UPS has surpassed the one billion Covid-19 vaccine doses delivered mark with near-perfect on-time accuracy, just one year after the first vaccine was delivered by the firm. The milestone was made possible through its UPS Premier tracking technologies, cold chain solutions, and a global network supporting UPS Healthcare customers and communities around the world.
The global UPS network not only supported healthcare customers and global organisations, but also joined in public-private partnerships to provide vaccines and cold chain expertise to countries with hard-to-reach populations, ensuring delivery to as many people as possible. To achieve this, UPS Healthcare mapped roughly 500 trade lanes to enable seamless worldwide vaccine shipments and used more than three million pounds of dry ice to help safely move vaccines.
These global efforts include:
- Ultra-cold freezer donations and in-kind vaccine deliveries to facilitate equitable distribution to remote and rural areas throughout Africa, South America, Asia, North America, and Europe, made possible by The UPS Foundation
- Three Regional 24/7 UPS Healthcare Command Centers, dedicated to predicting and managing the global vaccine movement to ensure on-time delivery, with contingency plans and solutions to mitigate the risks of extreme weather and other obstacles
- Partnering with Gavi and other organisations to train and manage ultra-cold vaccine movement in COVAX nations, supporting Covid relief and healthcare infrastructure moving forward
- Embedded UPS logistic experts in countries including Indonesia and Malawi to fully and safely manage vaccine distribution logistics
- UPS support of vaccine doses delivered via drone to clinics in the US and Africa through the partnership between Zipline and Gavi
- Real-time visibility into the location of vaccines through UPS Premier, which provides precise visibility into every single vaccine package – down to within 10 feet of its location anywhere in the UPS global network
- Supported over 130 vaccine clinical trials to date through the UPS Healthcare subsidiary Marken, which is involved in nearly all vaccines and treatments in development today
“UPS Healthcare has set the global pace for Covid-19 vaccine delivery, supported by the unmatched dedication of UPSers and the company’s global logistics capabilities and expertise,” said UPS Healthcare president Wes Wheeler. “Medicines derived from biologics and delivered via cutting edge cold chain networks represent the future of healthcare, and UPS Healthcare is leading the way.”
“UPSers have been essential in the fight against Covid-19, delivering equitable access to critical healthcare services,” said UPS Global Healthcare chief sales and solutions officer and executive vice president, Kate Gutmann. “This milestone would not have been possible without every person in our global network working tirelessly, alongside our partners and customers, to accelerate vaccine distribution and help keep communities as safe as possible.”
