UniDrug: Delivers good health

Source: Supply Chain Digital

Date :11/12/2007 09:30:00

Unidrug Distribution Group is a specialised pharmaceutical distributor to the country’s major pharmaceutical and healthcare companies but there’s rather more to the logistics company.

Written by John O’Hanlon and produced by Sean Quantrill

Business Development Director Richard Shore demonstrates – for instance the whole operation must meet MHRA standards and must be able to track all products down to batch level

Unidrug Distribution Group describes itself as a pre-wholesaling company that distributes pharmaceuticals and over-the-counter (OTC) medicines in the United Kingdom. It is a joint venture owned by Alloga, itself founded in 2000 as an independent joint venture between the Swiss company Galenica and the British firm Alliance Unichem, and United Drug of Ireland. Alloga employs 450 people across Europe and had a turnover of €382.8m in 2002.

UDG is a specialist that takes some vital supply chain activities away from its clients, which are drawn from the largest drug companies operating in the UK, like Pfizer, Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) and Novo Nordisk, through healthcare products manufacturers like Smith & Nephew down to a targeted number of smaller companies supplying the hospital, pharmaceutical and general healthcare market. “If a pharmaceutical company says it doesn’t want to run its own warehouse any more, and decides to outsource that responsibility, we will step in and manage that element for them it up,” says Richard Shore. “But we aim to partner them so closely that it will be just as if they still had an in-house supply chain solution. We act on their behalf.”

A standard of management

The market place, he points out, is well defined enough to ensure that anyone considering outsourcing their distribution will be aware of UDG and its track record, which ensures that it will be a party to any bidding process. This is how it has become the market leader, handling goods to the value of £2.3 billion each year. “Our strategy is to focus on pharmaceuticals and healthcare, including consumer OTC medicines, diagnostic and general surgical products that are distributed to wholesalers, grocery multiples and used in hospitals.”

To operate in this specialist area UDG is required by the MHRA to hold its own Wholesale Dealers Licence and…

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