Covering over 12,000 square metres, the new DKSH Healthcare Logistics Centre in VSIP has been designed to incorporate full GMP (good manufacturing practice) requirements and enhanced work flows. More than 5,000 new pallet locations were added since last November by SSI Schaefer Vietnam, to both ambient and controlled temperature storage areas, in order to double the existing storage capacity. Close to 1,000 new shelf-spaces on the single and double-tier modular shelving systems cater for smaller carton boxes.

In the last three years the Vietnamese pharmaceutical market has been growing at an average annual growth rate of over 16%. In addition to the market growth there is an increasing demand for quality services and total quality assurance. One of the key players for logistics services in the pharmaceutical field is Diethelm Keller Siber Hegner (DKSH) Vietnam, subsidiary of DKSH Holdings from the internationally renowned Diethelm Keller Group based in Zurich, Switzerland.

 
Locally, DKSH Vietnam focuses on four business units: consumer goods, healthcare, performance material sand technology. Although the company had had operations in the country from 1890 to 1955, it is not until 1991 that DKSH returned, Today, as a 100%foreign investment enterprise, the company has established a strong foothold in the Vietnamese market with its comprehensive nationwide network for over 14,000 customers for healthcare alone. The new office and logistics centre for healthcare business is strategically situated in the Vietnam Singapore Industrial Park (VSIP) in Binh Duong province, just 30 minutes drive from downtown of Ho Chi Minh City.
 
 
New logistics centre

Providing market expansion services for over 40 suppliers, including leading pharmaceutical companies such as Sanofi Aventis,GSK, Novartis, BMS, Boehringer Ingelheim, Roche, Merck Serono,and Bayer Consumer Care, OKSH Vietnam offers international standard warehousing endorsed with GSP(good storage practice) certification by the Ministry of Health as well as ISO9001,2000 quality certification.

 
Covering over 12,000 square meters, the new DKSH Healthcare Logistics Centre in VSIP has been designed to incorporate full GMP (good manufacturing practice) requirements flows. More than 5,000 new pallet locations were added since last November by SSI Schaefer Vietnam, to both ambient and controlled temperature storage areas, in order to double the existing storage capacity. Close to 1,000 new shelf-spaces on the single and double-tier modular shelving systems cater for smaller carton boxes.

 
"SSI Schaefer presented us with new perspectives in terms of warehouse space layout and optimisation," said Thomas Neff, country logistics manager of DKSH Vietnam.
 

The quality of the storage systems is another important factor for consideration when the working committee was evaluating the different tender bids. According to Mr. Neff, the company prefers to invest for the long term and hence cost is secondary when compared to product quality and service standards.

 
For more efficient order picking, SSl Schaefer Vietnam recommended the 'Live Storage' concept. Workers at DKSH Vietnam usually order picks in the late morning, pack and be ready for delivery in the early afternoon. The KDR carton live storage system installed increases their picking efficiency evidently, especially for the faster-moving items. The system is capable of holding 2,880 carton boxes, which roll forward automatically when the one in front has been picked, facilitating the 'first-expired-first-out' (FEFO)rule.

 
The newly expanded logistics centre also boasts cold chain storage facilities where products are stored at a temperature range of 2 to 8 'C, packed at 15 'C and shipped in specialized fully validated packaging material to maintain the temperature until they are received by the customer. A sophisticated building automation system (BAS) monitors the humidity and temperature 24f7. Any malfunctioning of equipment or deviation from the defined temperature range triggers optical and acoustic alarms in the office as well as in the guard house. As a matter of course the facility is backed up by a generator in case of power failure. Such stringent control and redundancy is necessary and essential for OKSH Vietnam to ensure the integrity of products at all times.
 
 
Pioneer of IT technology

Demand-wise, DKSH customers have many avenues to place their orders ranging from calling into the OKSH customer care centre to email, to fax or face-to-face with the sales representative. The nation-wide toll-free number 1800 545 402, manned by 38 experienced customer service operators, has proven to be very popular. It is the one-stop-shop for order placing, inquiries or feedback to DKSH.

The company delivers directly to over 14,000 trade outlets nationwide from three logistics centers. Apart from the new logistics centre at VSIP, DKSH Healthcare runs two more logistics centers - one located in Hanoi to serve the north, and another at Oanang serving central Vietnam. This enables the company to meet demanding customer expectations by providing same-day delivery to customers in these key cities as well as next-day delivery for most other parts of Vietnam.

 
In early 2006, DKSH Vietnam introduced a PDA tool called Echo Plus, an ETMS (electronic territory management system) used by DKSH throughout Asia, for its group of more than 110 sales staff in the country. Echo Plus can be used for order-taking as well as real-time sales and inventory information display. It allows the sales staff to advise customers accordingly in order for them to make informed decisions when placing orders.

 
DKSH Vietnam is proud of its reputation as the 'pioneer of IT solutions' in the pharmaceutical industry and believes that the effective use of technology will help them sprint ahead of the competition and offer customers better services. The company uses SAP system worldwide and is about to pilot the electronic data interface (EOI) system with key account customers in the near future.
 
 
Healthcare Alliance

Of the 42 suppliers, DKSH Vietnam provides full agency services for almost one third of them.

 
"We are the world's leading company in market expansion services with a focus in Asia." said Mr. Neff. "We provide our partners with fundamental expertise and on-the-ground logistics, which is of paramount importance, in order to expand their market share in existing markets as well as new markets, especially for a dynamic and developing country such as Vietnam."

 
Healthcare Alliance is the name of such contracted sales and marketing services offered by DKSH Vietnam, where they assist customers who wish to establish their products in the Vietnamese market without incurring high setup costs. This is very valuable, especially for smaller pharmaceutical companies, who are constrained by limited resources.
 
 
Community service

Business interest aside, OKSH Vietnam sees the need to help raise the bar for the healthcare industry in the country. Seminars were and are organized together with the Services of Health HCMC for medical clinics, drug stores and hospital pharmacies, on topics of establishing a GPP (good pharmaceutical practice) standard across the board.

 
According to Thomas Neff, the sponsorship of such seminars is part of DKSH Vietnam community services and social responsibility programs. "It is our way of contributing to assist in the implementation of quality assurance standards throughout the supply chain for healthcare products. "

 
When the country finally joined World Trade Organization (WTO) on 11 January 2007, Vietnam was expected to take off in leaps and bounds. For DKSH Vietnam, this appears to becoming a reality.