GEORGE TOWN, Jan 6 — Pharmaniaga Logistics Sdn Bhd (PLSB), a wholly owned subsidiary of Malaysia's leading pharmaceutical company Pharmaniaga Bhd, has officially opened its new distribution centre in Penang.
In a statement, Pharmaniaga group managing director Datuk Zulkarnain Md Eusope said this new centre is targeted to increase the group's distribution capacity coverage, buffer the stock readiness as well as cater to the increasing demand from the northern region clientele, especially among the Health Ministry facilities in Perlis, Kedah, Penang and Perak.
Located in Phase 4 of the Prai Industrial Zone, Penang, the new distribution centre is also part of PLSB's management office relocation as well as warehouse expansion which has been initiated since April 2021.
"We target to increase our current distribution capacity significantly which is in line with our business growth while improving PLSB's existing logistics services level and fulfilling customers' orders in a timely manner across the northern region.
"The new distribution centre boasts a total of 3,500 pallets of warehouse space for controlled medicines and medical devices,” he said.
Zulkarnain said PLSB is currently adopting the Oracle Transport Management System (OTM) to manoeuvre the group's logistics services, and it is also part of strategic growth towards the automation and digitalisation strategy for continuous improvement in operations.
Moving forward, he said the group intends to increase storage capacity to cater to the demand from more private hospitals and clinics in addition to the government’s healthcare facilities in the northern region.
"Currently, we are in the midst of conducting a feasibility study to develop our own warehouse in Sungai Petani, Kedah with a higher capacity to cater to the current and future business expansion needs.
"With this new expansion, our northern region distribution centre capacity for 2021 has significantly increased to 180 per cent compared to 2020. For 2022, the growth has risen by 32 per cent compared to 2021 and 270 per cent compared to 2020,” he said.
To date, the group has five distribution centres strategically located throughout the country in Selangor, Penang, Sabah and Sarawak with a fleet size of more than 200 transporters that deliver via air, water and land.
On the international front, he said the group has established its footprint in Indonesia via PT Millennium Pharmacon International Tbk (MPI), the public-listed logistics and distribution arm in Jakarta. — Bernama
