LEBANON, Pa. — DHL Supply Chain announced this week that a new planned Life Sciences and Healthcare facility in Lebanon will be open by the end of the year, part of a planned $400 million investment designed to expand the company's pharmaceutical and medical service distribution network by 27% in 2022.
The Lebanon facility is one of six new sites in the U.S. that DHL Supply Chain plans to open this year, the company said.
The investment includes costs to invest in new buildings and technology, as well as the fit-out and start-up of new or expanded operations.
“This latest investment in our Life Sciences and Healthcare sector is testament to our track record and pedigree for delivering unrivalled supply chain expertise to our partners,” said Jim Saponaro, President, Life Sciences & Healthcare, DHL Supply Chain North America. “This substantial expansion will only further deepen the connections between our customers and the patients they serve by providing best-in-class end-to-end supply chain solutions.”
Construction on the Lebanon facility began last summer. The $88 million investment includes the construction of two facilities at 3100 State Drive, DHL Supply said.
The first building, a 970,000 square foot manufacturing, warehouse, and distribution facility, is expected to be operational by the end of First Quarter 2022 and will create at least 200 jobs, according to the company.
The planned expansion will grow the list of DHL Supply Chain’s LSHC sites to 34 by the end of the year, the company said. In addition to Lebanon, DHL Supply Chain said it will open new sites in Atlanta, Cincinnati, Memphis, and Reno.
The new builds will be fully licensed with temperature controlled space that supports pharmaceutical storage requirements, DHL said. The sites will also allow integrated solutions for both packaging and managed transportation.
DHL Supply Chain provides numerous services in the life sciences and healthcare sector, including warehousing, secondary packaging, managed transportation, and end-to-end supply chain management services.
In fact, LSHC is the fastest growing sector at DHL Supply Chain, the company said.
DHL Supply Chain’s LSHC sector aligns with the organization’s Accelerated Digitalization agenda to drive mass deployment of new technology –a key differentiator to other competitors.
This strategy enables DHL Supply Chain to continuously increase efficiency and changes the way supply chain operations are run by concentrating on mature technologies like collaborative robotics, autonomous guided vehicles, smart wearables and augmented reality.
Automation technology responds to the ongoing labor shortage challenge –not as a replacement–but rather complements our associates by supporting repetitive and strenuous tasks while improving efficiency and reducing error rates.
