Yusen Logistics says it had delivered over 300 million doses of AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine across the globe by the end of 2021.
The Amsterdam-headquartered forwarder – part of the Japanese-owned NYK group – said that since the AstraZeneca vaccine was approved for use in the UK at the end of 2020, it had supported the pharma firm in distributing it throughout its global GDP compliant network to every region of the world.
Yusen Logistics global key account director for AstraZeneca, James Colson, said: “Effective communication is key to ensuring seamless supply and both AstraZeneca planners and Yusen Logistics supply chain experts liaise regularly around the clock coordinating the movements of the vaccine throughout Europe and beyond. It is a testament to both organisations that we have managed to overcome all challenges with viable, robust and compliant solutions.”
The teams at AstraZeneca and Yusen Logistics worked together to deliver continued process improvements. James Colson added: ‘’We’re extremely proud of our expertise and achievements and are honoured to contribute to this global vaccine rollout.”
The vaccine is manufactured in Astra Zeneca’s global supply network spanning 15 countries and 25 different manufacturing sites. EU supply and transportation is managed by Yusen’s European Control Tower and shipped from Yusen’s healthcare hub in Benelux fulfilling regional, global and COVAX demand.
AstraZeneca freight and supplier director, Tony Shore, added: “AstraZeneca rapidly conducted due diligence with numerous partners to build a global supply to help meet demand for the COVID-19 vaccine. Yusen Logistics have been instrumental in delivering the vaccine to the required destinations across the globe”.