A Milestone in Healthcare Logistics: Kuehne+Nagel UAE secures Aggregation License

Dubai, the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), plays a strategic role in the logistics industry thanks to its location at the gateway to the Middle East, Asia, and Africa. The UAE's booming economy boosts demand for products from all industries.

Many companies, including those from the pharmaceutical and healthcare sectors, decide to locate their hubs in Dubai. From there, they can easily prepare the products for their outbound or inbound journey into the UAE, depending on the changing inventory levels.

Aggregation License

"All pharmaceutical products and medical supplies must be recorded and registered with the Ministry of Health and Prevention (MOHAP) before entering the United Arab Emirates' market to detect counterfeit and falsified drugs and track and trace illegal supplies of healthcare products," said Safa Al Khayat, Pharmacist in Charge at Kuehne+Nagel.

Only a few companies in the UAE, including Kuehne+Nagel, have been certified by MOHAP to provide aggregated services for medical supplies.

Cutting Edge Technology

The registration process includes scanning the barcode of each unit to encode the data consisting of the Global Trade Item Number (GTIN), batch or lot number, expiry date, and serial number, and recording the data at Tatmeen, a governmental platform. If done manually, the process can be time-consuming and prone to human errors, especially when large quantities of products are to be released to the market at short notice.

Recognizing the need for a more efficient and reliable system, Kuehne+Nagel introduced multiple automated aggregation stations, an innovative technology allowing simultaneous scanning of dozens of units layered on a scanning tray. The stations, able to read and record about 75,000 barcodes daily each, offer a significant improvement over the traditional handheld scanner.

"Compared to the traditional scanning with a handheld scanner, our automated solution delivers efficiency and reliability, which is a critical feature for our customers," added Safa Al Khayat. "We can respond to the market's requirements immediately, with full transparency for all parties involved in the supply chain: customer, Ministry of Health and Prevention, distributor, and the final consumer, the patient."

Experience and Expertise

The Aggregation License obtained by Kuehne+Nagel in the UAE complements the similar certification in Bahrain, received three years ago.

"We gained extensive experience supporting our healthcare customers in Bahrain, and we can apply our expertise when fulfilling the UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention requirements," added Safa Al Kahyat.

Strategic Importance of the Dubai Warehouse

In Dubai, Kuehne+Nagel operates a 50,000 sqm warehouse in Dubai Logistics City, close to Jebel Ali Seaport and Dubai International Airport. 

Over 30,000 sqm of warehousing space, equal to 50,000 pallet positions, are dedicated to pharmaceuticals. The cold room (temperature range: 2-8°C) and ambient chambers (temperature range: 15-25°C) with additional security are used solely for temperature-sensitive healthcare-related cargo.

Customers can benefit from a range of value-added services, such as co-packing, kitting, labeling, stamping, and distribution services to domestic and international locations. Additionally, Kuehne+Nagel provides customs-related services and can be nominated as IOR (Importer of Record) or EOR (Exporter of Record) to ease import and export procedures.

"Our healthcare customers can enjoy complete solutions from the basics of storage, handling, and last mile distribution to a full range of value-added services leveraging Kuehne+Nagel's global healthcare supply chain know-how," said Lee I'Ons, GCC+ Cluster Managing Director at Kuehne+Nagel. "At the forefront of our approach in healthcare is that at the end of every supply chain is a patient."