DHL Supply Chain today announced the deployment of 60 new, purpose-built temperature-controlled trucks to further strengthen its ability to manage healthcare shipments.
This coincides with a recruitment drive to hire up to 50 new drivers, as well as an upskilling for existing drivers to enhance their knowledge about safety as well as product handling process.
The Fuso Canters will also be the first vehicles in the company’s history in Australia to steer away from the customary yellow branding.
Validated for Australian conditions, the vehicles are painted with white paint to reflect sunlight, part of a set of specific protocols to ensure compliance while dealing with extremities in the Australian climate.
“The past year has underscored the importance of the Life Sciences and Healthcare industry and highlighted the complexity of pharmaceutical supply chains,” said Saul Resnick, CEO, DHL Supply Chain, Australia and New Zealand.
“Innovative solutions, such as this, are crucial to ensure these supply chains remain resilient and healthcare products are delivered in a compliant, safe and reliable way,” he said.
These trucks feature an Australian-made dual cab solution which supports label compliance and feature white paint instead of the customary DHL yellow and red for the colour’s ability to reflect sunlight and help keep the temperature as low as possible in the hot Australian sun.
To ensure label claim compliance as per the temperature instructions on the packaging of the product as prescribed by the manufacturer, an Australian-made dual temperature cab solution with two separate 2-8°C and 15-25°C temperature ranges is specified.
This solution is a first for the Australian market according to DHL.
The company said it would ensure healthcare manufacturers would stay ahead of evolving compliance regulations.
The Fuso Canters are being progressively deployed to provide state-based solutions for the healthcare sector.
In New South Wales the process commenced in August and will continue through until Q1 2022.
For Queensland and Victoria the rollout is scheduled for Q4 2021 with South Australia and Western Australia to follow Q1 2022.
“We have seen increased demand for our industry-leading temperature controlled storage solutions, and this investment in our transport network complements the dedicated healthcare distribution centres we recently launched around Australia,” said Resnick.
The importance of maintaining cold chain continuously from manufacturer to the patient is paramount according to Feras Karem, Pharmacy 4 Less CEO.
“At Pharmacy 4 Less, we are thrilled to work with DHL on ways we can use the new high technology trucks through the supply chain to keep striving for continuous improvement in what we deliver every day,,” he said.
“The dual cab vehicles present an innovative way to address cold chain delivery, and open the door for DHL to work with Pharmacy 4 Less on some exciting future initiatives.”
In addition to the new vehicles, DHL will be debuting a new reusable packaging solution that eliminates products’ exposure to the external environment, ensuring that the correct temperature is maintained from vehicle to receiver.
The new packaging solution is fully re-usable and keeps products at 2-8 degrees for up to 30 minutes once it has left the active cooling environment of the vehicle.
This is in addition to the range of environmentally friendly solutions which the company has rolled out to help meet its target of zero emissions by 2050.
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