GEODIS Transports 50 Million Disposable Medical Gloves from China to Germany for the German Government

The international logistics provider GEODIS is ensuring the safe transport of the cargo from China to Germany. The Freight Forwarding unit of GEODIS in Germany won this major contract of 275 tons in a public tender from the German Government. Around 50,000 boxes of gloves will be transported in five shipments from Chengdu, in the Chinese province of Sichuan, to Frankfurt and Nuremberg by airfreight and rail.

The air and rail transportation solution, which GEODIS developed in close cooperation with all partners, includes the continuous monitoring of the shipments. Employees of the Chinese supplier watch over the dispatching and loading of the containers at the Sichuan Medicines & Health Products I./E. Corporation’s production facilities in Shendong, where the certified goods are manufactured. The GEODIS teams in China and Europe monitor transport from Chengdu to the destinations in Germany. So-called GEOtags are used for the containers, which enable live tracking via GPS.

The first airfreight shipment from Chengdu Airport to Frankfurt took place on May 19. This first partial delivery consisted of 2.5 million disposable gloves, packed in 2,500 boxes weighing almost 15 tons. In Frankfurt, GEODIS employees packed the goods on 40 pallets, cleared customs and prepared them for collection.

The first of the four shipments by rail departed from Chengdu to Nuremberg on May 21. Loaded in 40-foot containers, 9,000 boxes with around nine million gloves arrived last weekend. Four more containers left Chengdu on May 28 and June 4. New ones will follow on June 18, and 25. The final shipment is planned to arrive in Nuremberg on July 11.

With its combined transport solution, GEODIS guarantees maximum flexibility in order to be able to react quickly to changes in the supply chain.

The international law firm Berg & Moll, which is specialized in projects for the Belt and Road Initiative, is responsible for contract execution and project monitoring. The transport of medical protective clothing currently involves high risks. Reduced transport capacities, short-term cancellations or changes in modes of transport, strict quality controls and purchasers who do everything they can to intercept goods while they are in transit make the whole process difficult. Claudia von Selle, partner at Berg & Moll, praised the effective teamwork: "Thanks to the great commitment of our Chinese partner and the GEODIS teams in China and Europe, all hurdles were quickly overcome."

In Germany, the team around Antje Lochmann, Managing Director of GEODIS Freight Forwarding Germany, is coordinating all the activities involved in the contract. "As a response to the new requirements and demands, GEODIS has developed a dedicated concept for transportation of medical protective clothing, and we are particularly pleased to be able to support the German Government with this know-how."