What began in the Dominican Republic in 1996 as the distribution of medical products to family and friends has become a successful family business.

RLM, Suministros Médicos, SRL was born out of necessity. This family of doctors needed medical supplies they couldn't find in the country. Dermatologist, Dr. Raquel Espaillat, traveled to other countries to look for the products, not only for her family's use, but also for other surgeons.

And a business was born.

They started integrating other products for use by plastic surgeons and dermatologists and in 1999, they formally began as a business.

RLM has clients specializing in plastic surgery, dermatology and aesthetics, as well as ophthalmology, dentistry, gynecology and general surgeries. They now import a variety of products, from prosthetics to postoperative equipment from Colombia, France and Mexico.

Carmen Espaillat, RLM general manager, works hand-in-hand with her mother and company owner, Raquel, and believes in having high-quality products and personalized customer service.

"In our business, I wouldn't want to offer any products that my mom or my daughter or I would not use. And we want to grow as a business," Carmen said. Over the years, they've done just that.

The company has introduced four different product lines. Many of their products are used for scheduled surgeries, so it was vital to find a reliable logistics company. In the past with other carriers, they had problems with time in transit and shipments being lost.

In 2015 they found UPS … and peace of mind.

“UPS offered us a customer service. That is one of the things we value in our own company; for me it was basic. That's a priority," Carmen said.

For large, delicate and urgent cargo shipments, UPS was able to help RLM by offering the UPS Worldwide Express Freight™ service, where the customer can import palletized shipments with more than 150 pounds from France and Mexico, to the Dominican Republic. And do it in typically three working days from France, and two working days from Mexico.

For small shipments from Colombia, that don’t require urgent arrival times, RLM takes advantage of UPS Worldwide Expedited™ service, with deliveries from three to seven business days depending on the origin and destination.

RLM has also taken advantage of UPS technology such as UPS Quantum View® Manage to help with detailed tracking of palletized cargo shipments, as well as small package shipments. They also efficiently process imports using UPS Import Control®. and are able to process cargo and parcel shipments easily in a single system with UPS Worldship®.  

This small, woman-owned family business hopes to continue to grow with help from their ally, UPS, and its big portfolio of logistics solutions.