HEALTHCARE

By FedEx | January 15, 2026

Strict cold chain requirements, regional complexities, and rigorous regulations make healthcare logistics in APAC uniquely challenging. We break down six essential capabilities – from near real-time visibility to healthcare shipping compliance – that set top logistics providers apart.

• APAC’s healthcare logistics market is projected to grow to USD 81.3 billion by 2030, driven by rising cold chain demand and regional healthcare expansion.
• Top logistics providers offer Good Distribution Practices (GDP)-compliant infrastructure, round the clock environmental monitoring, and deep regulatory expertise across complex APAC markets.
• These capabilities are further enhanced by predictive AI tools and digital integration that reduce shipment delays and spoilage.

Healthcare shipments stand apart from other vertical shipments for being time-sensitive, heavily regulated, and often critical to saving lives. From ensuring insulin arrives in the right condition at a rural clinic, to delivering diagnostic test kits on time to a hospital, or shipping sensitive clinical trial drugs for clinical trials, healthcare logistics play a critical role in modern healthcare operations.

For businesses in medical supplies, diagnostics, or pharmaceuticals, the challenge is especially acute for those managing the healthcare supply chain in the Asia Pacific (APAC), a region marked by regulatory diversity, vast geography, and rapid healthcare growth.

Customers – including hospitals, pharmacies, labs, and distributors – need absolute reliability. Patients expect speed. Regulators demand compliance. A shipment of vaccine that arrives two degrees too warm, or insulin delayed by customs and exposed to improper temperatures, can render the product unusable and damage the company’s reputation in the process.

This is why selecting the right healthcare logistics provider is vital. APAC is the fastest-growing regional market for third-party logistics (3PL), with its healthcare 3PL sector projected to reach USD 81.3 billion by 2030, up from USD 47.9 billion in 2024. This growth is driven by factors like expanding healthcare access, increasing pharmaceutical manufacturing, and rising investment in cold chain infrastructure.

So, what defines a truly capable and future-ready logistics provider for healthcare in this dynamic region? Below are six essential capabilities every healthcare organization should look for.

1. Proven cold chain capabilities and industry experience

Precision in temperature-controlled handling is essential for any healthcare logistics provider. Many products, such as vaccines, biologics, clinical trial materials, and diagnostic reagents, must be transported within strict temperature ranges to ensure efficacy and safety.

The global cold chain logistics market was valued at USD 293.58 billion in 2023 and is projected to grow to USD 862.33 billion by 2032. Within this, the cell and gene therapy transportation segment is expected to expand from USD 10.75 billion in 2024 to USD 30.67 billion in 2034, growing fastest in the APAC region.

Healthcare logistics demands bespoke processes and specialized teams. Providers need to have the capability to offer validated packaging, active temperature-control systems, and prompt escalation and resolution protocols for deviations. GDP-compliant SOPs, audit-readiness, risk management, and business continuity planning are crucial indicators of a provider’s reliability in healthcare shipping.

2. End-to-end visibility and live monitoring

Visibility in logistics isn’t just about tracking location; it’s also about knowing whether your shipment is being maintained at the right temperature. For temperature-sensitive products, close monitoring of environmental conditions both externally and inside the packaging is critical. Businesses need the assurance that logistics providers are maintaining cold chain parameters throughout transit, during customs clearance, and between handovers.

A strong healthcare logistics provider offers sensor-based visibility, proactive alert systems, and integration with shipping platforms. For example, FedEx Surround supports industries like healthcare by providing increased visibility, critical updates, predictive analytics and timely interventions that help ensure the integrity and on-schedule delivery of sensitive shipments.

The FedEx Surround dashboard delivers near real-time global visibility and predictive analytics using AI to anticipate potential disruptions, providing time alerts to customers and enabling them to make quick, informed decisions. Combined with SenseAware ID – a lightweight sensor that transmits package location data every two seconds via Bluetooth Low Energy – this solution adds an additional layer of environmental and location awareness. This kind of end-to-end control supports better forecasting, fewer product losses, and more informed decisions.

