BOMI GROUP HAS SIGNED A 3 YEARS CONTRACT WITH GUERBET IN BRAZIL

Guerbet, one of the world’s leaders in the contrast media and imaging solution fields, chose Bomi Group to restructure the logistic processes in Sao Paulo in order to improve the service’s quality to its customers.

The operations have started on July 2018: Bomi Group offers to Guerbet a temperature controlled warehousing service (up to 25°C) and a dedicated Repair Shop Area of about 150 sqm where Guerbet’s technical teams can access and work safely and securely.  The client has also available a dedicated dock and a receiving quarantine area of about 140 sqm.

Guerbet is a pioneer in the contrast media segment: its mission is to offering health professionals contrast agents, medical devices and innovative solutions indispensable to diagnostic and interventional imaging to improve patients’ prognosis and quality of life. Guerbet’s products have to reach professionals and patients in the best conditions, whether concerning temperature or packaging: it means that good logistics are required.

Guerbet chose Bomi Group as logistic partner in Brazil in order to improve the storage conditions of its products and to speed up their deliveries to its customers. 

Before the agreement with Bomi Group, Guerbet used to have its own independent warehouse located in Interlagos, in the south side of Sao Paulo. Faced with growth in demand, the company opted to move its products in a new area of 25.000 sqm at Bomi Group facility, based in Itapevi, a metropolitan region of Sao Paulo. From Itapevi all supplies are delivered to customers: this strategy shift has already started to generate great results.

Following the acquisition of the North American Mallinckrodt, Guerbet has almost doubled its size both in Brazil and in the rest of the world. Therefore, the facilities in Interlagos, being used since 1998 to store supplies, became insufficient in terms of dimensions. A detailed analysis of the company’s logistics in Sao Paulo has also raised other issues. « We had a very high fixed cost with our in-house operations, mainly on warehouse leasing, security and taxes charges. On top of that, there was no possibility for further expansion. We understood that we should focus more on our end-use activity, which is medical supplies. We realized that having a partner with a such recognized quality in logistics would have only bring gains« , explains Junio Neto, Guerbet’s Supply Chain Manager for Latin America.

Once the need for a logistics partnership was identified, they opted for a bidding to find a company that could meet their storage and distribution requirements for contrasts media and devices. These requirements, which are not few, presented a lot of challenges. Considered World Class in logistics, Bomi Group Brazil, which won the bidding process after an audit, presented the highest quality standards. Bomi Group is market leader in the medical-hospital sector (3PL), with more than 30% share and currently offers logistical and customized solutions for more than 90 national and multinational companies, performing more than one million of shipments per year. In Brazil, Bomi owns three warehouses, two located in Itapevi and another one in Itajai, Santa Catarina, making up a total area of over 40.000 sqm with controlled and refrigerated temperature.

According to Roberto Godoy, Guerbet’s CEO in Brazil and Marketing Director for Latin America, after the contract sign off and before the new operation has started, it was necessary to adjust some processes. « One of the challenges was to integrate systems. Hence, we created new interfaces to automate operations. Today, there is no longer any manual interaction. We have also increased level of traceability. From the products arrival up to shipment, we know what is happening at each stage of the process. Another point is that our supplies are destined to clinics and hospitals, and in order to meet specific regulations, we have decided to open a Guerbet’s unit within the new distribution center. This whole process was a natural learning process, and today our logistics are operating in a much more efficient and optimized way« , says Godoy.

Guerbet’s extended products range is stored at Bomi facility, moving from disposables and contrast bottles to injectors. « In the Interlagos warehouse such expansion wouldn’t have been possible. This increase in the storage capacity, the experience with health products, the possibility to improve data tracking for customers, alongside with cost optimization, were decisive for choosing Bomi« , reinforces Neto.

« Bomi and Guerbet are pioneering companies that have a lot in common, such as the focus on high performance and excellence in quality. Bomi is proud to keep so many long-term partnerships, and I’m sure this time it won’t be any different. Our devotion to the health sector makes us unique and Guerbet can definitely rely on our expertise as market leaders in the region to exceed their customers’ expectations« , says Gustavo Galvao, Bomi Group’s Head of New Businesses for Latin America.