UPS announces expansion of healthcare services in Latin America with three new facilities

UPS last week rolled out three new multi-client healthcare dedicated facilities in Latin America in Mexico City, Mexico, San Paulo, Brazil, and Santiago, Chile.

Company officials said these new facilities are designed to support the storage and distribution on pharmaceutical, biotech, and medical device products, and they said that in conjunction with UPS’s already established healthcare operations in Latin America, these new additions have access to roughly 70 percent of the healthcare expansion and manufacturing market there.

“UPS healthcare customers are experiencing rapid growth in the Latin America region and UPS is expanding its existing distribution footprint to accommodate that growth,” said John Menna, UPS vice president, global healthcare strategy. “UPS provides integrated regional transportation and logistics solutions which will now reach a greater portion of the region’s growing healthcare consumption market. Expansion of our healthcare network in the region and meeting customers’ evolving needs in Latin America streamlines access to a complex market and brings them closer to the patient. This expansion is a testament to our continual investment in our global healthcare network, which also has dedicated operations in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific.”

Menna said that with these new facilities, which add nearly 18,000 square-feet to the company’s global healthcare-dedicated space in key markets, UPS is able to serve nearly 70 percent of the healthcare consumption and manufacturing market in Latin America, allowing pharmaceutical, biotech and medical device companies to reach their customers and end consumers quickly and efficiently. And he added that the UPS network in Latin America provides access to and service in a rapidly expanding market.

In terms of service capabilities at these new facilities, each one is designed to support multiple healthcare clients, allowing UPS customers to ramp up or down their inventory based on demand.

“All are ideal for healthcare product storage and distribution, and can support a full range of temperature-sensitive requirements,” explained Menna. “Our distribution facilities are flexible and scalable to accommodate client needs of 2 to 8°C, -10 to -20 °C and even cryo-storage solutions. In accordance with our global healthcare-dedicated network of facilities, these facilities are fully compliant with local, regional and international regulations and operate on our single global IT platform, not only providing a best-in-class and consistent experience, but also full visibility across the supply chain.”

UPS has a long-standing presence in Latin America, and these new facilities are an expansion of its existing healthcare network in these markets, said Menna, adding that each of these countries has access to best-in-class UPS warehousing, air and ground transportation and distribution services, along with its in-depth regulatory expertise, and end-to-end visibility, tracking and risk management solutions.

“We have been operating in Mexico and Brazil since 1989 and in Chile since 1991,” he said. “This expansion represents our continued investment in a very important market, and we will continue to develop solutions and enhancements to best serve the healthcare industry in Latin America and globally.”