Kuehne+Nagel has signed a five year pharma logistics contract with global healthcare company GSK.

The Switzerland-based supply chain giant will operate an “end-to-end global logistics partnership” for GSK until 2021, running the core business of transporting products from the raw materials supplier to trade customers.

Said K+N: “With numerous suppliers, a large number of manufacturing units and a variety of specific routes to patients and consumers in over one hundred countries; GSK requires a sophisticated and truly global end-to-end logistics solution.”

It is one of K+N’s biggest customer awards.

K+N said that it was selected as a partner due to its “existing track record with GSK, strength in the industry, maturity of integrated logistics provision and significant investment strategy in pharmaceuticals and consumer products logistics”.

Detlef Trefzger, chief executive of parent group K+N International, stated: “We are very excited about this long term collaboration with GSK. Our focus is to leverage existing experience and industry-specific solutions serving the pharmaceutical and consumer sector which will deliver incremental benefits to GSK.

“Our integrated logistics approach, comprising air, sea, overland services and Logistics Control Centres in four regional hubs will enable GSK’s global supply chains to move to the next level of performance.”