As the world went into lockdown thanks to the The Covid-19 pandemic, DHL felt the impact across its entire global network almost immediately. In the early stage of the pandemic, the initial logistics challenges came from countries shutting their borders, grounding flights and tightening import rules, which hindered the movement of air freight.
Demand for medical supplies and PPE to the frontline caused extra logistical pressures. From the onset, Asia was in the cockpit of the supply race, with millions of PPE and test kits shipped out of China and South Korea, causing surges in distribution requirements. The pandemic was shining a light on how indispensable international logistics networks are for ensuring that societies can manage in a global crisis.
Demand for medical supplies and PPE to the frontline caused extra logistical pressures. From the onset, Asia was in the cockpit of the supply race, with millions of PPE and test kits shipped out of China and South Korea, causing surges in distribution requirements. The pandemic was shining a light on how indispensable international logistics networks are for ensuring that societies can manage in a global crisis.
DHL Express also saw a sharp increase in B2C shipments through its network as locked-down consumers around the world turned to online shopping. Yet, many e-commerce companies with online orders to deliver, who relied on complex supply chains to do so, found out just how fragile they could be. Companies that had suppliers based in China, for example, were left stuck when the country grounded flights.
It was clear that the only route out of the problem would be with a vaccine. In late 2020, the world received the news it had been waiting for when several of the global vaccine candidates that had been in clinical trials received approval from regulatory authorities for public use, indicating that the logistics challenge in worldwide vaccine delivery that will lie in the months ahead.
The IATA (International Air Transport Association) has noted that, if everyone in the world received a single dose, the medicines would fill 8,000 Boeing 747 cargo aircraft. DHL estimates that approximately 200,000 pallet shipments and 15 million deliveries in cooling boxes, as well as 15,000 flights, will be required across the various supply chain set-ups to get the job done.
The IATA (International Air Transport Association) has noted that, if everyone in the world received a single dose, the medicines would fill 8,000 Boeing 747 cargo aircraft. DHL estimates that approximately 200,000 pallet shipments and 15 million deliveries in cooling boxes, as well as 15,000 flights, will be required across the various supply chain set-ups to get the job done.
One of the biggest challenges for the distribution of the vaccines is the strict temperature conditions in which some of them must be stored – as low as –80°C. This poses specific logistics problems to existing medical supply chains that conventionally distribute vaccines at ~2–8°C, and to regions with limited cold chain infrastructure.
Transportation and cold chain logistics under stringent temperature requirements may require extraordinary measures to reach people outside the 25 countries with the most advanced logistics systems, which are home to just one-third of the world population.
Fortunately, DHL has plenty of experience with vaccine storage. DHL Medical Express works with the pharmaceutical and healthcare sector to transport temperature-controlled supplies to hospitals, laboratories, and research institutions safely and in one piece. For these shipments, time is of the essence; they are often needed in real life and death situations with no margin for delay.
Poor logistics infrastructure will provide challenges to the vaccine rollout too, particularly in developing nations. In these instances, public-private partnerships will be critical to relieve pain points experienced by governments. By partnering with a logistics provider throughout the entire supply chain, governments can benefit from integrated logistics planning, consistent quality services, and a simplified stakeholder landscape.
In a global health emergency, an effective logistics partner will bring in vital crisis experience, local knowledge and access, and process excellence. Government-to-government partnerships will also be important since health emergencies disregard national borders.
In December 2020, DHL became part of making the pandemic history by joining the international COVID-19 distribution. Flights operated by DHL Express and DHL Global Forwarding touched down in Tel Aviv with the first batch of vaccines for Israeli citizens on board. Since then, the rollout has expanded quickly. With its hub and gateway network across the globe, DHL was able to quickly pivot to help the vaccine distribution, delivering first batches for citizens in countries including Mexico, Italy, Greece, Oman, Austria, Chile, Sweden. Bahrain, Costa Rica, and Singapore.
In December 2020, DHL became part of making the pandemic history by joining the international COVID-19 distribution. Flights operated by DHL Express and DHL Global Forwarding touched down in Tel Aviv with the first batch of vaccines for Israeli citizens on board. Since then, the rollout has expanded quickly. With its hub and gateway network across the globe, DHL was able to quickly pivot to help the vaccine distribution, delivering first batches for citizens in countries including Mexico, Italy, Greece, Oman, Austria, Chile, Sweden. Bahrain, Costa Rica, and Singapore.
Whilst the global rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine has turned the dialogue around the pandemic towards “recovery” and life returning to “normal”, it will leave a legacy of change. The need for better infrastructure and more resilient and fully flexible supply chains has been highlighted and will require investment to cope with future global crises.
