Expands its offerings through four major partnerships covering 170 countries
The newly-launched Hope Consortium, a UAE-based public-private partnership, has bolstered its distribution reach following a strategic agreement with leading international freight forwarders.
The latest consortium partners, which include Agility, Aramex, Hellmann and Kuehne + Nagel, will help address the different steps of the logistical challenge, including ‘last mile’, with a capacity of billions of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine doses by the end of 2021, reports WAM, the UAE official news agency.
Spearheaded by the Department of Health–Abu Dhabi (DoH), the Hope Consortium appointed these global transport companies based on their expert abilities and reach to safely and effectively deliver vaccine doses under cold and ultra-cold conditions between transportation hubs, warehouses, medical facilities and other final destinations in over 170 countries.
Representing the top global and Abu Dhabi supply chain solution players, the Hope Consortium consists of Etihad Cargo, Abu Dhabi Ports, Rafed – the healthcare purchasing arm of Abu Dhabi-based ADQ and Switzerland’s award-winning SkyCell, which develops next-generation, temperature-controlled logistics containers for the pharmaceutical industry.
Recipe for Success
“The Hope Consortium’s success relies upon the collaboration of public sector entities and leading private sector companies across the global logistics supply chain. This partnership demonstrates the unrivalled global strength of Hope Consortium,” stressed Dr. Jamal Mohammed Alkaabi, Undersecretary, DoH.
“The inclusion of leading freight forwarders will further strengthen the Hope Consortium proposition and elevate our global capabilities,” noted Martin Drew, Senior Vice President Sales and Cargo, Etihad Aviation Group.
Through the Hope Consortium, Agility looks forward to utilizing our global logistics footprint and warehousing network to make a difference on a global scale,” observed Khadim Al Darei, Chairman, Agility Abu Dhabi.
“Our part of the promise is to help deliver a portion of the billions of vaccine doses to their target populations on-time and in accordance with the world’s most stringent health and safety standards,” stated Captain Mohamed Juma Al Shamisi, Chairman, Aramex.
Two-pronged approach
“Combining a risk-based approach and integration of secured digital solutions into supply chains, Hellmann offers qualified end-to-end transport with capabilities of real-time and proactive intervention,” asserted Reiner Heiken, CEO, Hellmann Worldwide Logistics.
“We will leverage our unique strengths in the vaccine supply chain and facilitate vaccine availability across the world. We will make it happen,” assured Robert Coyle, Senior Vice President, Pharma & Healthcare Strategy, Kuehne+Nagel.
Between them, the four companies involved in the Hope Consortium cover 80 percent of the world’s countries and transported over four million tons of air freight cargo globally last year.
