K+N US team moves flu vaccine for half a million veterans, families

Kuehne+Nagel announced that it has executed a unique operation in September 2023, similar to what is called a “milk run,” to deliver 150 pallets of flu vaccines directly to over 40 Veterans Affairs (VA) hospitals across the United States within less than five days, with the expertise of its road logistics team.

“It was an average Monday afternoon in September at our North American headquarters in Jersey City, NJ, when Tomas Salomoni, Ed Penafiel, and Tony Camacho, of Kuehne+Nagel’s Road Logistics team received a call from a long-time, well-known, pharmaceutical customer that needed special support,” reads the release.

For this, the K+N team used a multi-stop lane, according to the geography/distance to optimize equipment utilization and reduce the overall cost.

By early Wednesday morning, within 36 hours of the initial customer call, the Road Logistics team had arranged for three different carriers to pick up over 150 pallets of vaccines from 14 locations across Georgia, Nevada, and Pennsylvania. The vaccines were transported in 14 temperature-controlled trucks to ensure their safekeeping during the journey.

By Friday afternoon, Kuehne+Nagel had made 42 deliveries across 20 states, providing flu shots to over half a million military veterans and their families across the United States.

It reads, “Thanks to the extraordinary teamwork and expertise of the Road Logistics team here at Kuehne+Nagel, this seemingly impossible task was accomplished, and many VA hospitals were able to receive the flu vaccines they needed”.

“As Veterans Day is upon us, we are especially proud of the teamwork and collaboration to achieve this complex and challenging solution for our customer in support of these everyday heroes,” said Joachim Goller, regional road logistics manager, Kuehne+Nagel North America. “As more than 15 percent of the population in the United States are veterans, and these VA hospitals serve the entire country, we could not be prouder to have stepped up, and supported this important effort, which we know will make a difference in the lives of veterans and their families. This successful delivery proudly coincides with Veterans Day, so a huge shout out to the Road Logistics team for stepping up, taking on this extremely complex operation and making this happen in support of our veterans.”