DP World is revolutionizing healthcare logistics with cutting-edge supply chain solutions, ensuring faster, safer, and more efficient delivery of critical medical supplies. Leveraging smart technologies and global infrastructure, DP World enhances cold chain integrity, traceability, and response times. This innovation supports better patient outcomes and strengthens healthcare systems worldwide, setting new standards in medical logistics excellence.
In an exclusive interview with Mediworld Middle East, Magrietha Mallinson, Global VP of Health at DP World, discusses the company’s vision for revolutionizing healthcare logistics.
DP World is driving innovation with AI-powered predictive technology, advanced cold chain solutions, and a focus on sustainability.
With a vast global network, the company ensures regulatory compliance, market access, and seamless delivery of pharmaceuticals and humanitarian aid. Leveraging Jebel Ali’s strategic location, DP World is positioning the UAE as a global healthcare logistics hub.
In an insightful discussion, Magrietha delves into DP World’s role in strengthening global healthcare supply chains through infrastructure, compliance, and humanitarian aid initiatives.
Can you share DP World’s vision for the healthcare and pharmaceutical supply chain, and how you are driving innovation in this space?
The healthcare industry requires an innovative supply chain partner to navigate disruptions and advancing technology while meeting customer needs. Our vision is to create a more resilient, flexible global healthcare supply chain tailored to industry demands. We offer extensive reach, a reliable infrastructure, and specialized services such as cold chain storage, ensuring safe and efficient delivery—even to hard-to-reach areas.
We are actively shaping the future of healthcare logistics through tech-driven solutions that enhance visibility and resilience across the supply chain.
What are the main drivers shaping the future of healthcare supply chains, and how is DP World adapting to address these challenges?
There are a few global factors that are having a significant influence on the future of healthcare supply chains: resilience against disruption, sustainability and technology.
Disruptions are inevitable in today’s world, which can be particularly serious for healthcare logistics where patient care and public health are on the line. However, their impact doesn’t have to be devastating. By building resilient, future-ready healthcare supply chains, we can do more than just weather the storm – we can rise stronger after each challenge and ensure the flow of healthcare products to patients in need.
By embracing sustainability and technology, DP World is building more adaptable and resilient healthcare supply chains. For example, by using AI-powered predictive technology, we can proactively manage disruption before it impacts the supply chain. And by ensuring these solutions are built sustainably, we have a network that is resilient against the impact of climate change, while also reducing our impact on the planet.
How does DP World ensure that its healthcare logistics solutions remain customer-centric while meeting stringent regulatory and quality compliance standards?
Preserving product integrity is absolutely essential for any healthcare logistics solution, and in order to meet strict standards around the world, we put compliance at the core of our solutions for our customers. But we don’t stop there. We create tailored solutions that prioritize our customers’ needs, whether in contract logistics, freight forwarding, market access, or comprehensive end-to-end services.
We then follow GxP-compliant distribution and storage standards to deploy our solutions through our global network spanning over 80 ports and terminals, 11 economic zones, 200 freight forwarding branches and 40 Good Distribution Practice (GDP) certified warehouses. As an end-to-end logistics partner, we provide visibility and proactive intervention across the supply chain, along with a single point of contact for seamless coordination.
It means that no matter where our customers need to move their healthcare goods, they can rely on us to provide a solution that puts their needs first while ensuring their products are safeguarded throughout their entire journey.
Can you discuss any recent or upcoming initiatives by DP World that will significantly impact the healthcare logistics sector?
One initiative I am particularly proud of is DP World’s work in creating a seamless solution for generic pharmaceuticals. It’s important to remember that these medicines serve as a lifeline for patients worldwide, offering affordability and expanding access to essential treatments.
Currently, generic producers face multiple challenges, including rising cost pressures and difficulties in maintaining product integrity during distribution. To ensure these pharmaceuticals remain cost-effective and safe for patients, we have developed a portfolio of solutions tailored to the unique needs of generic manufacturers.
As a tangible outcome, we helped a leading generic pharmaceutical company support a major aid agency’s HIV reduction initiative in Africa. We successfully delivered critical antiretroviral drugs to 14 African countries, helping each nation progress toward its 90-90-90 targets for HIV testing, treatment, and viral load suppression.
