Logistics against the pandemic: DB Schenker currently ships rising volumes of Covid-19 diagnostic kits from pharmaceutical companies to public bodies and private companies all over the world. One example is the organisation of the carriage of several hundreds of thousands of test kits for Korean healthcare manufacturer SD Biosensor. In particular, the rapid antibody screening kits are brought to countries where the number of people infected is particularly high. More testing can help to determine the development of the Coronavirus outbreak more accurately by reducing the potential number of undetected cases, helping policy makers to conduct measures as precisely as possible.
Thorsten Meincke, Board Member for Air and Ocean Freight at DB Schenker: “More tests for Corona help to enhance the accuracy of infection case figures and thereby assist in improving the projectability for politics, people and businesses. We are happy to be able to make our contribution to this effort by ensuring the timely transportation of diagnostic kits on a global scale.”
SD Biosensor is one of Korea’s largest healthcare companies. It develops and manufactures rapid test kits to determine whether a person has developed antibodies in their bloodstream to fight Coronavirus. If such antibodies occur, this indicates that the person has become infected with Covid-19. The blood collection takes place with a very small needle. The test provides results within 10-15 minutes, helping healthcare professionals to diagnose the mid- to late-stage of a viral infection. The test can thereby help to estimate the spread of past and present infections in a population.
Given reduced freight capacities on passenger airline flights, it was a challenge for SD Biosensor to ship the rising production volumes of diagnostic kits. At short notice, DB Schenker developed alternative air freight solutions to transport the medical goods from the company’s production facilities near Seoul to various regions of the world.
Dirk Lukat, CEO of Schenker Korea: “Can we make required capacities available? Our answer is yes – thanks to our highly skilled and dedicated team. We are proud to showcase our strength in the Korean market and beyond.”
As a leading global logistics service provider, DB Schenker is supporting several major pharmaceutical developers with their Covid-19 test kit shipments, for example from and within the United States. As part of a recently announced partnership with sports car manufacturer Porsche, dozens of full charter flights bring medical equipment from China to Germany – including test kits for medical facilities.
(Source: DB Schenker)
