Global Healthcare Logistics: Focus on Italy

Recent news regarding US tariffs have reminded everyone how global the pharmaceutical industry has become in recent years, with drugs often being manufactured far away from where patients need them. The actual challenge of so-called “healthcare logistics” is indeed broader and more complex than this intense cross-border activity, as we will see through a short focus on Italy.

 "For 71% of Italian hospitals, the fast delivery of medicines, organs, and blood is a strategic factor," states the most recent research report from the Contract Logistics Observatory of the Polytechnic University of Milan (February 2025). The professionalism and reputation of healthcare institutions critically depend on this “fast delivery” capability. Operators in the healthcare logistics sector must focus on this competitive factor if they want to adequately position themselves and gain new market shares, while of course securing stringent compliance with quality standards and regulations.

At the same time, the global population is aging: The number of people over 65 is expected to double within 30 years up to 1.7 billion (UN data). This keeps enhancing both the volumes and diversity of healthcare supplies needed worldwide, a structural growth issue that somehow has to be handled by healthcare logistics operators.

Glocal distribution

Drug supply and delivery chains require both capillarity and reach. Yet in many cases, pharmaceutical companies, especially those producing sophisticated and delicate medicines, cannot rely on general freight forwarders: Special means of transport and bespoke warehouses are needed, capable of ensuring suitably controlled temperatures or even cold-chain integrity,  and guaranteeing the timely delivery of high-risk materials, such as radiopharmaceuticals, with required reliability levels.

The typical targets of healthcare delivery, the Polytechnic report reminds us, are hospitals (43%) and pharmacies (40%), while the remaining 17% is spread across home care and local assistance centers. The share of home deliveries is growing, demonstrating that this sector is also influenced by the models already pursued and adopted by companies such as Amazon or Deliveroo. Modern platforms can therefore no longer disregard the use of digitized systems and advanced warehouses, which are real computerized collection and sorting centers located throughout the territory. In this sense, it is understandable that future investments will essentially go in these two directions: the establishment of efficient hubs and the development of digital technology.

Considerable numbers

The global market for the supply chain dedicated to the healthcare sector (healthcare logistics) is worth over 90 billion euros (almost 50% being concentrated in North America) and has grown at an average annual rate of 3.5% in recent years, with even higher CAGR expected for the coming decade. In Italy, the logistics sector as a whole has a turnover of around 118 billion euros (2023), and only a small part of this concerns healthcare (estimated at around 1%). Also, the healthcare logistics sector remains quite fragmented, with over 200 operators of various sizes throughout Italy.

A complex and delicate logistics service

Those operators working in this specific supply chain segment face a specific complexity. They of course deal with warehouse management, packaging, and everything connected to the improvement and speed of the service, with competence covering vans, heavy vehicles, airplanes, ships, administration activities, and customs services. And they also need to cater to ancillary services specific to the healthcare segment, such as refrigeration and storage of medicines at controlled temperatures, which are crucial for maintaining product quality, as is “surgical” inventory management.

CDI Global: Supporting growth of logistic providers in the healthcare sector

CDI Global Italy has recently supported the PHSE group, one of the main actors in the pharma logistic supply chain industry, backed by the private equity fund NB Aurora Renaissance, in the acquisition of the Italian company Sat Cargo Srl, specialized in pharma distribution in Italy.

For about five years, the PHSE group has decided to accelerate its acquisition strategy and broaden its scope of action by establishing its own branches or operational headquarters abroad. Today, it is present in nine countries, including Brazil, the United States, India, and Singapore. The development vision continues with the aim of creating a global platform for managing the flow of deliveries. The acquisition of the italian  Sat Cargo Srl, which further expands the group of six companies incorporated so far, is understood in this context.

We take pride at CDI Global in our ability to support companies involved in such major development challenges, thanks to our unique combination of deep industry expertise -thanks to our Transport & Logistics Industry Group-, 50+ year M&A experience and about 50 offices on all continents.

By: Gianmaria Castoldi, CDI Global Partner, Milan office