Kuehne+Nagel Awarded Germany’s COVID-19 Vaccine Contract
Usually, on Supply Chain Digital, we talk about daily affairs in Asia, the United Kingdom, and the United States ─ less-so Europe. So, today, we’re going to talk about Germany, where the Ministry of Labour, Health and Social Affairs of North Rhine-Westphalia has just contracted Keuhne+Nagel for the logistics of COVID-19 vaccines as they roll out across the country. Over the past month, the leading German logistics provider has been collaborating with the ministry to develop a comprehensive solution for both the storage and distribution of the various vaccines available, throughout Germany’s most populated state.
Now, they are ready to put the plan into action.
The Logistical Plan
According to the plans, the vaccine doses are due to be delivered to the state’s central distribution centre, which is operated by Keuhne+Nagel; once it has arrived, the company will store batches in temperature pods, then repackage them into smaller quantities, which will be distributed 24-hours a day to 53 vaccination centres and other healthcare facilities throughout North Rhine-Westphalia.
Karl-Josef Laumann, Minister of Labour, Health and Social Affairs of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, says, "Vaccinating millions of people in a state as extensive as North Rhine-Westphalia is a historic task on an unprecedented scale. I am very pleased that the state has been able to secure such an experienced and competent partner for the central storage and distribution of the vaccines.”
Why Keuhne+Nagel?
Many in the industry have questioned why the state has chosen Keuhne+Nagel with this crucial, literally life-saving task, and there is one very clear answers: the logistics company has innovated solutions that many others could. How? Through its cross-transportation pharma and healthcare network, which features over 230 certified locations worldwide in air, sea, and road logistics, as well as contract logistics. They’re well-seasoned in big pharma, in other words.
Dr Detlef Trefzger, CEO, Kuehne + Nagel International AG, says, "Kuehne+Nagel has been preparing vaccine logistics solutions intensively for months. We made sure that the vaccine raw materials and auxiliary equipment such as syringes were in the right place; now we ensure that the Covid-19 vaccine is safely distributed from the factory to the end consumer, as in Germany’s most populous state, North Rhine-Westphalia. We are ready to support other states and countries in their Covid-19 response as well."