DHL Expands U.S. Medical Express Service

With its medical express service, DHL Express can manage the export and regulatory requirements for urgent shipments with specific temperature requirements – from several major cities in Mexico, including Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey – to most U.S. destinations in less than 24 hours.

The company’s network in Mexico has been enhanced via the DHL WMX clinical trial platform, which includes a specialized Customer Service Center with bilingual representatives for investigator sites. The service includes dry ice supplies and temperature-controlled packaging fulfillment, online tools for placing bookings and ordering supplies, and a web-based interface, Express Logistics Platform (ELP), that connects sites. The DHL customer service team and all the operational back office systems reside within the DHL operation and are also integrated into ELP.

“Given the complexity of export processes and Ministry of Health approvals in Mexico and several other Latin American countries, having an integrated system enables DHL to begin the export approval process ahead of samples arriving at our facilities,” said Brian Bralynski, Sector Head of Life Sciences, DHL Americas. “This enables DHL to extend later collection times to investigator sites, allowing more time to schedule patient visits and still export the day of collection.”

DHL launched its integrated Medical Express service from Colombia in 2014 and has since expanded the service to Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Panama and Peru. Expansion plans for this service in the near future include Brazil and additional markets within Mexico.

Since DHL Express sources its own transportation network, the company can offer the best combination of responsiveness, reliability and cost-effectiveness. Qualified customers for the service receive a choice of temperature options through specialized thermal packaging (ambient, chilled and frozen),  pre-determined contingencies to circumvent delays and 24/7 shipment pro-active monitoring through its Quality Control Centers. The service is capable of transporting laboratory kits and medical devices, biological samples (blood, saliva, urine, tissues, etc.), research products, vaccines, drugs for commercial and non-commercial use, and medical devices.

DHL reports that it is the first integrator to enter the Latin American market with a comprehensive service offering geared toward the needs of the clinical research sector, with the ultimate goal of delivering consistent patient results.