German-based trans-o-flex Logistics Group has set up a pharmaceutical competence centre to bundleand deepen its expertise in the pharmaceutical and healthcare industry which represents its core
business and has merged the salesforces of its operational units.The pharmacy competence centre will be in charge of developing new, complex customersolutions from one source, which meet market and customer demands and regulatory requirements. Thegroup aims to offer combinations of express delivery through the Schnell-Lieferdienst service andactive temperature control through ThermoMed as well as import and export of pharmaceuticalshipments through the combination of Schnell-Lieferdienst and Logistik-Service.
“With this, we will broaden our service for the pharmaceutical and healthcare industry whichgenerates approximately 50 per cent of the trans-o-flex turnover,” said Oliver Rupps, CEO of thetrans-o-flex Board of Directors.
“Competence in the development and integration of logistical solutions for the pharmaceuticalindustry from one source is a unique selling proposition of the trans-o-flex group,” explained KaiSchmuck, managing director, who is responsible for the pharmacy competence centre. “Thedifferentiation to other suppliers is that we not only develop the concepts but also take on thehandling within Europe with coherent quality standards and a single contact for customers.”
The new manager of the pharmaceutical competence centre, Markus O’Sullivan (45), has workedfor the past six years for the Dutch mail order pharmacy Doc Morris as director of businessdevelopment. The German-born manager previously worked for seven years in various positions in thepharmaceutical companies Merckle and Ratiopharm. The competence centre staff will be supported byexternal specialists who are consultants for specialist subjects such as the Europe-wideregulations for pharmaceutical transports (EU-GDP), while a customer advisory council is alsoplanned.
Trans-o-flex said it plans to develop new locations for contract logistics to enable combinedservices in addition to the existing site in Hamburg for international sea freight shipments. A newfacility at Alzenau, about 30 minutes east of Frankfurt Airport, is due to go into operation inJanuary 2013, offering transhipment and value added services for in- and outbound air freight.
At the same time, the trans-o-flex group has united and restructured the so far independentsales forces of Schnell-Lieferdienst and ThermoMed to a single organisation. In future, customersfrom the pharmaceutical and healthcare industry will have one single contact person for alltrans-o-flex services instead of different persons from each business segment. “With theone-face-to-pharmacy approach, we will increase our efficiency and can invest newly availablecapacities in intensifying existing business relations and the acquisitions of new business,”Schmuck commented.
Trans-o-flex has three main businesses. The Schnell-Lieferdienst (express delivery service)offers a full-coverage network for the efficient and safe transportation of parcels and pallets(combi-freight) all over Germany, as well as across Europe through the Eurodis network.Trans-o-flex ThermoMed provides transportation and distribution of temperature-sensitive goods forthe pharmaceutical industry in seven European countries (Germany, Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg, TheNetherlands, Denmark, and France). The trans-o-flex Logistik Service offers storage,picking/packing and added-value logistics services. In 2011, trans-o-flex had sales of €550million.
