer a range of temperature settings and adhere to Kuehne+Nagel’s HealthChain certification, ensuring the highest global quality standards for the transportation, handling, and storage of healthcare products. The cross-dock concept involves the loading and unloading of sea freight temperature-controlled containers in a GxP-compliant warehouse near an ocean port. This setup allows for the prompt return of empty containers to the port, significantly reducing detention charges and optimising container management.
At these temperature-controlled warehouses, containers are sorted and optimised for road transportation to their final destinations, reducing the use of multiple containers and enhancing efficiency. Jeff Garcia, Industry Champion for Healthcare at Kuehne+Nagel, highlighted the benefits of this approach: “Cross-docking optimises the time that products spend in transit, streamlines the handling process, and reduces costs and CO2 emissions. We began this concept as a pilot program with a large, global human and animal health customer for their animal health division at one warehouse, resulting in double-digit cost savings in the container inbound process and cutting CO2 emissions by nearly half. Based on this success, we are proud to be expanding this offering to the healthcare market across the United States.”
