UPS opens healthcare facility in Colombia

Transport and logistics giant UPS Inc. has opened a facility in Colombia dedicated to handling high-value healthcare parcels, increasing the company's investment in serving the growing pharmaceutical, biopharma, and medical-device industry in Latin America, UPS said.

The 76,000-square-foot, multi-client facility will store temperature-sensitive healthcare products and offer distribution services, warehouse management, and late-stage customization solutions such as labeling, product kitting and configuration, and repackaging, Atlanta-based UPS said.

Located near El Dorado International Airport in San Diego Industrial Park in the Funza, Cundinamarca, area of Colombia, the facility features advanced sorting, processing, and data capture technology, UPS said. It will offer customers full inventory visibility, standardized processing, and reporting through UPS's validated warehouse management system.

The facility is UPS' second in Colombia that is dedicated to health care, and its ninth in Latin America. It has DCs in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, México, and Puerto Rico.

UPS has been ramping up its investment in the lucrative healthcare logistics sector in recent years, acquiring the Research Triangle Park, N.C.-based healthcare logistics specialist Marken in 2016, and announcing last week it would utilize its global air network to carry Marken's specialty cargo, such as clinical-trials and drug research parcels.