Strategic Collaboration Powers a Global Healthcare Supply Chain

As the world's largest provider of healthcare solutions to office-based dental and medical practitioners, Henry Schein serves more than 1 million customers across 33 countries. The company manages approximately 300,000 SKUs and ships roughly 140,000 cartons every day.

Supporting a healthcare network of this scale requires more than transportation capacity. It demands visibility, flexibility, and the ability to adapt as business needs evolve, while maintaining performance across thousands of daily shipments.

To help manage that complexity, Henry Schein depends on C.H. Robinson as a long-term logistics and supply chain partner.

“We rely on C.H. Robinson because they are the only global provider that meets our needs,” said Jim Mullins, SVP of global supply chain at Henry Schein.

Partnership in practice

For more than two decades, the relationship between Henry Schein and C.H. Robinson has extended beyond a traditional provider-customer arrangement.

The two organizations operate as an integrated extension of one another's supply chain teams, aligning on transportation strategy, execution, long-term planning, and managed transportation through C.H. Robinson Managed Solutions^TM. Through ongoing collaboration and regular planning sessions, they evaluate market conditions, identify emerging risks, and respond quickly to changing business requirements.

This approach has delivered measurable operational and financial impact, including more than $1.2M in domestic network optimization savings, alongside consistent improvements in service performance and transportation efficiency.

In one example, joint network analysis and consolidation initiatives helped identify opportunities that contributed to over $500K in annual consolidation savings, while also reducing complexity across multiple distribution points.

Driving continuous improvement

Long-term partnerships create opportunities that transactional relationships often cannot.

Because C.H. Robinson has supported Henry Schein through years of growth, acquisitions, market shifts, and supply chain disruptions, the teams have developed a deep understanding of the business and its priorities. That continuity has enabled measurable performance improvements, including:

• 15% cost savings across less than truckload (LTL) and truckload (TL) programs in North America
• Ongoing network optimization initiatives across multiple distribution centers
• Sustained service performance consistently maintained at 98%+ across high-volume shipment flows

Together, the teams continuously evaluate opportunities to improve resiliency, enhance efficiency, and reduce risk across the global transportation network. Weekly collaboration and shared visibility help identify improvements before they become challenges.

The result is a supply chain that continues to evolve alongside the business—rather than reacting to it.

Built for change

Growth brings complexity, particularly in healthcare.

As Henry Schein expands through acquisitions and adapts to evolving compliance requirements, each new business introduces operational variability. Some integrations require transportation network redesign, while others introduce new service expectations or regulatory considerations.

Through this evolution, C.H. Robinson has helped support the integration of acquired business units into a unified transportation strategy—helping maintain continuity while minimizing disruption during transition periods.

By leveraging global capabilities across LTL, TL, air and ocean, Henry Schein can adapt to changing requirements while maintaining consistency across its broader network. This flexibility has been especially critical during periods of rapid expansion and regulatory change, ensuring the supply chain remains both compliant and scalable.

Proven through partnership

The strength of the relationship has been tested and validated over 20+ years of collaboration.

Third-party consultants brought in to evaluate Henry Schein’s transportation network and identify efficiencies ultimately reinforced the value of the existing partnership. In many cases, opportunities identified externally had already been addressed—or were actively being optimized—through ongoing joint initiatives between the two organizations.

These reviews confirmed what years of collaboration had already demonstrated: a shared commitment to continuous improvement, transparency, and long-term performance.

"We tell our customers they can rely on us. We rely on C.H. Robinson," said Mullins.

Looking ahead

As healthcare supply chains continue to evolve, Henry Schein and C.H. Robinson remain focused on what’s next.

Together, the organizations continue to identify opportunities to improve performance, strengthen resiliency, and reduce cost-to-serve across a complex and ever evolving global network. Through a combination of industry leading capabilities, vertical expertise, and deep operational integration, the partnership remains focused on delivering healthcare solutions where and when they are needed most.