Yusen Logistics subsidiary Movianto UK has gone live with a five-year contract with NHS England to provide pharmaceutical logistics and warehousing services for the national vaccination and immunisation programmes.
The contract, awarded following a tender process, will see Movianto provide an end-to-end logistics service covering vaccine storage, inventory management, order fulfilment, sortation and GDP-compliant temperature-controlled distribution.
The service will supply more than 11,000 frontline healthcare locations across England.
Andy Robinson, Movianto UK deputy MD, said: “The partnership brings together one of Europe’s most advanced healthcare logistics networks with NHS England’s national vaccination programmes, creating a more resilient, agile and efficient supply chain capable of supporting routine immunisation, national screening programmes and emergency public health responses.”
Movianto is using its existing healthcare logistics network to deliver the contract, rather than establishing dedicated warehousing and transport infrastructure for NHS England.
The network already supports pharmaceutical manufacturers, NHS organisations and UK government departments.
“This shared-user operating model maximises utilisation of existing infrastructure, reduces duplication of resources and delivers improved value through greater operational efficiency,” Robinson added.
The model also allows suppliers to move products directly into Movianto’s existing regulated storage network, reducing the need for stock to be transferred between facilities before reaching NHS providers.
Movianto said this would reduce handling and transport movements while improving responsiveness and supporting NHS and government sustainability objectives.
The company said the contract builds on its experience of supporting national healthcare resilience, including pandemic preparedness, emergency response and the time-critical deployment of medicines and vaccines.
That capability was demonstrated in July when Movianto supported the emergency mobilisation of the national Meningococcal Group B (MenB) vaccination programme for young people.
The logistics operator worked with NHS England and national stakeholders to rapidly increase operational capacity and ensure vaccines reached community pharmacies and other vaccination providers.
More than 16,000 orders have been processed and delivered to date.
Robinson said: “The successful mobilisation demonstrated the resilience, flexibility and responsiveness of the new national logistics model and highlighted the importance of an established pharmaceutical supply chain capable of responding rapidly to emerging public health priorities”.
He added: “We are proud to partner with NHS England in delivering one of the UK’s most strategically important healthcare supply chains.
“This contract recognises the value of harnessing existing pharmaceutical infrastructure to create a smarter, more efficient operating model that benefits patients and the NHS alike.
“Our shared-user approach combines GDP-compliant warehousing, advanced inventory management and nationwide temperature-controlled distribution to provide a resilient platform capable of supporting routine healthcare delivery while remaining ready to respond rapidly during national emergencies.”
Neil Gibbens, NHS England deputy director of performance and delivery Improvement, said the contract would support the modernisation of national healthcare logistics while improving resilience, sustainability and value for money.
“The contract represents another significant milestone in NHS England’s commitment to modernising national healthcare logistics through strategic partnerships that combine operational excellence, innovation, sustainability and value for money while strengthening resilience across the UK’s healthcare supply chain.
“The successful mobilisation of the MenB vaccination programme demonstrated exactly why resilient national logistics capability is so important in responding rapidly to changing public health needs.”
