Toll Group is more than just a logistics company. As the President of the Government and Defence vertical, Perry Singh says, “We move the businesses that move the world.” With a team of 16,000 people, the company is positioned to solve any logistics, transport or supply chain challenge – big or small. It supports more than 20,000 customers at 500 sites in 29 markets around the world, with a forwarding network that spans 150 countries.
“Founded in Newcastle, Australia in 1888, we have been supporting our customers for more than 130 years and are now proudly part of Japan Post,” Singh tells us. “Within the Toll Government and Defence team, we deliver customised and integrated solutions enabling our partners to achieve success. Anywhere. Anytime.”
On the back of that unique experience, combined with an adaptable technology portfolio and an innovative culture, Toll Group can deliver success for its customers.
“Our experience and expertise ensure that we offer services and capabilities that solve the problems that our Government and Defence customers require to be solved,” Singh says.
Toll’s Government and Defence business does this work across four sectors – Aviation, Contingency and Sustainment, Managed Services and Healthcare Logistics, putting the customer at the centre of everything it does.
A Vital Service
The Healthcare Logistics business unit in Australia provides a particularly vital function, improving national access to a range of life science and healthcare products. A range of these products are critical healthcare & life-saving products.
“With a national footprint operating from TGA-licensed facilities, we provide multi-temperature warehouses – from controlled ambient, to cold chain, to frozen products – plus schedule drugs,” Singh explains. “We provide reliable and customised supply chain and logistics solutions tailored to the needs of patients and healthcare professionals.”
Since 2016, Toll Healthcare has been providing 3PL and 4PL services for the healthcare industry. It stores and distributes a broad range of products including medical consumables, medical devices, vaccines, pharmaceuticals, blood products and other biological and life-saving drugs.
Each year in Australia, Toll Healthcare delivers more than 150,000 temperature-sensitive, time-critical and high-value pharmaceutical products, devices and vaccines to hospitals, medical clinicians, pharmacies, and patients nationwide, as well as 7 million doses of vaccines and time-critical lifesaving antivenoms to all areas of Australia.
As Singh says, “At Toll, we care, we compete, and we grow. Because excellence isn’t just a goal — it’s our commitment, anywhere, anytime.”
Building Capabilities
Toll Group is building on those capabilities with a new, 10,000-square-metre state-of-the-art healthcare facility at Tullamarine, near Melbourne. Construction began on the facility in September 2023, within the Melbourne Airport Business Hub, a location with convenient access to the International Airport, as well as premium access to some of Melbourne’s key motorways. The new facility is now complete and operational.
The A$20 million TGA-licensed facility is Toll Group’s largest healthcare site in Victoria, supporting the warehousing and distribution of medical supplies, including biotech pharmaceuticals, vaccines, anti-venoms, medical devices, and over-the-counter medicines.
“We are a leading supply chain partner to CSL Seqirus, and the facility is being custom-built to support CSL Seqirus’ operations,” Singh says. “Our facility is strategically located adjacent to the soon-to-be-completed CSL Seqirus plant, a new world-class biotech manufacturing facility in Australia which will supply influenza vaccines to Australia and the rest of the world.”
The state-of-the-art CSL facility will use innovative cell-based technology to produce influenza vaccines for use in both influenza pandemics and seasonal vaccination programs – and will be the only cell-based influenza vaccine manufacturing facility in the Southern Hemisphere.
The facility represents a wider commitment to providing comprehensive logistics and tailored supply chain solutions for the healthcare sector.
“As a key partner to CSL Seqirus the facility is being custom-built to support CSL’s operations, as well as the growth of new healthcare customers, offering increased supply chain management options and speed to market,” says Singh. “It is an example of how passionate we are about collaboration and shows that we are prepared to strategically plan for optimal outcomes for our business and customers. The cookie-cutter approach doesn’t work in modern logistics, and our ability to tailor solutions and integrate with our partners is a strength.”
The facility will also provide increased capacity for cold chain and frozen products which are key growth areas in the healthcare logistics sector, enabling Toll Group to cater to both existing and future market demands.
It is an approach to the supply chain that is in line with an evolving healthcare sector, trending towards at-home patient care that will require a flexible distribution network.
However, no matter how advanced the facility itself is, it will not yield benefits without a dedicated team that is able to operate the state-of-the-art technology it deploys.
“Toll has a training matrix that identifies the qualifications, competency, and knowledge per individual role reflective of the role requirement (reviewed periodically as part of our onboarding and performance appraisal program),” says Michael Lawrence, General Manager for Healthcare at Toll Group. “Employees cannot perform any operational tasks unless they have completed the training required for their role and demonstrated competence in performing the tasks.”
Toll Group facilitates a variety of internal and external training programs including, mandatory Toll compliance training, customer and product-specific training, role-specific training, and personal and professional development training. This is all part of the Toll Group’s commitment to creating and embedding a culture where all team members can grow and thrive.
“We foster a positive work environment offering professional development, flexibility and work-life balance,” Lawrence tells us. “We promote cross-training and mobility, allowing team members to work with different customers on-site and even across state lines. This cross-training enhances skill sets and offers valuable experience across various functions and locations.” The benefit of this commitment is evident in the growth of the healthcare team and the stable workforce, across the country.
A Global Vision
Toll Group will need that skill set, as the company has big plans for the future, even beyond the new Tullamarine facility. In April 2023 the company opened a new warehouse in Richlands, Queensland.
“We are also planning future improvement and expansion in Western Australia, a further demonstration of our dedication to enhancing healthcare logistics infrastructure across Australia,” Singh says. “The facilities are part of our broader multi-million-dollar investment, creating advanced warehouse management solutions to meet the changing dynamics in the healthcare sector.”
Meanwhile, while Toll Government and Defence is currently more experienced in Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific region, Singh is confident that the company can apply its skills and expertise to the markets in the UK, USA, and Canada with great results.
“We will keep exploring how we can grow more in Asia and mainland Europe,” Singh says. “We will focus on growing in regions where we have the best value proposition – probably the UK and USA in the near term.”
Toll Group aims to become known as a global Government and Defence prime contractor that creates complex solutions with technology and various SME contractors, as well as the safest and most trusted aviation services partner, with the highest standards for aircraft, people, training and facilities. It is building a reputation as a fast, flexible and reliable expeditionary logistics service contractor; the first choice for emergency response.
“Toll Group has an exciting future as we pursue a global sales strategy based on vertical growth,” Singh says. “We have evolved from transporting coal by horse and cart, but we still do the same essential service – moving what our customers need to where they need it.”
