Healthcare

Ekol develops effective and creative solutions for a wide range of stakeholders in the healthcare sector. From pharmaceutical manufacturers and importers to medical device companies, pharmaceutical warehouses, and hospitals, Ekol focuses on delivering tailored services that enhance operational efficiency across the value chain. With its forward-thinking approach and strong grasp of industry dynamics, Ekol contributes to raising the overall quality of healthcare services while offering sustainable, value-added solutions to its business partners.

Ekol Delivers Tailored Solutions

Ekol offers integrated and customized services across the healthcare supply chain, including bonded and unbonded warehousing, secondary manufacturing, value added services, national distribution, active cold chain transport, and GDP compliant temperature controlled logistics. These services are designed for a wide variety of product groups, including human medicines, OTC products, animal health and cosmetic products, medical devices, eye care items, and raw materials.

Products are stored and transported in accordance with GMP, GDP, and relevant country regulations throughout the entire supply chain.

Ekol centrally manages all processes by combining bonded and unbonded storage with national distribution services, supported by customer specific IT solutions. This integrated approach delivers significant time and cost savings for clients.

In addition, through its hospital logistics services, Ekol analyzes the entire process from order placement of pharmaceuticals, medical, and non-medical products to patient billing to identify pain points and optimization opportunities. It then develops bespoke solutions to help hospitals minimize the resources they need to allocate to logistics challenges.

Lotus: Türkiye’s Healthcare Logistics Hub

Ekol’s Lotus facility, opened in 2018 in Gebze, spans 215,000 square meters, making it Türkiye’s largest enclosed storage complex. It offers fully integrated services including warehousing, export operations, cross-docking, and nationwide distribution—all designed with a strong focus on customer satisfaction.

Distinguished by several industry firsts in both design and technology, Lotus is the largest TAPA certified warehouse in the Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) region. This LEED-certified facility features earthquake-resistant seismic racking and covers 70 percent of its electricity needs through renewable energy, thanks to a 40,000 square meter rooftop solar panel installation.

Furnished with both bonded and non-bonded warehouse areas under a single roof, Ekol’s Lotus facility enables the direct transfer of customs-cleared products to the healthcare non-bonded warehouse without the need for intermediary transport. This setup delivers significant time and cost advantages while minimizing the risk of product damage. Once received, goods are stored in full compliance with applicable storage conditions and regulatory requirements, and the process is fully traceable through a system accessible to customers.

In addition, Lotus offers value-added services tailored to healthcare clients, such as secondary packaging and temperature-controlled zones designed for different product categories, as well as solutions aligned with the Drug Tracking System (ITS), the Product Tracking System (UTS), the Vaccine Tracking System (ATS), and the Package Transfer System (PTS).

Ekol has adopted a pioneering approach and deployed the OSR (Automated Storage, Picking, and Packing System) at its Lotus facility to eliminate human error in the healthcare supply chain and ensure uninterrupted, error-free operations under all conditions. This system offers numerous operational advantages:

  • Improved picking and packing performance,
  • Minimized human error related issues during order preparation (e.g., cross shipments, under or over deliveries),
  • Lower damage rates thanks to reduced manual handling,
  • Leaner collection and packaging processes,
  • Enhanced consolidation and loading capacity during shipments,
  • Greater control and efficiency during peak workload periods,
  • Post-consolidation, products are stored in temperature-controlled zones until shipment.

Click here to view the Lotus Facility transportation map.

Warehousing

Ekol operates giant, multi-user facilities dedicated to the healthcare industry, with a steadfast commitment to Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP), Good Distribution Practice (GDP), and country-specific regulatory compliance. These operations ensure the safe and compliant storage of pharmaceuticals, pharmaceutical raw materials, medical devices, animal health products, and other healthcare goods.

These facilities provide bespoke services for a variety of product groups, including human medicines, over-the-counter (OTC) products, cosmetics, dietary supplements, clinical trial materials, ocular health products, promotional items, medical devices, and veterinary drugs.

Warehouse Management Services

Ekol delivers flexibility and cost advantages by enabling the shared use of human resources, IT infrastructure, security, customized systems, and temperature control technologies especially during shifts in operational volume.

With its validated, proprietary warehouse management system, Ekol provides the following services in temperature and humidity controlled environments operating 24/7:

  • Product storage under tailored temperature and safety conditions
  • Order management (picking and packing)
  • Secondary packaging
  • Sample product management
  • Cold chain order management
  • Returns processing management
  • Disposal process management (including consultancy)
  • Customer complaint management system
  • Clinical trial product management
  • Mandatory notifications to relevant authorities via İTS, PTS, ÜTS, and ATS systems
  • Online tracking of orders and KPIs
  • Order management via a web based portal (excluding integration-based systems)
  • E-commerce order management

Promotional Logistics

Ekol offers bespoke promotional item logistics solutions to meet one of the pharmaceutical industry’s key needs: the storage and distribution of promotional materials. Serving some of the sector’s largest companies, Ekol simplifies and streamlines these operations through proprietary systems developed specifically for promotional logistics.

Once materials arrive at the warehouse from suppliers, Ekol captures product images and secures approval from designated product managers. Orders are then created for distribution to sales teams or designated recipients. A user-friendly web-based system allows customers to track order status and monitor warehouse inventory in real time, making promotional item management significantly more efficient.

Thanks to Ekol’s own distribution network, every promotional shipment is traceable through to final delivery, with confirmation data accessible via the web.

Secondary Packaging

Ekol, boasting one of Türkiye’s largest Ministry of Health-approved secondary packaging areas, is equipped to meet a wide range of customer requirements at its dedicated facilities. Services include:

  • Data matrix printing and labeling
  • Aggregation for Phase 2 data matrix compliance
  • Inkjet printing on boxes
  • Box replacement
  • Package insert inclusion
  • Decal labeling
  • Conversion into sample products
  • Preparation of products for export.

Bonded Warehouse Services

Ekol has established a temperature and humidity controlled bonded warehouse in Türkiye, specifically designed to serve the healthcare industry. The facility features two distinct temperature zones: a standard storage area maintained between 15°C and 25°C, and a cold storage area maintained between 2°C and 8°C. The warehouse is also equipped to store pharmaceutical raw materials and includes a dedicated section for controlled substances.

National Delivery

Ekol manages LTL and FTL transportation operations for pharmaceuticals, pharmaceutical raw materials, dietary supplements, medical supplies and devices, as well as animal health and other health products, using validated temperature-controlled or ambient vehicles designed in accordance with GDP guidelines.

Ekol recognizes the importance of vehicle location tracking and temperature monitoring to ensure product reliability and quality in the healthcare industry. Accordingly, all vehicles are tracked online 24/7.

Ekol applies its healthcare industry expertise to domestic transportation and distribution operations in the countries where it operates. Having developed bespoke solutions for transporting both cold-chain and regular items in validated, temperature-controlled vehicles designed according to GDP guidelines, Ekol delivers raw materials and end-user products to customers’ warehouses using specialized vehicles.

Ekol leverages its distribution network to transport products daily to industry delivery points such as pharmaceutical warehouses and hospitals. It delivers within Istanbul on the same day and to other regions within 48 hours.

For every distribution operation, customers receive real-time online proof of delivery (POD) information, including the recipient’s signature and the exact delivery timestamp.

High Standard
Healthcare Logistics

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