The logistics industry is no stranger to complexity, but when it comes to the transportation of pharmaceuticals and medical products, few areas present as many unique challenges as the cool chain.

“On the last mile —the point where products finally reach hospitals, healthcare providers, and patients—is arguably the most critical part of the entire chain,” Nico Sacco, Senior Vice President of Healthcare Strategy at Kuehne+Nagel, explained. “And yet, as an industry, we haven’t always given it the focus it deserves. Pharma manufacturers are rightly focused on R&D and ensuring the highest levels of quality and compliance in production. But when it comes to distribution, that’s where logistics providers can help them build resilience in their supply chains.

“We’re all here to serve patients—whether they’re waiting on a drug, a diagnostic, or a medical device. This isn’t about ‘you and me.’ It’s about ‘us,’ and how we can deliver quality, compliance, and timeliness, together, end to end.”

Dedicated solution

One of Kuehne+Nagel’s key initiatives to address this gap is the creation of its “health chain,” a comprehensive logistics system designed to ensure the highest levels of compliance, quality, and visibility for pharmaceutical and medical device products.

“We’re not just maintaining current practices—we’re actively looking for ways to do better. One example is our Corridor initiative – rethinking traditional cold chain models,” Sacco expressed.

“Instead of relying solely on active monitoring technologies, we’re shifting toward high-performance passive solutions. These still meet strict compliance and quality standards, but offer significant benefits in terms of cost-efficiency and sustainability.

To deliver this vision, Kuehne+Nagel has built what it calls the “HealthChain”—a dedicated, global logistics network designed specifically for the healthcare sector.

The HealthChain includes more than 200 purpose-built stations spanning air, sea, road, and warehousing. Each location operates under stringent compliance standards, particularly Good Distribution Practices (GDP).

“This is not just logistics—it’s a specialised supply chain within the supply chain,” Sacco outlined.

A better cold chain

Continuous innovation is crucial to meet the evolving needs of the healthcare sector, leading Kuehne+Nagel to transition from active to passive monitoring of temperature-sensitive products, ensuring compliance while considering cost-effectiveness and sustainability.

From the Kuehne+Nagel side, one of the company’s key investments is in what’s known as a control tower, or integrated logistics solution. This provides end-to-end visibility across all transportation lanes.

What’s especially important is that it’s an independent and agnostic solution—it’s not limited to Kuehne+Nagel operations. That means it can be integrated across different suppliers, giving our customers a single source of truth when it comes to data and visibility.

“We’re not just executing the status quo,” Sacco stated. “We’re trying to innovate, while maintaining the same high level of compliance and quality and being mindful of cost and sustainability.

“Visibility is great, and data is everywhere these days. But the real value lies in what you do with that data. It’s not enough to collect it. The question is: how can we translate that visibility into action?

“With the right tools, we can mine that data, apply analytics, and proactively identify blind spots or opportunities to optimise the supply chain end to end. This goes beyond execution. It’s about thinking, analysing, and innovating on behalf of the customer.”

Lessons learned

Covid-19 put unprecedented strain on global supply chains, especially cold chain logistics, as vaccine distribution became a top priority.

Sacco, who was directly involved in the global distribution of the vaccine at Johnson & Johnson during his tenure there is clear in how the pandemic reshaped the industry’s approach to cold chain logistics: “During Covid-19, we faced a huge challenge in finding the cold chain capacity to handle the vaccine distribution. The world simply wasn’t prepared for this level of demand.

“However, the pandemic also accelerated the development of cold chain solutions. The capacity issue became very visible, and everyone started paying attention.

“Customers want quality and timely delivery, yes—but they also expect us to evolve with them. It’s not enough to just run a good operation; we also need to bring forward-thinking solutions, challenge the status quo, and collaborate closely to drive improvement. That’s the real value of a logistics partner today.”

Changing treatments

The increasing complexity of medical treatments, such as gene therapies, is driving a shift in the way logistics providers approach healthcare supply chains. As treatments become more personalised and patient-focused, the logistics challenge grows.

“It’s a completely different game,” Sacco said. “The logistics demands of traditional pharmaceuticals differ significantly from the complexities introduced by personalised medicine. While traditional models focus on large-volume shipments to centralised locations, the emergence of cell and gene therapies has ushered in a new era.

Kuehne+Nagel’s acquisition of QuickSTAT five years ago, a company specialising in gene therapy logistics, has given the company a competitive advantage in this space.

“This acquisition allowed us to be ahead of the curve in terms of providing specialised solutions for gene and cell therapies,” Sacco outlined. “It’s a niche area, but we’re well-positioned to manage these new types of treatments through the entire product lifecycle.”