Solution Spotlight: DHL Supply Chain’s Pharma Specialised Network
The Pharma Specialized Network (PSN) provides a globally integrated solution for delivering end-to-end distribution to clinical sites, laboratories, hospitals, and patients. It is specifically designed for specialty pharmaceuticals and clinical trials that require precise temperature control – ranging from 2-8°C to cryogenic temperatures as low as -150°C.
What problem or status quo deficiency are we solving?
As therapies become smaller, colder, and more complex, pharma and biopharma companies are facing a step‑change in supply chain complexity – from ultra‑sensitive cold chain requirements and tighter lead times to new clinical and commercial distribution models. This is compounded by AI‑enabled R&D and the rapid growth of advanced and personalised therapies, which compress development timelines and fragment volumes across many more lanes and sites.
In this environment, many manufacturers struggle to build consistent, compliant, and scalable logistics capabilities on their own. With the Pharma Specialized Network, DHL acts as a partner that can orchestrate this complexity end‑to‑end – providing the infrastructure, specialised packaging, trained and qualified personnel, and standardised processes needed to keep products safe and visible, so that pharma companies can focus on science and patients, rather than logistics.
What has made this problem challenging to address in the past?
Historically, logistics networks were not designed for today’s mix of ultra‑low and cryogenic temperature ranges, highly specialised packaging, and direct‑to‑patient or direct‑to‑site flows that advanced therapies require. Building out 2-8°C and 15–25°C capacity was already a heavy lift for many providers; and extending this to frozen and cryogenic infrastructure at scale, while maintaining global GDP/GxP compliance, has been a major barrier. On top of that, services such as secondary packaging, postponement, comparator and ancillary sourcing, and clinical value‑added services were completely new territory for many logistics companies, making it difficult to offer them consistently and at scale.
DHL had a headstart in these areas and, through the Pharma Specialized Network, has now “productised” many of these capabilities into standard, repeatable offerings that can be deployed across key markets worldwide.
What new innovations does this solution bring to bear on these challenges?
The Pharma Specialized Network sits within a cross‑business‑unit focus on healthcare, guided by the DHL Life Sciences & Healthcare Board and underpinned by the new DHL Health Logistics strategy and €2 billion investment plan.
This translates into significant cold chain expansion across temperature ranges in key geographies, and targeted acquisitions such as CRYOPDP and SDS Rx that add first‑ and last‑mile specialty courier and radiopharma capabilities.
In parallel, DHL Global Forwarding and DHL Express are developing cold‑chain corridors on key lanes, and PSN plugs into these corridors to offer customers integrated, actively monitored end‑to‑end flows that reduce waste while ensuring quality, visibility, and compliance on the routes that matter most.
How does the solution work?
At its foundation, the solution is built on a network of dedicated life sciences and healthcare facilities that provide GDP/GxP‑compliant warehousing across all relevant temperature ranges, including controlled room temperature, refrigerated, frozen, and cryogenic. Within these sites, we offer a broad portfolio of value‑added services, such as postponement, secondary and late‑stage packaging, kitting, clinical and commercial fulfilment and, where required, clean‑room environments. These are all governed by a harmonised quality management system.
On top of this, the Pharma Specialized Network integrates the right transport modes and partners to make the solution truly end‑to‑end – leveraging our own specialty courier platform CRYOPDP, as well as DHL Express, DHL Global Forwarding, and selected third‑party carriers to connect first mile, main leg, and last mile with active condition monitoring and robust exception management. This combination of specialised infrastructure, services, and transport – orchestrated through dedicated control towers – delivers the level of hyper‑care, hand‑holding, and visibility that life sciences customers expect.
What makes the solution stand out in the market?
DHL is the global market leader in contract logistics, with an unparalleled life sciences and healthcare footprint spanning hundreds of dedicated sites and thousands of certified specialists across key markets. Through our Strategy 2030 and the launch of DHL Health Logistics, we are making targeted organic and inorganic investments specifically into life sciences and healthcare – from cold chain infrastructure and specialty courier networks to digital visibility platforms – which gives us a depth and breadth of capability that few can match.
The Pharma Specialized Network builds on this foundation and differentiates itself by being able to bring together warehousing, value‑added services, and integrated transport solutions from across the DHL group into one orchestrated, patient‑centric offering. For customers, that means a single partner that can design, implement, and operate truly global, end‑to‑end solutions, rather than a collection of disconnected services.
What concrete outcomes and KPI benefits does the solution deliver?
Across implementations, customers typically see improved on‑time‑in‑full performance, reduced temperature excursions, and higher right‑first‑time quality in their clinical and commercial flows. Standardised processes and packaging, combined with integrated control towers, drive fewer handovers and deviations. This translates into more stable OTIF performance and fewer product write‑offs. At the same time, consolidating volumes into specialised PSN infrastructure and corridors often leads to cost efficiencies, while digital tools such as DHL LifeTrack provide end‑to‑end visibility and support continuous improvement on key KPIs such as lead time, dwell time, and incident resolution.
How does the solution improve the experience for the end user?
For our LSH customers, DHL Supply Chain provides a single, accountable partner who can manage complex, multi‑country, multi‑modal flows and give them one version of the truth through advanced visibility tools and dedicated control towers. In areas like clinical logistics, our specialised control towers and teams offer the hyper‑care and proactive communication that sponsors and CROs expect, from study start‑up through to last‑patient‑out. For healthcare providers and patients, the impact is felt as more reliable deliveries, fewer delays, and better product integrity at the point of care – all of which ultimately support better treatment continuity and patient outcomes.
What do your customers have to say about this solution?
Customers consistently highlight the value of our global footprint, unmatched cold chain and specialty capabilities, and the depth of expertise our life sciences and healthcare teams bring. They appreciate having a partner that understands the regulatory environment, can scale across continents and therapeutic areas, and is willing to co‑design solutions that anticipate where their portfolios are heading next, rather than only reacting to today’s needs. Feedback from recent implementations also underlines the importance of our integrated approach – combining warehousing, transport, packaging, and visibility into one solution – which many customers see as a key differentiator versus more fragmented alternatives.
About DHL
DHL is the leading global brand in the logistics industry, with over 395,000 employees in more than 220 countries and territories worldwide. DHL connects people and businesses securely and reliably, enabling global sustainable trade flows.
DHL Supply Chain is the global leader in supply chain management and third party logistics, offering customized, integrated logistics solutions, to improve resilience, efficiency, customer satisfaction, and create competitive advantage.
