Medical Device Link.

INDUSTRY NEWS

In addition to delivering and installing diagnostic equipment manufactured by Philips Medical, UPS Supply Chain Solutions will coordinate the company’s global warehousing and supply-chain management.

Don’t be surprised if you start seeing more and more of those familiar brown vans pulling up in front of a hospital near you in the months ahead. It’s just a sign that the strategy of United Parcel Service Supply Chain Solutions (UPS; Biel, Switzerland) to aggressively market its logistics capabilities to medical device companies is succeeding. UPS achieved a new milestone recently when Philips Medical (Amsterdam, Netherlands) chose the company to design and manage its service parts logistics network. According to the terms of the agreement, UPS will coordinate global warehousing, order fulfilment, and supply-chain management on behalf of Philips Medical.

With a network of more than 1000 facilities, UPS will distribute parts and medical equipment to Philips Medical customers in 50 countries. “We already have a close relationship with Philips Medical, and we look forward to helping the company further streamline its complex transportation and logistics operations,” says Bob Stoffel, UPS senior vice president, Supply Chain Group.

Philips Medical previously used a regional response system with 12 logistics providers in about 40 locations. The quickest method of shipment with that system was next-business-day delivery. The new service gives the firm the capability of same-day delivery for critical parts.

UPS also ships large diagnostic systems for Philips Medical in Europe. The diagnostic imag-ing machines from Philips Medical include MRI, x-ray, CT, and PET units. The largest of these machines, weighing up to 15 t, require sophisticated delivery and installation methods. The cooperation with UPS enables the machines to be delivered directly to hospitals instead of being first shipped to distribution centres. Upon arrival at the delivery site, the UPS team will be in charge of preparing the installation site, managing the delivery, and unloading the unit. The team uses cranes to hoist especially large units into the hospitals. Specialized teams from UPS are available for installing some cardiovascular and x-ray equipment for Philips.

UPS began installing x-ray systems for Philips Medical in a pilot program in 2001. In order to provide this service, Philips trained the UPS teams at a training centre in the Netherlands. Outsourcing installation of the company’s diagnostic equipment will be particularly useful for shipment to small countries, where the company’s representatives may have limited experience with installation, according to transport logistics manager Stefan Busch at Philips Medical.

UPS is expanding its role in providing logistics for the medical device business. Last year, the firm opened a 517,000-sq-ft, US FDA–certified, climate-controlled warehouse in Louisville, KY, USA, that handles logistics for a variety of medical-related companies. The company has opened a second 822,000-sq-ft warehouse adjacent to the current facility, to accommodate the growth of its healthcare logistics business.

The firm is expanding its presence in Europe, as well. With a logistics centre located near Roermond, Netherlands, the company established its European headquarters in Biel, Switzerland, in late 2004. The company has acquired a number of European parcel carriers and logistics providers, including Lynx Express Ltd., one of the United Kingdom’s largest independent parcel carriers.

For more information, contact UPS Supply Chain Solutions GmbH, Weieracherstr. 12, 8184 Bachenbülach, Switzerland; phone: +41 1863 9311; fax: +41 1863 9310: e-mail: sales.ch@ups-scs.com; Internet: www.ups-scs.ch.