Trans-o-flex to launch delivery service for care patients
German express carrier trans-o-flex is launching a new logistics service specifically tailored for patients in care homes or being treated at home. The company owned by Austria Post and based in Weinheim, south of Frankfurt, said the new service would extend across Germany, shipping items like specialist foods, medical equipment and treatment supplies.
The service goes live on October 3.
Trans-o-flex said the service would move away from the “rigid formats” of business-to-business and business-to-consumer logistics systems.
It suggested that conventional logistics networks have not catered to the special requirements of homecare patients so far.
Kai Schmuck, director of marketing and sales at Trans-o-flex, explained: “More and more people are reliant on care – they are either at home, or in care homes, and regularly receive medical technology or special products for food or hygiene.
Tailored
Trans-o-flex director Kai Schmuck believes an aging population needs a different kind of logistics
The new homecare service will be planned around longer stops for drivers, since homecare patients or caregivers often need more time to respond to the doorbell.
Drivers will then take the parcels to the exact place where they are needed, rather than simply dropping them off at the door.
Equipment and packages that might comprise a whole week or month worth of supplies can turn out to be heavy, said Schmuck, adding that more and more busy nursing homes were refusing deliveries.
The new Trans-o-flex service also comes with special labels for items, and additional delivery options including delivery by 8am, 10am or 12pm the next business day.
“Trans-o-flex has looked intensively into the logistics requirements of the demographic change in our society and, by launching this service, we are presenting the first practical product result,” said Schmuck, who believes an aging population in Germany warrants a rethink on logistics services.
“To take advantage of these opportunities, we must however depart from the beaten track and for example abandon the dividing lines between business-to-customer deliveries and business-to-business deliveries,” he said.
