DHL is investing €2bn over the next five years to enhance its logistics capabilities in the life sciences and healthcare sector.

With 50% of the investment allocated to the Americas, 25% to Asia Pacific and 25% to the Emea region, DHL is expanding its global footprint to deliver integrated, faster, more reliable and patient-centric logistics wherever healthcare companies operate.

The investment will focus on enhancing infrastructure and technology across all logistics touchpoints, from storage, order fulfilment and distribution to global shipping and last-kilometre delivery, creating more resilient, scalable and responsive supply chains for customers.

A significant part of the investment will be allocated to establishing cross-divisional GDP-certified pharma hubs for multi-temperature shipments lanes, expanding cold-chain capacity in existing facilities, commissioning new temperature-controlled vehicles, and enhancing passive and active packaging to ensure sustainable delivery.

As the demand grows in critical areas such as clinical trials, biopharma, and cell and gene therapies, DHL is also investing in specialised cooling infrastructure to accommodate low and ultra-low temperature ranges. Additionally, the group will implement IT systems that provide end-to-end visibility, ensuring product integrity, regulatory compliance and confidence for healthcare providers and their patients.

With its new sector brand DHL Health Logistics, the group is consolidating its life sciences and healthcare expertise under one umbrella. This creates a seamless, end-to-end experience for customers, simplifying the management of complex, cross-border supply chains. The approach is designed to meet the needs of pharmaceutical, biopharma and medical users who require agile, connected logistics that go beyond traditional service lines.

“We’re building high-quality, integrated logistics that are as innovative and reliable as the products our customers create, ensuring that patients everywhere receive the right treatment, at the right time, with complete confidence,” said Oscar de Bok, CEO of DHL Supply Chain.

DHL (group.dhl.com) has nearly 600 sites, hubs and warehouses across close to 130 countries dedicated to life sciences and healthcare logistics, encompassing a total of more than 2.5 million square metres of temperature-controlled warehouse space.

In addition to infrastructure investments, DHL has recently acquired CryoPDP (cryopdp.com), a specialty courier focused on clinical trials, biopharma, and cell and gene therapies, to strengthen its capabilities in this segment and expand the potential of its pharma specialised network as part of the overall investment strategy.