One year ago, FedEx Express, a subsidiary of FedEx Corp. and one of the world’s largest express transportation companies, delivered the first shipments of the COVID-19 vaccines to dosing centres in the United States. The day marked a turning point in global efforts to control the COVID-19 pandemic as transportation companies like FedEx, healthcare companies, and government officials coordinated the first shipments to begin vaccinating communities.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, FedEx has delivered approximately 14,000 COVID-19 related humanitarian relief shipments globally, including three FedEx charter flights carrying oxygen concentrators, and medical supplies to India. The company will also continue to deliver vaccines throughout another busy holiday season, in which FedEx expects to deliver 100 million more packages than the company delivered during the 2019 holiday season.
“We are immensely proud of the role we’ve played in helping deliver lifesaving COVID-19 vaccines throughout the U.S. and around the world,” said Raj Subramaniam, President and COO of FedEx Corporation. “With a network designed for time-definite express transportation, custom critical shipping, and customs brokerage, FedEx continues to work closely with governments, healthcare customers, and administration sites to help ensure vaccines and related supplies move where and when needed. Over the last year, we’ve expanded our transportation of COVID-19 vaccines to more than 50 countries and territories around the world. We’re committed to helping to end this pandemic and building for a better future for all.”
“The Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa (AMEA) region is home to more than 75 per cent of the world’s total population, and we are proud to use our network and expertise to keep the world’s supply chains moving as businesses and communities continue rebuilding their economies,” said Kawal Preet, president of the Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa (AMEA) region at FedEx Express. “Having successfully delivered over 37 kilotons of personal protective equipment and other healthcare supplies inbound to AMEA, including vaccines to South Korea and Vietnam during the first one and a half years of the pandemic, we remain united behind the purpose of delivering these mission-critical shipments safely and reliably to our communities.
Shipments of COVID-19 vaccines and critical medical supplies are picked up from the manufacturers and distributors and delivered to communities around the world. Network capabilities also enable the movement of sensitive shipments such as active pharmaceutical ingredients and therapeutics that play an important role in the fight against COVID-19.
Before the pandemic, FedEx developed innovative technologies and expanded its cold-chain storage facilities, which support vaccine shipments and other healthcare businesses. Dedicated FedEx Priority Alert customer support agents are using FedEx SenseAware monitoring technology to track the location of vaccine shipments in near real-time, helping to ensure these time-sensitive deliveries move swiftly and safely through the FedEx Express network. In the U.S. this technology is complemented by the FedEx Surround platform, which leverages artificial intelligence and predictive tools to proactively monitor conditions surrounding the packages, allowing customer support agents to intervene if weather or traffic delays threaten to impede delivery times.
COVID-19 Relief
- FedEx made its first COVID-19 vaccine delivery to a medical centre in the U.S. on Dec. 14, 2020. Over the past year, the company has worked with the U.S. government and healthcare customers to deliver approximately 300 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines throughout the country.
- Since the beginning of the pandemic, FedEx has delivered thousands of COVID-19-related humanitarian relief shipments.
- FedEx has committed millions of dollars in cash and in-kind transportation support to several nonprofits serving communities in the U.S. and around the world, including Direct Relief, International Medical Corps, and Heart to Heart International.
- The company has also remained committed to delivering disaster relief to natural-disaster victims impacted by events like the recent flooding in Henan Province, China, and Maharashtra, India, as well as the earthquake in Haiti.
Recently, FedEx was named “Asia’s Best 3PLs for Vaccines” at the Asia Pacific Vaccine Excellence Awards 2021 (AVEA 2021). FedEx was selected as “Asia’s Best 3PLs for Vaccines” for its leading role in protecting shipment integrity and keeping vaccines moving across the globe.
