UPS Creates New Medical Device Distribution Hub

The 208,000-square-foot facility is in New Jersey, near UPS's air hub at Philadelphia International Airport.

Chris Newmarker

UPS this week announced the opening of a new healthcare-compliant distribution and warehousing facility in New Jersey.

The 208,000-square-foot distribution hub will service the growing needs of multiple medical device industry clients. Its logistics services include autoclave capabilities, instrument inspection, and surgical set replenishment, among other services.

The New Jersey facility is also fully integrated into UPS's overall transportation and field stocking location network. This allows healthcare customers to have increased inventory visibility and control of their supply chains, according to UPS.

"The ability to decontaminate surgical kits, replenish and repackage instruments, and respond quickly to urgent medical needs is pivotal to our customers' market success, and UPS's growing warehousing, distribution and value-added services are playing a key role," David Quintilio, UPS vice president of healthcare logistics, said in a news release.

The news of the new distribution hub comes about a year after UPS announced a network of "field stocking locations" (FSLs) meant to reduce delivery time of medical device shipments. The Atlanta-based logistics giant boasts that the healthcare-capable FSL sites in the United States will enable medical device manufacturers to have access to over 80% of hospital beds inside the country within four hours.

"In the U.S., building out a best-in-class, comprehensive service that integrates a loaner hub with our vast FSL and global transportation network raises the bar and further demonstrates our commitment to the healthcare industry," said John Menna, UPS vice president of global strategy for healthcare logistics.

Other recent UPS moves  in the healthcare space include the acquisitions of the Polish pharmaceutical logistics company Poltraf, United Kingdom-based pharmaceutical supply chain services company Polar Speed, and Hungary-based pharmaceutical logistics company CEMELOG. UPS has also opened a new healthcare center in Roermond, Netherlands. 

Chris Newmarker is senior editor of Qmed and MPMN. Follow him on Twitter at @newmarker.

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