Johnson & Johnson choose BAX Global for Latin American Medical Equipment Logistics Contract

The contract calls for BAX Global, based here, to substantially improve product flow from the U.S. and other countries into Latin America. The first critical task is to improve delivery, both transit times and efficiencies, to Buenos Aires, Argentina, according to Ricardo Araujo, Johnson & Johnson’s Latin America Supply Chain Director based in Miami.
“We asked BAX Global to marshal its Latin American experience and resources to help us speed delivery to these growing and difficult to reach markets,” Araujo said.
BAX’s immediate solutions for J&J Medical were to create a DAP program (Directo a Plaza) to speed customs delivery once cargo arrives in Argentina. The most critical step in the program is document handling. BAX has set up a system whereby customs documents are consolidated and prepared prior to shipment arrivals, which leave twice weekly from the U.S., said Tony Choudhury, BAX’s sales director for Latin America.
“We (BAX) tested this new system in Argentina first and we have seen substantial improvements in all deliveries” said Choudhury. “Argentina can be a challenge and I think we’ve demonstrated that our expertise and approach is not only working there, but across the Latin America region for J&J Medical,” he said.
Since the contract was awarded, BAX makes exclusive Johnson & Johnson consolidations twice per week. The freight is shipped together, arrives at Latin American destinations together and goes through customs together as a single shipment. BAX also provides a “visible” shipment pipeline for J&J and its brokers to view shipment status.
This process also includes pre-alerts and up-to-the-minute tracing of each shipment. One of the surprise benefits of the BAX program, according to J&J’s Araujo, has been the cost savings.
“In the past, we had numerous customs entries for each shipment going to Buenos Aires individually, now the consolidations are cleared with one entry,” he said. “We’ve already more than accomplished our goals of improving transit times, reducing incidences of delays and gaining greater visibility.”