Simplifying logistics during the
pandemic led to successful
delivery of 384 million face masks In a turbulent logistics market, heavily impacted by the worldwide pandemic, creativity and a “can-do” attitude was essential when leading medical supplies company, Mölnlycke, needed to move large quantities of face masks, hospital gowns and other personal protective equipment (PPE) from China to Europe.
S
ince the outbreak of COVID-19, the demand for PPE in the health sector has been enormous in order to respond to the virus. As such, Mölnlycke needed to move large quantities of PPE from China to Europe with a high degree of urgency. During the past year, Scan Global Logistics has supported this urgency delivering the spectacular amount of 384 million face masks and 17.5 million hospital gowns among other PPE goods. Mölnlycke awarded Scan Global Logistics a certifi74 Industry Europe
cate of excellence in honour of the results obtained from going the extra mile. With capacity and disruption challenges in the transportation industry, the typical mode of ocean freight, was not a viable solution for shipping. Therefore, alternative means of transportation had to be found, while still sticking to the existing logistics budget from Mölnlycke. With container capacities going down, and prices going up, Scan Global Logistics was confronted with yet another obstacle. “At Scan Global Logistics, we are problem-solvers by heart, so this challenge was more than welcome. We want to bring a human approach to everyone, everywhere, and especially in this case we have certainly proved that no system or formula can compensate for the energy of good people. We have been proactive and flexible, enabling Mölnlycke to respond quickly to their
customers’ requirements,” says Kim Fischer, Corporate EVP Global Sales and Strategic Accounts at Scan Global Logistics. One of the key ingredients for succeeding was an entrepreneurial mindset involving teams across Denmark, China, Japan, and Malaysia. With global buying power, transport was bought where it was available, adapting the solution to the mode of transport, making it possible to minimise costs and deliver fast. By utilising the available ocean freight capacity and opting to send the rest of the goods by rail freight, the result included four dedicated block trains going out of China. One of these block trains was the first of its kind departing from the station in China, showcasing the entrepreneurial mindset from Scan Global Logistics of finding completely new departure points in China and thus succeeding n with the delivery.
