Pharmacy Courier in NRW – Wholesaler and Branch Runs as Direct Drives

• Out-of-stock items from the wholesaler
• Totes for branch stock transfers
• Refrigerated goods in the pharmacy's cool box
• Packs lent between pharmacies
• Compounding ingredients and containers
• Dressings and medical devices
• Medical aids and rental devices
• Seasonal and promotional stock for branches
• Delivery notes and returns paperwork

• Cologne-Nippes: collecting an out-of-stock item from the wholesaler

  A pharmacy in Nippes runs out of an antibiotic suspension in the morning. The patient needs it today, and the next wholesale delivery only arrives late in the afternoon. The pharmacy orders from its wholesaler branch, agrees the pickup and books a car. The driver collects the goods with the delivery note at the pickup point and drives straight to the pharmacy. A technician signs for them; the product then goes to the patient at the counter or with the pharmacy's own messenger.

• Cologne-Sülz and Hürth: daily stock transfer between main pharmacy and branch

  A main pharmacy in Sülz runs a branch in Hürth – permitted because the Rhein-Erft district borders Cologne. Every lunchtime, totes move with stock that is missing in one pharmacy and sitting on the shelf in the other. Instead of sending a technician in their own car, the run is set up as a recurring order with a compact van. Refrigerated goods travel in the pharmacy's cool box. Both pharmacies see pickup and handover in the digital proof of delivery.

• Bonn: refrigerated help between Beuel and Bad Godesberg

  A pharmacy in Bad Godesberg is out of an insulin, and a colleague in Beuel helps out with a pack. The sending pharmacy packs the product into a cool box with the ice packs kept apart from the medicine. A car collects the box and crosses the Rhine straight to the ordering pharmacy, where it goes into the fridge at once. The run is passively cooled; temperature-controlled only when a suitably equipped vehicle is available.

Local courier service:KölnHürthBonn

• Delivery service: delivery by the pharmacy's own messengers

  Under section 17(2) ApBetrO, pharmacies may deliver medicines without a mail-order licence through “messengers of the pharmacy”. According to the Bundesrat's explanatory statement, this means staff who are subject to the pharmacy manager's authority to give instructions. Medicines must be packed separately for each recipient and labelled with name and address; the pharmacy manager ensures temperature requirements are met until handover. If a prescription was not presented at the pharmacy beforehand or no counselling took place, pharmaceutical staff must deliver. Maxmove does not carry out these deliveries.

• Patient delivery via third parties: only as mail order

  A pharmacy that supplies patients through a logistics company is shipping by mail order under section 11a of the Pharmacy Act (ApoG) and needs a mail-order licence. Section 17(2a) ApBetrO then applies: prescription medicines only against written or electronic confirmation of receipt to the household or a named person, plus shipment tracking and a free second delivery attempt. Section 35c requires quality-system rules on transport conditions, packaging and the information given to the carrier. Medicines containing thalidomide, lenalidomide or pomalidomide, among others, are excluded from mail order (section 17(2b)). Pharmacies with a licence contact us before such runs.

• Refrigerated goods: 2–8 °C without interruption

  Medicines are transported in three temperature ranges: room temperature (15–25 °C), refrigerated (2–8 °C) and frozen (below −18 °C). What counts is the manufacturer's information on the pack. Cold-chain products must not freeze and must not come into direct contact with ice or ice packs. The pharmacy therefore packs into a suitable cool box, keeps packs and goods apart and adds a temperature logger where needed. Maxmove carries that box passively cooled; we arrange temperature-controlled transport as soon as a suitably equipped vehicle is available.

• Narcotics and dangerous goods

  Maxmove does not carry narcotics. The EU guidelines on good distribution practice also require additional control systems and a specific protocol in case of theft for them – pharmacies use their own controlled channels. Labelled dangerous goods are excluded as well. State what is in the totes when booking so suitability is settled in advance.

• Agree pickups with the wholesaler

  Pharmaceutical wholesalers work under the EU guidelines on good distribution practice (2013/C 343/01). They require delivery to the address on the delivery note and into the care of the consignee, not to other premises. If a courier collects on your behalf, agree beforehand with your wholesaler branch how it hands goods to a driver you have booked, and give the order number and pickup time. The goods travel with their delivery note straight to your pharmacy; the proof of delivery shows who accepted them and when.

1. 01

   Book with goods and temperature

   Enter pickup point, receiving pharmacy, contact person and contents – number of totes, refrigerated goods yes or no. You see the instant price and the earliest pickup window straight away.

2. 02

   Pickup with delivery note

   The driver collects the goods at the wholesaler, the branch or the partner pharmacy. Delivery note and cool box stay with the consignment until handover.

3. 03

   Direct drive to your pharmacy

   No depot, no transfer, no further stops. You follow the drive via live tracking and plan the hand-out to the patient accordingly.

4. 04

   Signed handover

   Your team signs for the delivery. Timestamp and photos are then available in the digital proof of delivery for your records.

• Your delivery service stays with patients

  Runs to the wholesaler, the branch or the neighbouring pharmacy no longer tie up a technician or messenger. Your own team concentrates on delivering to patients, which under the Pharmacy Operations Ordinance stays with the pharmacy anyway.

• Missing items in your pharmacy the same day

  If a product is out of stock and the next wholesale round comes too late, we collect it as a direct drive – often on the same day. You see the earliest pickup window and the instant price before booking, without a phone call.

• Fixed runs within your branch group

  Set up the daily stock transfer between main and branch pharmacy as a recurring order. Billing runs through your business account, per drive or as a monthly consolidated invoice.