• Rigorous planning and testing to ensure supply chain supports vaccine's stringent temperature requirements

SINGAPORE - Media OutReach - 21 December 2020 - DHL, the leading global brand in the logistics industry today announced the successful delivery of the first batch of COVID-19 vaccines to Singapore. The vaccines arrived on a cargo flight from Brussels, Belgium to Singapore. Temperature trackers equipped with sophisticated GPS are also packed within each thermal shipper box to provide full visibility throughout the shipment's entire journey.  

DHL Global Forwarding arranged for the collection of the vaccines from the manufacturing site in Puurs, Belgium where the cargo was accompanied by security escorts on the road to the Brussels International Airport. The cargo arrived at Singapore's Changi International Airport on December 21 where DHL handled the customs clearance and final delivery to a designated location in Singapore. The company will also handle the return of these special shipper boxes to Europe.

Throughout the journey, the vaccine shipments were tracked by DHL. "Globally, we have been preparing for many months to ensure DHL's solutions were heavily tested with the most stringent vaccine requirements in mind. We ran trials to ensure the viability of the deliveries. Every effort was made to ensure the vaccines are delivered within the fastest possible time, ensuring the quality, safety and security of these critical shipments," said Kelvin Leung, CEO, DHL Global Forwarding Asia Pacific.

"Connecting People, Improving Lives is part of our core purpose. The pandemic has shown that we live this by doing what we do best -- providing first-rate logistics anywhere in the world. When the pandemic first started, we were shipping large quantities of personal protective equipment (PPE) to communities that urgently needed it. We have now come full circle, shipping the first vaccines around the world so that they can be used to save lives," he added.

More than 9,000 specialists work across DHL's dedicated global network so that pharmaceutical, medical devices, clinical trials and research organizations, wholesalers and distributors, as well as hospitals and healthcare providers are connected across the value chain and through digitalization, from clinical trials to point of care, and every step in between. 

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 and territories.

On a global scale, logistics providers are challenged to establish medical supply chains rapidly to deliver vaccines of unprecedented amount of more than 10 billion doses worldwide -- also in regions with less developed logistics infrastructure , where approximately 3 billion people live. To provide global coverage of the next two years, DHL estimated in its vaccine whitepaper report that up to 200,000 pallet shippers and 15 million cooling boxes as well as 15,000 flights will be required across the various supply chain setups.