Local, Specialized Last-Mile Delivery for the Pharma Market

Q: What differentiates NTA’s services from others in the market?

A: NTA is a third-party logistics (3PL) supplier for the Mexican and Latin American market, offering warehousing and distribution services for almost 90 laboratories. Our services and attention have allowed us to work with multinational companies in Mexico, including nine of the Top 10 pharmaceuticals in the country. 

Our quality services have been our largest differentiator. The company strictly complies with national industry regulations for product storage and distribution and with the specific requirements of every single one of our customers. Our last-mile delivery service is another differentiator and its high efficiency has turned it into our flagship product and one of the most competitive in Latin America. Additionally, we are close with our clients and provide them customized solutions based on our expertise, specialization and compliance.

NTA is developing a Standard of Procedure (SOP) with logistic entities from Asia, the US and Latin America to offer an international pharmaceutical logistics’ process that complies with general distribution requirements of the Mexican and Latin American markets.

Q: What strategies have you implemented to become a true ally and partner to your clients’ development strategy?

A: We are a flexible and agile company, characteristics that allow us to innovate and adapt to rapidly changing market conditions. During the COVID-19 pandemic, for example, lockdowns disrupted the delivery of medical samples from patients to doctors. Within a month, NTA had developed a specialized service to address this problem and made about 3,000 last-mile deliveries per month.

Q: What role does traceability play in this process and what opportunities exist in improving the service and information you provide?

A: We are one of the few companies using passive systems for temperature control, a service made possible thanks to a partnership with a US company. All of our fleet is equipped with temperature control, so everything moved in our units follows temperature control standards. We have also installed a passive system box in every unit to monitor temperature in real-time. This data is then sent to our systems and shared with customers.

Q: What are the unique logistics challenges in Mexico?

A: Mexico is a challenging market due to its diverse weather, geography, road infrastructure and social networks. Accessing all parts of the country is not always possible due to road closures and poor infrastructure. Understanding this market, NTA has built flexible transport solutions, such as air fleets to circumvent inaccessible roads.

While we usually use our own fleets, we have partnerships with other suppliers for exceptional cases. NTA also has 26 distribution centers around the country and six in Mexico City’s metropolitan area.

Q: How is technology fueling the future of NTA?

A: Tech is part of our daily operations and has been fundamental to guarantee temperature control, safety and efficiency. Tech also allows us to track and trace our deliveries and continuously improve our performance. We have also developed an app that allows doctors to verify the delivery status of their order.

Q: What goals do you aim to achieve by the end of 2022?

A: In the past two years, the logistics sector has faced many challenges that are likely to continue in 2022 but on a smaller scale. During these harsh times, our services have supported our clients, allowing us to grow during this period. 

The market for last-mile deliveries is likely to continue growing and NTA is well-positioned to excel in the coming years. We are beginning to update our distribution centers to prepare for last-mile deliveries' growth and to reach remote areas more easily and independently.

NTA offers logistics services for the pharmaceutical industry in Mexico, the US and Latin America. It manages over 20,000m2 of storage and has over 20 years of experience in the healthcare industry.