In order to serve the healthcare sector expeditiously, express delivery company TNT opened a healthcare hub today in Heerlen, the Netherlands.
The 21,500-square-foot facility is situated near the European distribution centers of 80 major medical device manufacturers responsible for products used in surgeries, such as pacemakers, stents, artificial knees and other surgical needs.
The hub will operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, consolidating medical technology shipments from multinational and smaller enterprises. With its centrally located hub, TNT said it will be able to make next-day deliveries to 96 percent of Europe’s 16,000 hospitals.
Customers in the southern part of the Netherlands and in nearby areas of Belgium will gain the convenience of late collection times and more flexibility to fill orders from hospitals, according to TNT. Other benefits to the hub will be an expected 3.5 percent average decrease in consignment stock, fewer incidences of items being out of stock, reduced cost of emergency shipping and stronger warehouse and transport contingency plans, TNT said.
The location at Heerlen is connected to TNT’s European road and air networks via the company’s hubs in Duiven, the Netherlands, and Liege, Belgium. TNT will also operate direct road connections between Heerlen and France, Spain, Germany, Italy, Switzerland and the U.K. Same-day service will be available for emergencies.
Specialized healthcare-related airfreight has been a hot subsector within the global air cargo industry over the last couple of years.
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