How is DP World leveraging technology and digitalization to ensure the safe, efficient, and timely delivery of pharmaceuticals and medical supplies worldwide?
Technology plays a vital role in healthcare logistics, from digital tracking to automation and AI. Its impact on efficiency is undeniable, which is why we have invested over $4 billion in technology since 2016 to enhance every stage of the supply chain.
For instance, AI is transforming logistics by predicting demand, optimizing inventory, and improving supply chain visibility. In our contract logistics network, AI and automation have the potential to reduce overstock waste by 50%, cut carbon emissions by 20%, and achieve 99.97% inventory accuracy. When combined with our Control Tower solutions, this ensures end-to-end visibility for our customers.
We are also investing in cutting-edge technology for our infrastructure, enabling us to provide customers with state-of-the-art facilities and transport solutions—such as those required for innovative pharmaceuticals. For example, we can safely and securely transport temperature-sensitive products in conditions ranging from 25°C to -190°C. With our tech-enabled real-time visibility and proactive intervention capabilities, we ensure product integrity from end to end—all thanks to technology.
Sustainability is a growing focus in healthcare logistics. What steps is DP World taking to reduce its environmental impact while ensuring the integrity of medical shipments?
Preserving product integrity is the number one rule of healthcare logistics, and all our solutions prioritize it. However, building a more sustainable future is also non-negotiable. The good news is that these goals are not mutually exclusive—safe supply chains can also be sustainable ones. With trade contributing to 20-30% of global greenhouse gas emissions, we must do our part as an industry to reduce our impact.
We are committed to reducing Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 42% and Scope 3 emissions by 28% by 2030—all while working toward our 2050 Net Zero commitment. Our ongoing investments in renewable energy, electrification, and AI-driven efficiency measures underscore our pledge to making healthcare supply chains both greener and more cost-effective.
By taking decisive action and collaborating with our customers, we are placing sustainability at the heart of healthcare supply chains—while ensuring that the movement of critical medicines safeguards both the product and the planet.
Can you share insights into how your team collaborates with global organizations to ensure timely delivery of medical and humanitarian supplies during crises?
DP World is committed to improving the humanitarian supply chain. We have recently set up a dedicated global team to better serve this critical sector. We leverage our entire network – from strategically located ports and terminals to key vessels delivering humanitarian aid and our extensive freight forwarding system, including pharmaceutical-grade bonded warehouses. This has been especially crucial during recent crises, where DP World has provided unmatched delivery solutions.
For medical device distribution in this sector, we support 16 leading humanitarian organizations by offering fast, reliable supply chain services for crisis response.
Our sourcing, kitting, storage, and distribution network includes hubs in the Netherlands and the UAE, with a capacity of 27,000 pallets of aid, enabling rapid delivery to over 100 countries. By proactively sourcing and storing essential goods in these strategic locations, we ensure swift and reliable distribution.
Through our subsidiary Imres, we have over 40 years of experience in humanitarian aid logistics. We know that a timely response is about preparation – and we help humanitarian organizations get prepared and stay ready to respond when the need arises.
Maintaining the integrity of temperature-sensitive products is crucial. How is DP World ensuring the safe and efficient delivery of vaccines and other medical products?
Cold chain logistics is essential for safeguarding global health. This is because certain vaccines and pharmaceuticals must be carefully temperature controlled, with requirements ranging from 25°C to -190°C.
Our GDP-compliant storage network ensures precise temperature management, allowing these products to reach their destinations without compromise. We leverage advanced lane risk assessments, real-time monitoring, and intervention tools to guarantee the safe transport of even the most sensitive healthcare products.
However, it’s also critical to expand this infrastructure in order to expand access. One example of this has been in Rwanda, where our investment in state-of-the-art cold storage facilities has maintained the integrity of pharmaceutical products during transit – ensuring that life-saving pharmaceuticals can reach and be distributed within the country safely.
Can you elaborate on how DP World’s market access capabilities help healthcare companies expand into new markets and improve their global reach?
Market access is more than just logistics. Through our market access capabilities, we actively participate in the value chain, bringing global products across multiple channels to effectively serve patients in various markets.
