If a patient in São Paulo needs a pacemaker that is not available in Brazil but is available in Tuttlingen, then Trans-o-flex could come into play with its new business unit Special Services.
"Whenever one of our customers suddenly has a shipment that is extremely urgent, sensitive, or important, or that requires special handling, that's a case for Special Services," says Trans-o-flex CEO Martin Reder.
The new business unit will be presented for the first time at the Transport Logistic fair, which takes place from June 2 to June 5, 2025, in Munich.
According to Reder, they want to be there for customers when they need it the most. Depending on the need, the Special Services team will use different service options.
"A classic approach is direct courier service," says Reder. Depending on the size of the shipment or its special requirements, such as temperature control, we organize a driver with the appropriate vehicle, who picks up the
goods within 90 to 120 minutes after order confirmation and drives directly to the destination."
The service is not limited to road transport; tools such as Onboard Courier (OBC), Next Flight Out, or Air Charter are also used. An Onboard Courier, for example, is suitable for bringing a pacemaker from Germany directly to a hospital in São Paulo for an operation.
"First a courier ride from the manufacturer to Frankfurt Airport. There, the driver hands the pacemaker to the OBC for whom we have booked a direct flight to São Paulo. The OBC usually travels with only hand luggage and thus avoids the time-consuming check-in of luggage," Reder explains, adding: "And at the destination airport, the OBC does not have to wait for luggage unloading; instead, after passing through passport control and customs clearance, they can immediately take a taxi to the hospital and personally hand over the pacemaker to an authorized person."
A Next Flight Out service
(NFO) is an option when personal accompaniment of the shipment is not necessary. In this case, the goods travel in the luggage compartment of the next available scheduled flight operating on the desired route.
However, due to regulations regarding size, weight, or packaging, an Air Charter is often the only option instead of an NFO, especially when no scheduled flight is available within the required timeframe.
White Glove Solutions
Special Services also include so-called White Glove Solutions, which involve treating the goods in a specific way, such as assembling and stocking sales displays in pharmacies.
According to Trans-o-flex, specially trained drivers then bring the displays to the pharmacies, assemble them, fill them with the goods they have brought, take away all the packaging material, and document the finished display with photos.
Also, in the so-called shelf service, the goods must not only be delivered but also, for example, placed on the shelves.
When patents expire
Another speciality involves
tailored logistics solutions for patent expirations. "This is indeed plannable, but extremely time-critical," emphasizes Trans-o-flex CEO. When the patent protection of a drug expires, the generic often achieves the highest sales that is available in pharmacies the fastest.
"This is often supported with major advertising campaigns. Logistics must be 100% accurate," Reder emphasizes.
According to him, the challenge is that the generic drug cannot be stored in Germany one day before the patent protection expires, but must be available everywhere the day after. Special Services then organizes a precisely timed distribution solution in such cases.
The generics are then pre-stored at one or more locations abroad, where there is no longer patent protection. There, vehicles are pre-packed the day before.
"And at midnight on the first day of the patent expiration, these pre-packed vehicles cross the German border and head for various Trans-o-flex transshipment points. From there, the goods reach every location in Germany within the desired timeframe,"
