MASSDEVICE ON CALL — UPS (NYSE:UPS) announced this week the launch of a dedicated network for medical devices, saying it hopes to streamline costs and speed deliveries.

UPS opened a series of 36 healthcare-compliant Field Stocking Locations for medical devices, saying that it can "provide medical device manufacturers access to over 80% of U.S. hospital beds within 4 hours."

"Due to an increasingly complex regulatory environment and significant cost pressures, medical device manufacturers are looking to the supply chain to lower costs through inventory reduction and enhanced visibility," UPS global healthcare strategy vice president John Menna said in prepared remarks. "Based on our experience in healthcare distribution and utilizing UPS’s industry-leading global FSL network, we have created a tailored inventory management and distribution solution to meet the unique needs of medical device manufacturers."

The stocking locations are just the latest in UPS’s healthcare expansions, adding to 46 global warehousing and distribution facilities and temperature-sensitive transportation and risk mitigation services.

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