The German market gets a new player for the delivery of temperature-controlled pharma and healthcare products in compliance with European GDP standards. “Eurotranspharma Deutschland GmbH will be the sole provider transporting only pharma and healthcare products in the temperature range of 2°C to 8°C as well as 15°C to 25°C in one network,” says Steffen Segelke, Managing Director of the new company. “We will provide next day delivery to Germany’s 18,000 pharmacies, to hospitals, doctors, and wholesalers with all medical and pharmaceutical goods they order.”
To realise these plans, Eurotranspharma, the European last mile healthcare expert of the Walden Group, has joined forces with four German healthcare distribution carriers to create Eurotranspharma Deutschland GmbH. Eurotranspharma will hold the majority share of the new company. Eurotranspharma Deutschland will work with a hub and spokes structure to cover the entire country right from the start: one central hub in the Kassel area connects regional depots across Germany. The Managing Director Steffen Segelke has more than 20 years of experience in transport and logistics in Germany and nearly 15 years specifically in the healthcare sector.
“Eurotranspharma Deutschland will benefit from both Walden Group expertise as the leading player for example in the English, French, Belgian and Dutch markets, and from local expertise thanks to our four German shareholders and Mr. Segelke,” declares Stéphane Baudry, Chairman of the Walden Group. He expects the network to start in early Q1 2024. “The fleet will consist of dual-temperature vans & trucks able to transport goods in both temperature ranges needed by the clients.” A major investment has also been made in the deployment of Eurotranspharma’s Transport Management System and tracking solutions, developed for the specific needs of dual temperature healthcare transport activity.
Asked for the reasons why Walden is creating this new network, Baudry explains: “This project stems from our clients in the pharma and healthcare industry, asking us to provide them with integrated transport solutions in Germany fully dedicated to pharma and healthcare products. The country is a strategic market but currently has too few transport options, which has led to an increased risk for our customers and, more generally, to the healthcare supply chain for the patient.”
Benoit Latteur, Eurotranspharma Europe CEO, sees three main strengths of Eurotranspharma Deutschland GmbH. “At first, there is the ability to deliver both 2°C/8°C and 15°C/25°C at the same time, thanks to a fleet of dual-temperature vehicles. This enables us to consolidate volumes, improve control of overflows and lead times, and provide a more sustainable service with fewer vehicles on the road.” The second advantage he sees is that “Eurotranspharma has introduced proven processes and tools to enable real-time tracking of its fleet’s location and temperature monitoring of goods.” Finally, according to Latteur, “The creation of Eurotranspharma Deutschland GmbH will provide the German market with a connection to a fully integrated last mile distribution network spanning 9 countries with a pan-European approach and service level agreements.” In addition, Eurotranspharma benefits from its membership within Skandi Network, the first collaborative European GDP transport network connecting 26 European countries on a daily basis.
“I’m convinced that Eurotranspharma Deutschland will improve the quality of logistics service for the healthcare and pharmaceutical industries in Germany and, moreover, improve connections between Germany and the rest of Europe, both for centralised distribution matters and for import and export,” concludes Steffen Segelke.
