Recent years have seen aacceleration of the changes taking place in the logistics sector, which led to the breakdown of some balances on which the functioning of national and international supply chains was based. Years which also saw a growth in the economic importance of logistics in Italy. In the alone Emilia Romagna Logistics turnover, in 2023, reached the value of 10.9 billion euros, up 5.7% compared to the previous year. Growth rates above the national average. A sector which, in 2018, had a turnover of 7.6 billion euros. The region alone represents 9% of the turnover of third-party logistics in Italy. Also in Emilia Romagna there are more than 400 properties dedicated to logistics and another 500 thousand square meters are under construction.
Broadening our gaze to a national level, in 2019 Logistics represented 7.2% of GDP, while in 2022 it rose to 8.9%. The value of logistics rose from 119 billion euros in 2019 to 157 billion in 2022. Third party logistics has shown an almost uninterrupted growth trend from 2009 to today, bringing the estimated turnover of the sector to exceed 114 billion euros in 2022. And in this sector the three northern regions: Emilia Romagna, Veneto and Lombardy play a major role. 53% of the turnover of the entire Italian third-party logistics sector is made in these three regions and 35% of the companies providing logistics services organized as joint-stock companies in Italy are also located here. Again at a national level, there is a continuous growth in outsourcing, confirming the increasingly important role played by logistics service providers. In 2009 it represented 36.4% of the entire sector. In 15 years, in 2022, it has become worth 45.5% of all logistics.
These are some of the results presented at the conference “Strategy, innovation and sustainability: the future of logistics” organized byContract Logistics Observatory “Gino Marchet” of the Polytechnic of Milan, in collaboration with the Emilia Romagna Region, ITL – Institute of Transport and Logistics, the Veneto Region and Assologistica, hosted yesterday in the splendid setting of the Kerakoll GreenLab in Sassuolo.
“It was a pleasure to be able to collaborate with the Emilia Romagna Region, ITL, the Veneto Region and Assologistica for the creation of an event that fully embraces the mission of the Contract Logistics Observatory – he states Marco Melacini, Scientific Manager of the Contract Logistics Observatory -, that is, disseminating good logistics innovation practices, which increasingly has a strategic role for companies, as demonstrated by Kerakoll’s hospitality for an event on this topic”. “The numbers show a ever-growing logistics supply chain and the regions involved in the conference see logistics services as an engine for the economic growth of the territory – analyzes Damiano Frosi, Director of the Contract Logistics Observatory – combined with environmental and social sustainability”.
“Contract Logistics in Emilia-Romagna in the last 5 years it has recorded the highest growth in employment compared to all other sectors of the regional economy. This more than any other data demonstrates on the one hand the relevance of logistics for the regional economy, on the other the need to support collaborative initiatives aimed at qualifying sector skills while accelerating the digital transition and decarbonisation of the sector” he adds Andrea Bardi, General Director of ITL – Institute for Transport and Logistics Emilia-Romagna.
Many managers of logistics companies active in the area and representatives of institutions participated in the event. Speakers included Andrea Corsini (Councillor for Mobility and Transport, Infrastructure, Tourism, Commerce, Emilia-Romagna Region), Elisa De Berti (Vice-President, Veneto Region), Rita Gamberini (Prof. Eng. Phd. Department of Sciences and Methods of Engineering, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia), Renzo Sartori (Vice President and Head of Relations with Universities and Research Centres, Assologistica), Andrea Bardi (General Director, ITL – Institute for Transport and Logistics Emilia-Romagna), World Capital Group with a video contribution, Elisa Bevitori, (Supply Chain Manager, Caviro, invited by Jungheinrich Italiana), Roberto Costamagna (Logistic & Supply Chain Director, Dimar, invited by Number 1 Logistics Group Società Benefit), Gianluca Borchia, Supply Chain Director, Granarolo), Niccolò Passerini Glazel (Logistic Manager, Granterre, invited by STEF Italia), Nicola Querciagrossa (CIO – CISO – PRIVACY OFFICER, Grissin Bon, invited by Replica), Claudio Motta, (Group Chief Operating Officer, Kerakoll), Federico Francia (Supply Chain Director, Teddy).
“For us it is reason for pride host a meeting of this level today, on a topic of strategic centrality for all sectors of the industry such as logistics. This is a precious opportunity for discussion and sharing, in which we can bring together the experiences from different sectors and draw new ideas to evolve increasingly in the direction of innovation and sustainability” – he adds Fabio Sghedoni, Vice President of Kerakoll Group.
“The commitment of the Emilia-Romagna region is to make logistics increasingly qualified, safe and sustainable. For some time our region has been encouraging modal diversion from rubber to iron through dedicated regional laws and the development of intermodal nodes, both in terms of infrastructural strengthening and thanks to collaborative initiatives such as those promoted by our cluster ERIC – Emilia-Romagna Intermodal Cluster” – he declares Andrea Corsini, Councilor for Mobility and Transport, Infrastructure, Tourism, Commerce, Emilia-Romagna Region.
“We must definitively abandon the idea of logistics as an isolated area or one referring only to the dimension of mobility and infrastructure. We believe in the development of logistics from a regional and supra-regional perspective, across the board. As Veneto region, we have promoted teamwork, inter-institutional and open to the world of business and research. An important piece of the architecture of the idea of supra-regional governance of which I am particularly proud is the establishment of the “General States of Logistics of the North-East” thanks to a memorandum of understanding signed with the Ministry of Transport and the Veneto Regions , Emilia Romagna, Lombardy, Friuli Venezia Giulia and the Autonomous Provinces of Trento and Bolzano, with the aim of having an integrated and coordinated logistics system. It is important to accompany infrastructural development with the digitalisation of businesses and transport systems, technological innovation and the promotion of quality employment” – he adds Elisa De Berti, Vice President, Veneto Region.
“This meeting, as well as the others organized by the Polytechnic of Milan, are important opportunities for discussion in which Assologistica participates with conviction, bringing its own contribution – explains Renzo Sartori, Vice President and Head of Relations with Universities and Research Centres, Assologistica –. It is the duty of the Association enhance trends, numbers and scenarios analyzed by the observatory in an active dialogue with associated companies and institutions so that the strategic role that logistics plays is increasingly recognised”.