In an environment where inventory accuracy directly impacts patient outcomes, understanding what constitutes inventory in healthcare becomes a critical operational question. It means full visibility, availability, and condition of healthcare products across all supply chain points.

This includes having stock on hand while ensuring it’s the right products, properly stored, tracked, and ready for use when and where it’s needed. Maintaining this standard across complex, multi-country operations demands near real-time data, predictive insights, and seamless coordination between logistics, inventory, and care delivery teams.

3. Regulatory and documentation readiness

Regulatory standards for pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and biologics vary significantly across markets in APAC and are frequently updated with short notice. A strong healthcare logistics provider doesn't just react to these changes; it anticipates and operationalizes them through standardized compliance processes, validated infrastructure and digital documentation tools that streamline customs clearance and ensure end-to-end compliance.

This is especially critical when handling pharmaceuticals or clinical trial materials, where preemptive regulatory planning helps reduce delays and safeguard the company’s license to operate. Many APAC countries are strengthening their frameworks to align with Good Distribution Practices (GDP), Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), IATA’s CEIV (Center of Excellence for Independent Validators) Pharma, and traceability standards from Europe and North America.

Providers that maintain validated facilities, robust customs brokerage capabilities, and airtight documentation are better equipped to avoid costly regulatory holds and ensure seamless cross-border shipping across complex markets.

4. Regional reach with local expertise

Delivering to a tier-one hospital in Singapore or Seoul is vastly different from reaching a tier-one clinic in Indonesia or the Philippines. Infrastructure, regulatory standards, and access vary widely across countries and territories in APAC.

A best-in-class healthcare logistics provider offers scalable regional infrastructure paired with deep local expertise. This includes a broad network of hubs and stations, last-mile delivery capabilities, and flexible air and road shipment options across both major cities and remote areas.

Just as infrastructure enables reach, local expertise ensures execution. Local teams who understand health authority expectations, permit requirements, customs regulations, cold chain handling, and in-transit storage protocols are essential to moving sensitive shipments smoothly. Together, these capabilities ensure that healthcare shipments move efficiently, regardless of destination.

5. Partnership-driven resilience and cost control

A strong healthcare logistics provider collaborates strategically to deliver long-term value. In APAC, where public-private partnerships are common for vaccine rollouts and pandemic response, logistics providers must align closely with healthcare organizations on logistics planning, risk mitigation, and supply chain visibility.

The most effective healthcare logistics providers co-create solutions, from joint SOPs and site assessments to shared contingency plans that build resilience in times of crisis.

Cost-effectiveness in healthcare logistics isn’t just about negotiating lower shipping rates; it’s about reducing the total cost of ownership by minimizing write-offs, avoiding last-minute shipments, and streamlining stock levels.

Providers that offer predictive planning tools, visibility into performance metrics, and data-driven decision support help healthcare companies reduce waste, prevent high inventory levels, and improve service reliability.

6. Integrated digital systems for operational efficiency

Leading logistics providers like FedEx offer API connectivity, tracking dashboards, automated invoicing, and electronic document submission to reduce manual tasks and ensure greater transparency. These tools support faster decision-making, improve inventory accuracy, and enhance auditability, especially in regulated sectors like healthcare.

Digital maturity is now a key differentiator. When evaluating how to ship medical supplies efficiently, healthcare businesses should prioritize logistics providers that enable proactive issue resolution, supply chain integration, and near real-time logistics intelligence aligned with broader healthcare goals, such as improving patient outcomes and reducing costs.

A provider for precision

By selecting a logistics provider equipped with cold chain expertise, near real-time visibility, regulatory readiness, and digital integration, healthcare businesses in APAC can ensure their shipments meet the highest standards of safety, speed, and compliance.

Unlike general 3PLs, FedEx delivers differentiated value through an IATA CEIV-compliant network, healthcare-trained teams, intelligent monitoring tools, and a global network built for complexity.

From validated cold chain packaging to advanced tracking systems and customs-ready documentation, FedEx enables healthcare shipments to move faster, smarter, and with reduced risk across APAC’s most challenging routes.

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Learn more about FedEx’s healthcare logistics capabilities here.