How Beurer is conquering the whole of Europe with just ONE fulfillment location

Health is a matter of trust – even when it comes to shipping

There are no compromises when it comes to health and well-being. Every product that leaves Beurer – be it a blood pressure monitor, a daylight lamp or an inhaler – is responsible for a person’s well-being.
‘We want you to be well!’ is the motto of the company from Ulm.

But shipping such medical devices is a challenge. Not only because many products have special requirements such as temperature regulation and the safe handling of batteries, but also because of the complex regulations in the various countries to which Beurer ships its products.

Beurer also includes Antelope with its EMS equipment and other brands.

A century of expertise in the service
of health

Beurer has been at the forefront of health technology for over 100 years. What once began with heating pads has developed into an extensive range of over 500 specialised products – from beauty care to household and fitness to baby monitoring.

The company’s mission is to develop high-quality products that are in line with the latest trends and help its customers stay healthy. But with success comes responsibility – and the demands on shipping are no less complex than the products themselves.

In the B2B sector, Beurer is already represented in over 100 countries and is well positioned. We are therefore proud that this expansion strategy has also been successfully continued in the B2C market, largely thanks to the bundling of our PARCEL.ONE and FULFILL.ONE solutions.

Shipping healthcare products – more than just logistics

As health awareness has grown since the pandemic, the demand for preventative healthcare products has exploded. But not only do these products need to be produced, they also need to be shipped safely and efficiently.

Some devices require constant temperature control, others contain batteries that are classified as dangerous goods – a nightmare for the inexperienced logistician.

Beurer faced a number of challenges at the beginning of 2022: In particular, the transit times for international shipments needed to be worked on, as they had been too long up to that point. The issue of batch tracking also came up. Tracking consignments is not only an important issue for end customers, but also for the company itself. There were also challenges with returns.

Special solutions were sought so that returns could be completed easily and securely. Another hurdle was the connection of local marketplaces and delivery as is customary in the respective country, while the goods are stored in a central warehouse and therefore always have to be shipped cross-border.

After all, an international company like Beurer also has to deal with local regulations. When it comes to EU packaging regulations, there are always changes in the individual countries that need to be taken into account.

In France, for example, recyclable products and packaging that are disposed of by the end consumer must be labelled with the Triman logo*.

These and other regulations must be known and implemented. Even if this is seen as a minor challenge, failing to do so can have major consequences.Beurer knew that they needed a partner who could master these challenges.

PARCEL.ONE and FULFILL.ONE –
The perfect logistics combination for Beurer

After a thorough selection process, Beurer opted for the solutions of the PARCEL.ONE family because, in addition to the cross-border expertise of PARCEL.ONE, they could also draw on the services and knowledge of the fulfilment experts at FULFILL.ONE.

The combination of two different logistics services from a single source offered Beurer the possibility of more efficient communication between all departments as well as significantly faster processing times.

We were thus able to prove that we not only understood Beurer’s requirements, but also exceeded them.

The starting signal was given with the dispatch to France, where our FULFILL.ONE colleagues were able to excel thanks to their knowledge of local regulations. The success of this collaboration led to rapid expansion: other markets such as Poland, the Netherlands and Belgium soon followed.

Here, our PARCEL.ONE team was able to prove itself in a special way, as there was a particular requirement for shipping in Poland: delivery to lockers.

Beurer recognised that we had an advantage over other providers: by recording the sizes and weights in our PARCEL.ONE-HUB (main envelope base), the correct locker sizes (depending on the size of the parcel) are selected for delivery.

These serve as self-service, pick-up and drop-off stations that are accessible around the clock.
Our specially developed PARCEL.ONE sorting system ensures that the correct locker sizes are selected before delivery to the final delivery service.

Each consignment is recorded with a DWS unit (Dimensioning, Weighing and Scanning System) and the appropriate box and the correct compartment size are selected and reserved based on the recorded data. This means that no subsequent surcharge is triggered at InPost due to an incorrect locker size and delivery times are not unnecessarily extended.
If, contrary to expectations, a consignment is too large for the box, it is automatically redirected to an alternative delivery to the front door if the customer so wishes.

The recipient has the choice and is automatically informed about every tracking event.

PARCEL.ONE’s delivery partner InPost in Poland has more than 22,000 such lockers. These parcel boxes can be used not only for receiving but also for returning goods.
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InPost Locker – Parcelbox (Picture: InPost)

Returns management

Another aspect of this success was the implementation of an efficient returns management system. Together with our partner Trusted Returns, we have set up a user-friendly returns portal that allows customers to easily record their returns online. This information is integrated directly into our WMS software.

The return is processed and the customer is auto-
matically refunded – quickly, securely and transparently. This has enabled us to optimise the returns process and increase end customer confidence.

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From five to eleven: how we more than doubled international shipments together

As a shipping service provider with a clear focus on international shipping, we have experienced impressive growth with Beurer over the past two years.

In 2023, our customer was still shipping its goods with us to five countries. In the following year, this figure grew to eleven countries – clear evidence of successful expansion into new markets with the right partners.

A prime example of this success is France, where shipment volumes increased by over 112 %. We also recorded growth of almost 100 % in the Netherlands, while shipment volumes increased by 66 % in Belgium.

In addition to the existing markets, we have successfully established shipping processes in six new countries, including Austria, Italy and Spain.

This expansion was only possible because we worked closely with our customer to optimise logistics and successfully serve new target markets. This success is emblematic of our vision to offer customised and efficient global shipping solutions – no matter how big or small the challenges are.

As healthcare products often have special requirements for serial number or batch recording, we have also developed a customised technical solution for this. Before dispatch, we record and register this data to ensure that all products can be tracked seamlessly – a crucial measure for the safety and quality of these products.

Beurer‘s wide range of products, from tiny pedicure attachments to massive massage chairs, was particularly challenging.

But no matter how big or small the items are, we ship everything internationally. Thanks to our automated processes, which we developed specifically for our customer, they were able to keep the number of service personnel low despite this variety, while we maximised efficiency.

Common goals and new markets

Thanks to the smooth processes, the launch into new markets was a complete success for Beurer and a long-term collaboration was agreed accordingly.

In future, however, not only will new successes be celebrated together, but existing processes will also be further optimised. For example, address corrections will be made even faster and more efficiently in future. The ticket system will also be updated with synchronised interfaces so that enquiries from end customers can be processed more quickly.

Beurer has been focusing on internationalisation in the B2B sector since 2009. In future, Beurer will also position itself with its brands in the D2C business in more than 20 countries and marketplaces.

Beurer and the PARCEL.ONE family –
a duo that brings health safely into the world

Shipping healthcare products is no easy task. But with the right partner, it is possible. With the combination of PARCEL.ONE and FULFILL.ONE services, Beurer has found a customised logistics solution that transports its sophisticated products safely and compliantly all over the world. After all, health is more than just a business – it is a responsibility.

And Beurer knows that this responsibility is in the best hands with us.