While a patient waits for a transfusion in a hospital in the Bajío region, and a thousand kilometers away, a nurse prepares a dose of insulin on the outskirts of Monterrey, a silent and precise network is put into action.

He doesn’t wear a white coat, but his precision is surgical: he’s the logistics of health , that gear that never stops and that, if it stops, can cost lives.

Few industries face challenges as critical as the healthcare sector. Here, punctuality is not just about efficiency, it’s about survival: cold chain, absolute traceability, international regulations, and sensitivity to the slightest delay; each box transported can contain anything from a vaccine to a large machine that can save lives.

In this industry, the margin of error is measured in millimeters.

T21 had the opportunity to explore the Kuehne+Nagel MDC facility in Tepotzotlán, State of Mexico, where two of its facilities are highly specialized in the pharmaceutical and medical device sectors.

In this complex, Daniel Pardo , head of Contract Logistics at Kuehne+Nagel Mexico, explained step by step the complexities within the logistics of this industry.

The company has racks, a loading and unloading area, temperature-controlled chambers, and clean rooms for labeling and packaging merchandise in this complex, which also serves as a bonded warehouse and IMMEX (Manufacturing, Maquiladora, and Export Services Industry).

Daniel Pardo explained that this business unit handles pharmaceuticals for both human and animal use. These medications, which require controlled temperatures, vary in temperature range within their cold chain.

For this reason, the company has refrigeration, freezing, and cryogenic chambers , according to the needs of each client.

On the other hand, the storage facility is highly secure, especially for psychotropic drugs, which are protected by a security filter.

Clean rooms, meanwhile,  serve to sterilize the environment so that no dust particles can enter, since the goods require this treatment, such as needles that will be used on patients.

In addition, the complex has technology dedicated to inventory , with drones that perform precise work with 100% reliability, since each of the outgoing merchandise must be perfectly tracked and clearly show which patients they are intended for, in case of any eventuality.

Each client within these complexes receives a custom-made suit, just like those who import large-volume goods, such as MRI machines, which also require constant ventilation and temperature control in the magnets.

On the other hand, transportation also requires great precision, from those carrying high-value cargo that requires an armored unit, to those transporting vaccines or medicines to a farm that need to be treated and disinfected before moving to another farm.

In a world where healthcare faces increasingly complex challenges—pandemics, diseases, and biotechnology—logistics is no longer a supporting player, but a central part of the system.

Invisible to the patient, but vital at every step, supply chain professionals are the new guardians of modern life.

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The CMIC National Ladies Committee for Social and Sustainable Development announced that it will carry out various actions with a set of ten proposals in terms of social solidarity assistance.

Paulina Rocha de Méndez, president of the Committee, stated that the objective is to carry out assistance activities for marginalized people, sectors and regions, indigenous communities and vulnerable groups due to age, sex or problems of different abilities, particularly in support of construction workers and their families, among which are the implementation of health campaigns for workers in the construction industry in the most affected conditions.

As well as establishing a specific fund for the improvement of educational infrastructure in low-income communities, ensuring the participation of these communities in the design and construction, so that their local needs are met.

Promote the reconstruction of housing and infrastructure using sustainable techniques and materials that are not only more resistant to future disasters but also minimize environmental impact.

Increase health infrastructure by implementing mobile clinics and community health programs that offer free medical care to vulnerable groups.

We will also continue to organize vocational training courses and workshops, thereby facilitating the job placement of people in vulnerable situations.

Similarly, raising awareness among the population about the importance of reforestation through workshops, talks and digital media, thus promoting community involvement.

“We agree with the President of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, on expanding health centers, primarily intended for the care of children and breast cancer, ensuring that the design of the spaces responds to the needs of patients.”

She said that the core of her actions is support for groups in vulnerable situations, due to inequality of opportunities, poverty, lack of access to education, housing, health, food and social relations, and climatic phenomena.

In the latter, she highlighted that in the case of the effects on the population of Guerrero by Hurricane Otis last year, and by Hurricane John recently, this Ladies Committee implemented a fundraising mechanism for donations, as well as various collection centers in different regions of the country.

He mentioned that he is accompanied by Sandra Fisch Ortega as national secretary, Guadalupe Fernanda Zayas Gallardo as national treasurer, Isela Mata de Abud and María de Lourdes Pulido Villar, as members and other volunteers from the 44 delegations of the Mexican Chamber of the Construction Industry (CMIC).

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The COVID-19 pandemic has posed a major challenge for supply chains , but especially for the logistics sector responsible for moving health-related products and goods, whose challenges include the meticulous care of delicate supplies, which require certain specifications for transport and storage, such as vaccines and special biologicals.

Within the framework of the tenth anniversary of the UPS El Sabino distribution center , located in the State of Mexico, the panel Navigating the Future of the Industry was held , where Gustavo Velarde , Director of Foreign Trade and Industrial Policy of the National Chamber of the Pharmaceutical Industry (Canifarma) , highlighted the importance of having a pharmaceutical policy and a health policy in order to address the regulatory framework of this industry.

In this regard, Velarde stressed that public-private collaboration is necessary to help strengthen this sector.

In his participation, Alberto Angilella , Director of Operations at Farmacias Similares , said that one must “choose your partner well”, in the sense that they have worked excellently with UPS, a company that he considered as “a protective shield”.

He recalled that, at the beginning of their alliance, UPS had no idea how the pharmaceutical market worked, however, he highlighted the evolution of that firm which, with effort and commitment, is currently a benchmark in health logistics .

Simplifying customs procedures and the bureaucracy involved in importing high-importance medicines are the challenges faced by the logistics sector of this type, which is why Angilella pointed out that it is important that there is synergy between the authority and the manufacturer so that the medicines reach those who need them .

Biotechnology products require a cold chain and various logistics processes to ensure that they are maintained and reach the patient in optimal conditions , stressed Alejandro Jiménez , manager of In-market Logistics for Mexico and Panama GLAD, CSL Behring .

For him, the challenges of health logistics lie in recovering and improving the conditions of the roads , as well as combating insecurity in order to move goods without problems, since these factors represent a brake on that industry.

Alejandro Jiménez said that logistical responsibility goes beyond delivering the product, since it involves everything from the creation and development of the medicine to the final stage, which is reaching the patient.

In an interview with T21 , Pedro Rougon , Commercial Director of Strategic Accounts at UPS Healthcare Mexico, who also participated in the panel, said that in the last decade there has been an evolution in the pharmaceutical industry with the development of medicines that require sensitive handling, and it is where logistics operators work to keep them in the best conditions.

The manager identified three challenges facing health logistics : the first is visibility of the logistics chain from the beginning to the end of the process; the second has to do with specialization, which requires proper handling of sensitive products; and the third refers to digitalization, which involves the use of technology to make work more efficient.

If Mexico wants to compete in the health industry, it has to improve its infrastructure, including seaports and customs, so Rougon believes that it is necessary to make visible what is needed to improve logistics, such as security and technology to be able to boost access to health.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) , it is estimated that up to 25% of vaccines are wasted annually due to cold chain failures, underscoring the need for reliable and advanced logistics infrastructure.

In Mexico, the issue of logistics in the health sector has become relevant in light of the shortages that have occurred in recent years. In response to this, on February 15, 2024, guidelines for the distribution of medicines and health supplies as part of the supply chain were published in the Official Gazette of the Federation (DOF) , which further emphasizes the importance of proper management of these products.

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