On the 16th of November, the Contract Logistics “Gino Marchet” Observatory of the University Politecnico of Milan presented the research results of the year 2022 showing how the numbers of the logistics in Italy continue to grow although the sector is facing serious challenges.

As partner of the Observatory Murata ID Solutions participated at the event, where market trends and challenges were analysed and discussed and important topics such digitalization and technological innovation were high on the agenda, that also included an analysis of the sector’s evolution towards logistics 4.0.

According to the research, presented by the Observatory, the Third Party Logistics (3PL) market in Italy continues to grow and is expected to reach a total of €91.8 billion euros by the end of 2022 (+2.8% on the previous year), but the sector is facing important increases in operating costs, shortages of operational capacity in transport and warehouses (lack of space on planes, containers and ships, shortage of drivers and warehouse workers, lack of storage space), slowdowns in international supply chains and critical issues in finding energy and fuel, with a consequent increase in the operating costs of the supply chains.

To face the challenges, the Observatory emphasized the importance of the intangible skills of the logistics and supply chain managers. To overcome the many difficulties, the sector’s decision makers need to find new balances and new solutions by also investing in Logistics 4.0, in the optimization and transformation of processes.

In the field of Logistics 4.0, the Research indicates how Italian companies are focusing on digital solutions, which means technologies for the collection and management of digital information. In fact, 72% of the companies involved in the research have carried out at least one project in this area, that, among others, include RFID systems or sensors that automatically collect data and send it to an information system, APIs for exchanging data between different information systems, blockchain for notarizing the collected data, allowing the certification of information.

RFID is one of the technologies that enable the digitalization and transformation of logistics processes. In a speech at the convention, Francesco Fantoni Guerci, CEO of Murata ID Solutions, gave an example of how by illustrating the way in which Conad, one of Italy’s most important Food Retailers, uses RFID to automatically track shipping units (SSCC) during shipping and receiving processes. The RFID system has made it possible for the company to eliminate inversion errors during shipping and dramatically reduce receiving times.

By showcasing a concrete example, Francesco explained and reflected upon the pivotal role RFID and IoT play in the digitalization of the supply chain and its future optimization.

The Contract Logistics “Gino Marchet” Observatory is a vertical work team within Digital Innovation Observatories, that since 2011 analyses the third-party logistics sector In Italy, with the support of a broad and highly specialized community and the collaboration of Assologistica.

• For more information on the Observatory
• Press Release of the Research Results 2022