The reliable supply of vital products to the life sciences & healthcare sector is a key concern for DHL. To meet the dynamic needs of the industry, DHL Group has announced strategic investments of two billion euros over the next five years. These investments are part of DHL’s Strategy 2030 and underline our commitment to supporting life sciences & healthcare customers to grow, innovate, and deliver more efficient patient care worldwide.
Massive Expansion of Life Sciences & Healthcare Infrastructure by 2030
Already today, DHL Group operates nearly 600 sites, hubs, and warehouses across close to 130 countries dedicated to life pharmaceutical logistics, encompassing a total of more than 2,5 million square meters of temperature-controlled warehouse space. Investments are focused on building on this world-class infrastructure and technology to create increasingly resilient, scalable, and responsive supply chains. Across all logistics interfaces: from warehousing, fulfillment and distribution, to global shipping and last-mile delivery.
A significant portion of the investment will be used to establish new cross-divisional GDP-certified Pharma Hubs for multi-temperature shipping lanes, expand cold chain capacity in existing facilities, commission new temperature-controlled vehicles, and enhance both passive and active packaging solutions to ensure sustainable delivery.
Global Network of Fully Integrated Solutions
Customer demand for pharmaceutical logistics is growing worldwide. DHL is responding with a global commitment. With 50% of the investment allocated to the Americas, 25% to Asia Pacific, and 25% to EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa), DHL is expanding its global footprint to deliver integrated, faster, more reliable, and patient-centric logistics solutions wherever healthcare companies operate.
We’re building high-quality, integrated logistics solutions that are as innovative and reliable as the products our customers create – ensuring that patients everywhere receive the right treatment, at the right time, with complete confidence.
Oscar de Bok, CEO DHL Supply Chain
Advanced Solutions for Next Generation Treatments
Given the growing importance of clinical trials, biopharma, and cell and gene therapies, DHL is also investing in high-quality, specialized cooling infrastructure to accommodate low and ultra-low temperature ranges. In addition, DHL will implement state-of-the-art IT systems providing end-to-end visibility to secure product integrity and regulatory compliance.
Moreover, DHL Group has acquired CRYOPDP, a leading specialized courier focusing on clinical trials, biopharma, and cell and gene therapies. This represents a significant strengthening of our Pharma Specialized Network.
New Sector Brand DHL Health Logistics
Complementing these investments, the new sector brand DHL Health Logistics brings together life sciences & healthcare expertise under a single umbrella. This creates a seamless, end-to-end experience for customers, simplifying the management of complex, cross-border supply chains with high-quality service. We can thus better meet the needs of the healthcare industry. The demand is for agile, connected logistics solutions that go beyond traditional service lines.
Strategy 2030: Accelerating Sustainable Growth
DHL Strategy 2030 comprises group-wide growth initiatives in markets and industries that are growing significantly faster than global GDP. Life sciences & healthcare is one such sector – and a vital one at that. We want to unlock our full potential with targeted growth strategies to respond to structural changes in the pharmaceutical market.
Innovative Logistics Concepts from DHL Freight for Sensitive Pharmaceuticals
The cooperation between DHL Freight and the Swiss company SkyCell shows what modern services for customers in the life sciences & healthcare sector can look like in practice. SkyCell’s refrigerated containers are special high tech transport systems for pharmaceutical products. The containers are deep-frozen at minus 20 degrees Celsius at the DHL Freight terminal in Mechelen, Belgium. This enables the temperature-controlled hybrid containers to maintain a temperature of two to eight degrees Celsius for 270 hours – without any other aids – so that the pharmaceuticals arrive at their destination undamaged.
Each of the ScyCell containers requires special attention beyond transportation: inspection, cleaning, preparation. This is all taken care of by the DHL team in Mechelen. In this way, DHL Freight supports SkyCell and customers in the life sciences & healthcare sector in the complex and vital logistics processes.
The model lends itself well to expansion. Locating SkyCell service centers at DHL Global Forwarding sites that already have cold storage facilities would make sense, for example, allowing us to create synergies and grow together.
Christophe Pintelon, Head of DHL Freight Terminals Mechelen
Best Practices for the Healthcare Logistics of Today and Tomorrow
With the strategic investment of 2 billion euros, DHL Group not only reinforces its commitment to the life sciences & healthcare sector but also demonstrates its deep commitment to patient care by ensuring the efficient and reliable delivery of vital pharmaceutical products, clinical trials, and cell and gene therapies. As a leading logistics provider, DHL Group is perfectly positioned to meet the challenges and opportunities of the rapidly changing healthcare market, and our customers benefit from a comprehensive network of fully integrated solutions.
