DB Schenker joins Green Channel to ship emergency supplies

In response to the surging demand for emergency medical supplies, DB Schenker joined the Green Channel initiative on January 25. Organized by Alibaba Group logistics arm Cainiao, the Green Channel is a global logistics channel that expedites the delivery of emergency supplies to Wuhan in a joint industry effort to combat COVID-19.

To date, DB Schenker has successfully completed five batches of free overseas medical supply deliveries with a total weight of more than 14 tons, including 97,000 protective masks, 3,210 medical gloves and 14,236 sets of protective clothing. 

Some 77,000 protective masks purchased by Alibaba Group arrived at Shanghai Pudong International Airport from Jakarta, Indonesia, on January 30. This was the first batch of medical supplies Cainiao and DB Schenker delivered to Wuhan after the Green Channel was opened.

Together with Cainiao, the DB Schenker airfreight team in Shanghai closely tracked the status of the cargo in order to speed up the customs application process. With added support from the Schenker Petrolog Utama airfreight export team in Indonesia, the export customs declaration was eventually postponed by Indonesian customs authorities. At the same time, to ensure that the cargo could catch the only daily flight from Jakarta to Shanghai Pudong International Airport, China Eastern Airlines pushed back loading time by three hours.

The second and third batches of overseas medical supplies were delivered on January 31. In the morning, 800 sets of protective clothing were delivered from Bangkok, Thailand to Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital in Hangzhou. The overall transportation only took 24 hours – one working day faster than usual. The same evening, 10,000 sets of protective clothing donated by Alibaba Group arrived at Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport and after prompt customs clearance through the Green Channel, the supplies were delivered to the hospitals of Zhejiang Province, the second-most severely hit area by the coronavirus.

As the epidemic evolves, major carriers have announced the cancellation of flights to and from China. Under the sharp decline of capacity, transport of medical supplies to China has become a big challenge. In order to expedite the delivery of the fourth and fifth batches of medical supplies procured by Alibaba Group, which include 20,000 more protective masks, 3,210 medical gloves and 3,436 sets of medical protective clothing, Cainiao and the DB Schenker airfreight team continued to make every effort to deploy solutions under limited capacity. Finally these supplies were transported from Moscow to Shanghai Pudong airport on February 1 and 2 respectively, with the Green Channel’s "zero delay" in customs clearance ensuring seamless transportation to Wuhan. The overall transit time only took three days from pickup to delivery.

As one of the global leading logistics providers, DB Schenker has always actively fulfilled and undertaken social responsibilities by leveraging its integrated logistics network across China and globally, successfully delivering batches of emergency supplies to critical coronavirus hit regions. The company will continue to monitor the outbreak of COVID-19 and support global emergency transportation.