UPS Purchasing Health Logistics Firm Bomi

UPS has purchased Bomi, an Italy-based healthcare logistics provider, the delivery giant said in a news release Monday (Aug. 8).

According to the press release, the deal adds temperature-controlled facilities in 14 countries and nearly 3,000 Bomi team members to the UPS Healthcare network in Latin America and Europe.

Read more: UPS Acquires SaaS Technology Company Delivery Solutions

“As a leading global healthcare logistics company, Bomi enhances our portfolio of services and accelerates our journey to become the number one provider of complex healthcare logistics,” said Kate Gutmann, EVP and President of UPS International, Healthcare and Supply Chain Solutions Kate Gutmann. “The combination of our two teams will significantly improve our healthcare customers’ ability to continue to develop and deliver life-saving innovations.”

With the acquisition, UPS gained more than 350 temperature-controlled vehicles and four million square feet of facility space, in an effort to provide customers with faster shipping times, increased production flexibility, and offerings to help them attract new business.

The deal plays a crucial role in delivering “next-generation pharmaceutical and biologic treatments that increasingly require time-critical and temperature-sensitive logistics,” the company said in its release.

UPS says the purchase is part of its ongoing expansion of the UPS Healthcare network and services to meet growing demand. Recent expansions include new healthcare logistics facilities in Germany and Australia and expansions to the company’s Dutch and Hungarian campuses.

In May, UPS purchased Texas-based Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) company Delivery Solutions, in a move to offer retailers “out-of-the-box” same-day delivery solutions.

Delivery Solutions platform helps retailers ship from distribution centers and stores and offers curbside and in-store pick-up.

Learn more: UPS Partners Africa’s Jumia on eCommerce Distribution Network

And in April, UPS announced it was using Africa-focused online marketplace Jumia Technologies AG’s distribution network to expand across the continent.

“We believe that Africa has the potential to reach around $180 billion in online trade by 2025,” said Renzo Bravo, UPS’ head of strategy for the Indian subcontinent, Middle East and Africa. “That will enable growth and commerce, not only across Africa, but also from the continent to the world and from the world to Africa.”