DACHSER Supplies the Capital Berlin with Vaccines

In Berlin, the Senate relies on the DACHSER branch in Berlin-Schönefeld for vaccine logistics, thus drawing on a proven and well-established partnership. At the beginning of the pandemic, DACHSER was already able to assist with the storage and distribution of protective masks and equipment, as well as engage in interesting business.

(Berlin-Schönefeld) “This is all really incredible. But as a team, we made it happen.” When Olaf Schmidt reflects on the past year and the last few months, he is still amazed – and smiles contentedly. The story told by the General Manager of the DACHSER Logistics Center Berlin Brandenburg in Schönefeld is about the COVID-19 pandemic, a race against time, and intelligent logistics for a reliable supply of protective equipment and vaccines to the population.

But let’s take it step by step. In mid-May of last year, the Berlin Senate Administration approached the DACHSER Logistics Center Berlin Brandenburg to quickly organize the storage and distribution of masks and protective equipment. “There was a high pressure to act,” recalls Schmidt. The decision for DACHSER was therefore made very quickly. By the end of June, the logistics center was able to promise the storage of 130 sea containers. In July, three Boeing 747s were also on approach. “Within four weeks, we suddenly had 8,000 pallets newly in stock.”

“But that was just the beginning,” says Falk Wenk, Contract Logistics Manager at the Berlin Brandenburg Logistics Center. “The stock of stored pallets increased to 11,000 by January 2021. This demanded all our resources and systems.” The storage and distribution of protective equipment, masks, and rapid tests, according to Wenk, is classic contract logistics. “The processes at DACHSER are well-established even under high load. Then the vaccines came into play.”

A Call for Help from the Senate Administration

On December 27, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) granted the first vaccine approvals. Anticipating this foreseeable decision, the Berlin Senate Administration had already contacted DACHSER on December 7: “We have a problem…” this is how the conversation began, recalls General Manager Schmidt. “You have a logistics system that already helped us with protective equipment. Can you also manage a vaccine warehouse with it?”

“Vaccine logistics was a challenge for everyone with many uncertainties – there was no blueprint for it,” says Schmidt. “It started with a pharmaceutical service provider needing to store the vaccines in a warehouse secured by the Bundeswehr. There are also ultra-low freezers available for temperatures of minus 75 degrees. We then organized the warehouse processes with the DACHSER Warehouse Management System Mikado and initiated the delivery. Our tasks extended from procuring suitable cooling containers for transport to delivery at the six Berlin vaccination centers, to hospital pharmacies and mobile vaccination teams.” At the same time, the delivery of protective equipment and especially rapid tests for schools continued.

“We are pleased to contribute to society and the fight against the pandemic with our logistics expertise.”

Utilizing IT Systems

The organizational effort was considerable, adds Olaf Schmidt. This included daily conferences with all participants in the Berlin vaccination project, collaboration with the pharmaceutical service provider, and coordination of police escorts for the vehicles.

To safely and pharmaceutically control the transport of the vaccine to the vaccination centers and ensure traceability of individual batches, DACHSER was able to access its logistics production systems Domino for land transport and Mikado for storage. “This was the basic requirement for a regulated and forward-looking vaccine logistics process,” emphasizes Schmidt. “When delivering the first dose, we also planned for the second dose needed later in the vaccination process and booked the capacities accordingly.”

Cool Solutions from the Workshop

For vaccine logistics, the Berlin DACHSER branch had to quickly procure about 150 pharmaceutical transport coolers. This was made possible through a long-standing customer relationship. Since the cooling batteries of these boxes require 48 hours for reconditioning, DACHSER promptly placed a thermal exchange bridge in the warehouse. “Our employees from the workshop custom-made shelves for the space-consuming cooling of the batteries. The spacers they designed for the cooling batteries were also clever solutions to perfect handling and reconditioning. It was fun to see how everyone from our team contributed,” says Schmidt.

The fact that vaccine logistics during pandemic times is an exciting task in many respects was reflected not only in secured warehouses and transports. Because in March, when a delivery was delayed due to a defective delivery van from the vaccine manufacturer, the tabloids immediately wrote “Vaccine Chaos!” “We and our part of the supply chain had nothing to do with it,” says Schmidt. Today, he chuckles about the brief media uproar. “The attention towards DACHSER in Berlin has certainly grown and extends far beyond the project,” says Schmidt. And proudly he adds: “We are pleased to contribute to society and the fight against the pandemic with our logistics expertise.”

Photo: © Dachser