UPS accelerates US medical device deliveries with new network

UPS has set up a network of product storage facilities across the United States to bring medical items closer to end users — and hence speed up deliveries. The company said the 36 new healthcare-compliant Field Stocking Locations mean that for medical device manufacturers, products can reach more than 80% of US hospital beds in just four hours.

The world’s biggest package delivery firm said the Field Stocking Laboratories feature temperature-controlled or monitored environments to meet the storage needs for medical items.

UPS claimed that the new supply chain approach would help manufacturers manage their inventory more efficiently while meeting increasingly stringent industry standards and regulations — while also cutting inventory costs.

John Menna, UPS vice president of global healthcare strategy said: “Due to an increasingly complex regulatory environment and significant cost pressures, medical device manufacturers are looking to the supply chain to lower costs through inventory reduction and enhanced visibility.

“Based on our experience in healthcare distribution and utilizing UPS’s industry-leading global FSL network, we have created a tailored inventory management and distribution solution to meet the unique needs of medical device manufacturers.”

FSLs

UPS has operated a Field Stocking Laboratory network used by various industries since 1995, with more than 950 locations around the world. Up to this point it has been used by businesses in the high-tech, telecommunications, aerospace, industrial and automotive sectors, as well as by manufacturers of non-regulated medical devices.

The expansion of the network to suit the regulated healthcare sector is part of a series of recent expansions for UPS in the healthcare field.

Along with its network of US Field Stocking Laboratories, the company now has 46 dedicated healthcare distribution facilities worldwide.