Speedy delivery to hospitals and clinics is the goal
Tailored to the needs of hospitals who are seeking medical devices quickly, the FSL network of UPS has been upgraded to provide compliant shipping and delivery. The 36 FSL locations in the US, says UPS, can deliver needed products to 80% of hospital beds in the country within four hours.
The FSL concept is not unique to life sciences; in fact, UPS has over 950 such locations globally, and routinely serves high tech, aerospace, industrial and other clients from them since 1995. The different here, apparently, is that UPS has ensured that products are stored in a regulatory-compliant manner, including temperature control for refrigerated products (a significant fraction of the “medical device” universe includes things like kits containing drugs, as well as products like human tissues).
The medical-device community is still in a longterm process of upgrading its inventory and supply-chain practices; a significant fraction of medical devices routinely reside in the trunks of sales reps’ cars (thus, the term “trunk inventory”). FSLs represent not just an upgrade of quality standards for device manufacturers, but also a way to run their supply chains closer to marketplace demands.
Protecting Temperature-Sensitive Pharmaceuticals, Without Unnecessary Plastic Waste
March 24th 2025Advances in the life sciences are driving a significant increase in the number of temperature-sensitive pharmaceuticals. The packaging industry is meeting the moment with advances of its own, including high-performance, environmentally-friendly materials that allow life science companies meet stringent thermal requirements and ambitious CO2e reduction goals. In this episode, TemperPack’s CEO Peter Wells shares insights from working with life sciences to move to certified biobased, home compostable, and curbside recyclable shipping solutions.