In Sub-Saharan Africa, we support over 50 healthcare companies in navigating this promising but complex market. Through our distribution and partner network, we operate in 42 countries, working with 75 distributors and nearly 70,000 channel partners to effectively meet patient needs.
In Nigeria, for example, we help healthcare companies navigate this high-potential yet complex market. With a distribution network reaching over 5,000 pharmacies, we ensure the reliable transport and delivery of pharmaceutical goods while streamlining market entry for our customers.
Our dedicated Market Access Team is now working to expand this service into new regions, offering brand owners, channel partners, and patients improved services and cost-effective solutions.
The UAE is rapidly evolving as a major hub for global healthcare and pharmaceuticals. What role does DP World play in this transformation, and what future opportunities do you foresee?
The UAE has emerged as a powerhouse in global healthcare logistics. The pharmaceutical market here is on track to hit $4.7 billion by the end of this year – a clear reflection of the growing demand for advanced patient care and the latest medical technologies. At the center of this is DP World’s Jebel Ali, which handles 48% of Dubai’s pharmaceutical trade value through Jebel Ali Free Zone (JAFZA).
While the UAE’s strategic location at the crossroads of East and West is an undeniable advantage its world-class infrastructure and forward-thinking investments make it a true hub for healthcare logistics. Innovations such as the expanding rail network and the state-of-the-art Al Maktoum International Airport are accelerating the UAE’s transformation into a global transshipment hub for industries that require speed, precision, and resilience—especially healthcare and pharmaceuticals.
With seamless connectivity between JAFZA, Jebel Ali, and Al Maktoum International Airport, the UAE offers healthcare companies a strategically located base with the agility to transport life-saving goods quickly and efficiently across Europe, Africa, and Asia.
With JAFZA managing 48% of Dubai’s pharmaceutical trade value, what makes it a vital hub for healthcare innovation and commerce, and how does it benefit DP World?
Jebel Ali Free Zone (JAFZA) is a launchpad for innovation in global healthcare. The trade hub offers key infrastructure, including state-of-the-art cold storage, 24-hour emergency response and MoH-approved facilities, making it an obvious choice for pharmaceutical and medical companies. It provides a world-class ecosystem for healthcare businesses.
Additionally, JAFZA’s true edge lies not only in its facilities but also in its connectivity to leading infrastructure and global markets. For DP World, this type of healthcare ecosystem is part of the vision for creating seamless global supply chains – and shows the true potential of how an integrated, end to end logistics solution can drive significant value for our customers.
Looking ahead, what are the biggest challenges and opportunities in healthcare logistics, and how do you see DP World leading the way in shaping the industry’s future?
A major challenge we currently face is building resilience across the entire industry. We must move beyond simply “getting by” and focus on developing solutions that are agile, adaptable and sustainable in the face of any disruption.
At the same time, some of the most promising opportunities lie in AI, automation, and data-driven logistics. These advancements will be instrumental in strengthening supply chains, making them more responsive and adaptive to the evolving needs of healthcare companies now and in the future.
Interestingly, technology itself offers a solution to the challenge of resilience. At DP World, we have witnessed this firsthand, leveraging advanced technology to enhance supply chain agility and responsiveness. By implementing tools that enable proactive exception management, we are demonstrating how innovation can drive resilience in an ever-changing landscape.
As a leader in global healthcare logistics, what advice would you give to companies looking to optimize their supply chain operations in the healthcare sector?
In a rapidly evolving healthcare logistics industry facing disruption, advancing technology, and sustainability demands, companies should focus on three key areas to optimize their supply chains:
First, proactively manage disruption. Supply chains must be resilient, and having a partner skilled in navigating challenges is crucial. Second, embrace technology and sustainability. AI, automation, and digitalization offer immense optimization potential, while sustainability is non-negotiable. Choosing the right partner helps you to get ahead with technology and reduce environmental impact.
Finally, collaborate with a trusted partner. Reliability is essential—partners should showcase expertise in handling disruptions, leveraging technology, and promoting sustainability while meeting expectations. By prioritizing these factors, businesses can develop a resilient and future-ready healthcare supply chain.
