Dutch logistics prepares to deliver a massive COVID-19 vaccination programme

As a major importer and exporter of goods to the Continent via Rotterdam and Amsterdam, the Netherlands has experienced severe disruptions to its cargo flows, with certain sectors like automotive suffering a severe downturn in trade while others like big pharma remain strong.

PANDEMIC PLANNING

Two senior members from the aviation and road sectors of the Dutch logistics industry, who also work closely with the pharmaceutical industry, revealed at the round table meeting that they have been making extensive plans to deliver a massive shipment of vaccines across Europe and beyond.

VIEW FROM THE SKIES

Giving the perspective from the aviation sector, Adriaan den Heijer, Executive Vice President of Air France-KLM Cargo, said that while the initial high demand for PPE equipment had now passed, the demand for air freight services from the pharmaceuticals sector remained robust. “The big moment for the industry will be the vaccination programme,” he said, “hopefully peaking in the first quarter of 2021. We are all preparing for that.”

VIEW FROM THE GROUND

Fred Westdijk, CEO of Jan de Rijk Logistics, a leading force in intermodal road distribution, shared this view. His business is investing in increasing its capacity for the fourth quarter of 2020 to prepare for the delivery of the vaccines. “Although we don’t know when there will be a vaccine,” he said, “we are getting ready for it, so I’m planning quite a substantial investment in extra capacity, so that’s trucks and cooler trailers. We’ve already trained GDP compliant staff to make sure we are ready to deal with a peak in vaccine traffic.”

‘CARGO-IN-CABIN’ FLIGHTS

In aviation, while there have been far fewer passenger flights over the last six months, but the air cargo side of the business has proved surprisingly resilient. Air France KLM has received hundreds of requests to charter its planes for ‘cargo and cabin’ flights, where goods are introduced into both the belly and the passenger part of the aircraft. It has also introduced a scheme where a customer can charter part of a plane with other customers, if there is a demand. den Heijer said, “Overall we have been managing an operation of more than 5,500 COVID-19-oriented flights and we still continue to do so.”

AIR CAPACITY

Asked whether he was confident whether his airline was able to roll out the vaccine around the world, should one become available in the first quarter one, den Heijer said: “Yes there will be enough capacity assuming that the airlines will allocate passenger belly capacity to this operation. At least what I can say is that from our side,  we will surely invest in that.”

For the vaccination programme, the airline plans to work with the pharmaceutical industry and the government to allocate capacity: ““I think we have an overall obligation and commitment to distribute the vaccination programme on a global scale,” den Heijer said, “One thing I have learnt over the last months is that there is a lot of partnership and cooperation within the industry.”

The facilities are already in place at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol and its surrounding infrastructure. “For the major trade lanes that initially where we transport more fresh or cold goods the infrastructure is there,” den Heijer said, “A lot of infrastructure has been building within the air cargo industry due to the strong focus and experience in pharma.”

GLOBAL CHALLENGE

Asked whether he saw the vaccination programme as a massive challenge, not just for the air cargo industry but for the global logistics sector, den Heijer said: “Yes it surely needs us to cooperate. It will also depend on what kind of specific handling the product needs, so there are a lot of open questions we cannot answer yet.”

REALLOCATING FLEET

Fred Westdijk is also looking to reallocate capacity in his road fleet to deliver the vaccine when the moment arrives. “If I look at our own vehicles, we have about 1,000 trucks, 200 of which are coolers,” he said, “You can move a lot of product with 200 coolers a day. Of course, it will mean we will reallocate our fleet from let’s say customers that currently ship flowers to the vaccine, but it’s a short peak. This will not take a year or so and is probably going to be the matter of a few weeks to get the product moving. If I look at our own fleet we have pre-trained extra staff. I think we are ready for quite a volume peak.”

CREATIVE SOLUTIONS

Adriaan den Heijer said: “With COVID 19 we have shown that the industry is creative with its solutions. I am quite sure the industry will use its creativity to also find the right solutions for this challenge.”

Liz Oomens from NFIA, who chaired the round table discussion, concluded: “Creativity and adaptability speaks for how the Dutch approach things and I think is needed in a case like this.”

* www.investinholland.com

Published On: 08/10/2020 16:00:00

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