trans-o-flex launches special services for extremely urgent, important and sensitive consignments

• Whether it’s a pacemaker destined for Brazil, the setting up of promotional displays in German pharmacies or the expiry of a pharmaceutical patent – the new business division delivers bespoke logistics solutions.
• A multimodal approach: a team of specialists does not restrict itself to road transport

A patient in São Paulo needs a pacemaker that isn’t available in Brazil. The life-saving medical device is in stock in the town of Tuttlingen in Baden-Württemberg. Can it arrive in São Paulo in time for the operation? “Whenever one of our customers suddenly has a consignment that is extremely urgent, sensitive or important, or that requires special handling, then it’s a job for our Special Services team,” says trans-o-flex CEO Martin Reder. That’s why the company has created a new business division, which the express logistics provider is presenting for the first time at the transport logistic trade fair in Munich.

Reder views the development of our Special Services division as a strong signal: “We are there for our customers especially when they need us most.” The Special Services team draws on a range of service options that can be combined to meet the customer’s specific needs. “A classic example of this is the direct courier run,” explains Reder. “Depending on the size of the consignment or its specific requirements, such as temperature control, we organise a driver with the appropriate vehicle who collects the goods within 90 to 120 minutes of order confirmation and drives straight to the destination.”

However, the service is not limited to road transport. “We utilise tools such as OBC, Next Flight Out or Air Charter.” An Onboard Courier (OBC) is, for instance, well suited for the delivery of a pacemaker from Germany directly to the operation in a hospital in São Paulo. “First a courier run from the manufacturer to Frankfurt Airport. There, the driver hands over the pacemaker to the OBC, for whom we have booked a ticket on a direct flight to São Paulo. The OBC usually travels with hand luggage only, avoiding the time-consuming checking in of baggage and at the destination airport they do not have to wait for the luggage to be unloaded. Instead, following the passport control and customs clearance they can immediately catch a taxi, drive to the hospital and personally hand the pacemaker over to an authorised person.”

If a personal accompaniment of the consignment is not necessary for security or speed reasons, the Next Flight Out (NFO) service may also be an option. In this case the goods travel in the hold of the next available scheduled flight operating on the desired route. Due to strict regulations regarding size, weight or packaging – or simply because no scheduled flights are available within the required time frame –an Air Charter is often the only option instead of NFO.

More than just transport: Delivering, setting up and stocking promotional displays

Special services also includes White Glove Solutions. “It is more about ensuring that the goods are not only transported but instead handled in a particular way”, states Reder. “For instance, this is evident in the assembly and stocking of promotional displays in pharmacies.” Specially trained drivers deliver the displays to pharmacies, set them up, stock them with the goods they have also brought, collect all the packaging materials afterwards, and as a final step take photos of the completed display for documentation purposes. The same applies to the shelf-restocking service. Here too, goods are not just delivered – they may also need to be placed directly on the shelves.

When a drug patent expires

A further special feature is the provision of bespoke logistics solutions when patents expire. “Although this can be planned, it is extremely time-critical,” explains Reder. This is because when a drug’s patent protection expires, the generic drug that reaches pharmacies first often generates the most sales. “It is frequently supported by major marketing campaigns. The logistics must therefore take place flawlessly.” The challenge in achieving this is that while the generic drug may not be stocked in Germany the day before the patent protection expires, it should be available everywhere the day after. This is why the Special Services team organises a precisely timed distribution solution in these cases. “The most important elements are that we warehouse the generics at one or more sites abroad where the patent has already expired. There, vehicles are pre-loaded on the day before launch (Day –1). At midnight on the first day of the patent’s expiry, these pre-loaded vehicles cross the German border and proceed to various trans-o-flex transshipment centres. From there, the products reach any location in Germany within the specified time window.”