UPS Welcomes Three New Cross-Dock Plants
The facilities are expected to offer pharma shipment support by addressing time and temperature-specific requirements.
UPS Healthcare has unveiled three new specialized cross-docking facilities in Milan, Italy; Frankfurt. Germany; and Mexico City, Mexico.1 The plants will be providing support for pharma packages that have various time and temperature control requirements.
In a climate where 80% of pharma products in Europe are now requiring some sort of temperature-controlled transportation—according to the company—treatments in the healthcare space are driving a multitude of investment opportunities, alongside a growing demand for precision logistics.
The 306,771 square-foot Milan plant reportedly has over 20,000 pallet positions that are able to store shipments from 2°C to 8°C and 15°C to 25°C temperature ranges. It is also located close to the airport, allowing for the efficient transport of shipments to outbound vehicles, while eliminating storage facilities, and ultimately, resulting in faster delivery times.
As for the Frankfurt facility, it services temperatures ranging from ambient to frozen, including -15°C to -25°C, 2°C to 8°C, and 15°C to 25°C temperature ranges. It is not only in close proximity to Frankfurt airport, but also the company’s European air hub at Cologne Bonn Airport in Germany. Some of its offerings include next-day and two-day services to global destinations, along with relatively simple links to hubs in Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Antwerp, Belgium; Liège, Belgium; Roermond, The Netherlands; Rotterdam, The Netherlands; and Warsaw, Poland.
The company’s 115,174 square-foot Mexico City plant is CEIV Pharma certified—a certification awarded by the International Air Transport Association that evaluates a company’s efforts in addressing the requirements associated with temperature-sensitive healthcare logistics—joining the likes of Amsterdam, New York, Shanghai, and Miami in the process.2 It supports the same temperature ranges as the Frankfurt facility.
“We have the know-how to get patient-critical shipments where they need to be, on time and at the right temperature,” said Felipe Morgulis, president, global logistics and distribution, UPS Healthcare. “Through our integrated, end-to-end offering, we can take products from clinical trial to the patient, simplifying supply chains and building resiliency. It’s all a part of our journey to offer more delivery options and control than ever before.”
And this past summer, along the cold chain front, UPS Healthcare revealed that that it will be investing $20.7 million to bolster its temperature-controlled fleet, in an effort to tackle the rise in demand for cold chain logistics throughout Europe.3,4 This features the addition of more than 200 temperature-controlled vehicles to its current inventory.
"Whether it's small parcels or large pallets, our pan-European end-to-end cold chain ground network is equipped to manage the most complex healthcare products. From transporting active ingredients to last-mile deliveries to hospitals, laboratories, pharmacies, and patients, we provide control, adaptability, and real-time monitoring to simplify the most time and temperature-sensitive supply chains," added Morgulis.
References
1. UPS Expands Global Healthcare Logistics Footprint with New Cross-Dock Facilities. UPS Healthcare. February 11, 2025. Accessed February 12, 2025. Press release delivered via email.
2. Miami UPS Healthcare Facility Achieves CEIV Pharma Certification. UPS Healthcare. July 24, 2024. Accessed February 12, 2025. https://www.ups.com/us/en/healthcare/news/press-releases/ups-healthcare-achieve-ceiv-certifications.page
3. Saraceno N. UPS Healthcare Invests More Than 20 Million EUR to Boost Temperature-Controlled Fleet in Europe. UPS Healthcare. July 4, 2024. Accessed February 12, 2025. https://www.pharmaceuticalcommerce.com/view/ups-healthcare-financially-commits-over-21-6-million-toward-cold-chain-fleet
4. UPS Healthcare Invests More Than 20 Million EUR to Boost Temperature-Controlled Fleet in Europe. UPS Healthcare. July 24, 2024. Accessed February 12, 2025. https://www.ups.com/us/en/healthcare/news/press-releases/ups-healthcare-invests-in-eu-cold-chain-fleet.page
