BD is one of the major medical device companies in the world. Ever since its foundation in 1897, the slogan “Advancing the World of Health” has been Becton Dickinson’s guiding principle. BD has over 70,000 employees worldwide and its yearly turnover exceeds $17 billion.
BD distribution center
In the Benelux, BD employs no less than 1,200 people, spread over six sites (three in Belgium, two in The Netherlands and one in Luxembourg). These comprise both a research and production unit (Drachten, NL) and a distribution campus spread over four distribution centers in Belgium (Temse and Olen).
BD first started its activities in Belgium in 1970 in Erembodegem and that site remains a major hub for the company, even today. You’ll find Benelux sales, marketing and customer service there as well as various European services, such as supply chain, finance, IT and a biosciences department. The latter has been active in research for monitoring the immune system response to COVID-19.
The second site was opened in Temse in 1991 and encompasses three distribution centers. They cover just under 100,000 m², which gives them a storage capacity of over 100,000 pallets. In these centers, about 26,000 product codes are stored and distributed. On a monthly basis, 70,000 orders are processed, to be shipped to more than 80 countries.
BD also has a second distribution center in Olen.
The triangle East Flanders – Antwerp – South Holland forms the ideal location for any company importing from or exporting to the EMEA region due to the ports of Antwerp, Rotterdam and Zeebrugge, as well as Zaventem airport, all being in close proximity.
BD goods leave Temse and Olen on their way to the farthest reaches of Europe, the Middle East, Russia and Africa.
BD is active in three focal areas: discovery, diagnostics and delivery.
BD has been at the forefront of the fight against COVID-19, across all three of the company’s focal areas.
Its biosciences department in Erembodegem mapped the immune system’s response to SARS-CoV-2, thus speeding up the research into possible therapies and vaccines.
Furthermore, BD marketed one of the first CE-approved reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) SARS-CoV-2 diagnostic tests, followed by the BD Rapid Antigen Test and home test kits (not available in Belgium).
And last but not least, BD, one of the largest medtech companies to provide syringes and needles to administer COVID-19 vaccines, has played a strategic role in the vaccination campaign in Belgium, in close co-operation with national and regional authorities.
At the end of the day, we are talking about human lives, about patients who need(ed) to be vaccinated.
About the company in this story...
Becton Dickinson
1200+ employees in the Benelux
26 000
PRODUCT CODES STORED AND DISTRIBUTED FROM TEMSE
BD in Belgium: a logistics hub for the EMEA