• Global delivery of 10 billion doses ofserum needs scaled-up medical supply chains
• A framework is provided to tacklefuture health emergencies beyond COVID-19

BONN, GERMANY - Media OutReach - 7 September 2020 - With first emergency use authorizations for COVID-19 vaccinesexpected to be effective in the last quarter of 2020, logistics providers arechallenged to rapidly establish medical supply chains to deliver more than tenbillion doses worldwide. DHL, working with McKinsey & Company asanalytics partner, has published a white paper on securing a stable supplychain for vaccines and medical goods during COVID-19, and future health crises.

Currently, more than 250 vaccines across seven platforms are beingdeveloped and trialed. As COVID-19 vaccines have leapfrogged developmentphases, stringent temperature requirements (up to -80°C) are likely to beimposed for certain vaccines to ensure that their efficacy is maintained duringtransportation and warehousing. This poses novel logistics challenges to theexisting medical supply chain that conventionally distributes vaccines at ~2--8°C.

In the paper, DHL evaluates how the transport of vaccines as a highlytemperature-sensitive product can be managed effectively to combat the furtherspread of the virus. The scope of this task is immense: To provide globalcoverage of COVID-19 vaccines, up to ~200,000 pallet shipments and ~15 milliondeliveries in cooling boxes as well as ~15,000 flights will be required acrossthe various supply chain set-ups.

"The COVID-19 crisis emerged with anunprecedented breadth and impact. It required governments, businesses, and thelogistics industry alike to adapt quickly to new challenges. As a world leaderin logistics, we want to share our experience of operating during one of thebiggest health crises in recent history, in order to develop strategies in an ever-moreconnected world", explains Katja Busch, Chief Commercial Officer DHL. "To protect livesagainst the pandemic, governments have moved towards a more active role inmedical supply chains. Over the past few months, we have demonstrated thatsufficient planning and appropriate partnerships within the supply chain canplay a key role as governments work to secure critical medical supplies duringhealth emergencies such as this."

Future public health crisis management to include public-privatepartnerships

Since the outbreak of the pandemic, demand formedical supplies has surged. For example, UNICEF sourced 100 times more facemasks and 2,000 times more medical gloves than in 2019. Bringing medicalsupplies from their distant sources to the frontline has been one of the mostcrucial activities in pandemic response management in the first phase of thehealth emergency. For PPE specifically, inbound logistics were a majorchallenge due to geographically concentrated production, limited airfreightcapacity and a lack of inbound quality checks. To ensure stable medical supply in a futurehealth crisis, a comprehensive setup of public health crisis strategies andstructures needs to be established by governments with partnerships from bothpublic and private sectors.

"From the onset, Asia was in the cockpit of thesupply race with millions of PPE and test kits shipped out of China and South Korea respectively," added Leonora Lim, Head of Life Science and Healthcare, DHLCustomer Solutions and Innovation, Asia Pacific. "The delivery of vaccineswould be a completely different ball game however given the scale ofdistribution and strict temperature requirements. A close partnership betweenthe public and private sectors would address the urgent need for a viablemedical supply chain that will preserve the integrity of these vaccines andhave them delivered to over 200 countries and territories in a timely fashion." 

To kick-start the dialogue among the different actors andimprove pandemic resilience in medical supply logistics, DHL provides aframework for the cooperation of logistics companies with authorities, politicians, NGOsas well as the life sciences industry. The framework helps to establishmeasures to ensure the most stable and safe supply chains possible. Besides anemergency response plan, this includes a partnership network, strong physicallogistics infrastructure and IT-enabled supply chain transparency. Lastly, aresponse unit with a clear mandate should be put in place to implement allcritical activities at short notice.

To read thecomplete white paper, please click on the following link: www.dhl.com/pandemic-resilience

Note to editors:

As the leading logisticsprovider for the life sciences and healthcare industry, DHL providesforward-thinking, intelligent healthcare logistics through a holistic range ofpatient-centric solutions. More than 9,000 specialists work across DHL'sdedicated global network so that pharmaceutical, medical devices, clinicaltrials and research organizations, wholesalers and distributors, as well ashospitals and healthcare providers are connected across the value chain andthrough digitalization, from clinical trials to point of care, and every stepin between.

The organizationprovides high-quality, fully compliant logistics and supply chain services, andchampions innovative technologies that benefit customers and deliver bettercare for patients. DHL's portfolio for the healthcare industry includes 150+pharmacists, 20+ clinical trials depots, 100+ certified stations, 160+GDP-qualified warehouses, 15+ GMP-certified sites, 135+ medical express sites,and a time-definite international express network covering 220 countries andterritories.

DHL – The logistics company for the world

DHL is the leading global brand inthe logistics industry. Our DHL divisions offer an unrivalled portfolio oflogistics services ranging from national and international parcel delivery,e-commerce shipping and fulfillment solutions, international express, road, airand ocean transport to industrial supply chain management. With about 380,000employees in more than 220 countries and territories worldwide, DHL connectspeople and businesses securely and reliably, enabling global sustainable tradeflows. With specialized solutions for growth markets and industries includingtechnology, life sciences and healthcare, engineering, manufacturing &energy, auto-mobility and retail, DHL is decisively positioned as "Thelogistics company for the world".

DHL is part of Deutsche Post DHLGroup. The Group generated revenues of more than 63 billion euros in 2019. Withsustainable business practices and a commitment to society and the environment,the Group makes a positive contribution to the world. Deutsche Post DHL Group aimsto achieve zero-emissions logistics by 2050.

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