The public health emergency has placed a strain on the logistics sector, yet Covid, despite the difficulties, has represented a stimulus and an accelerator of innovation. This is the scenario illustrated last November by the “Gino Marchet” Contract Logistics Observatory at the Politecnico di Milano.

Despite an estimated loss of 9.3% of the Contract Logistics market caused by the restrictions imposed by the Covid crisis, logistics in Italy, with an expected turnover of 77.8 billion EUR according to PoliMi, has been confirmed as a dynamic sector, and indeed particularly equipped to face the complexity of the present moment. 

The pandemic has unfortunately interrupted stable positive trend, which hitherto had been so for some years: the sector had achieved an expected turnover of 86 billion EUR in 2019 (+ 0.8% in real terms on 2018) and 84.8 billion EUR in the twelve previous months (+ 1.6% compared to 2017). Yet, the public health emergency has once again brought logistics to the center of corporate strategies, highlighting the resilience of the sector, and its innovative capacity, which has led not only to entry onto the market of new players and new solutions, but also to a change of pace on the path to digitalization logistics processes.

In short, logistics, despite being one of the sectors most stretched by the crisis, has been able to respond positively, thanks to the management skills of the logistics managers, who have been able to make quick decisions and have created task forces to effectively manage flows. Fundamental too was the contribution made by outsourcing, which allowed swift adaptation of operational capacity, moving personnel from stationary sectors to others experiencing peak demand, and helped to quickly reconfigure the logistics network, opening new warehouses and moving large quantities of goods. Intermodal road-rail transport and the sharing of assets from other sectors blocked during lockdown have also spread.

In parallel, however, some weaknesses have also emerged for which, according to the Observatory, investments and improvements are necessary to make the sector more resilient. The boom in e-commerce and the changes in traditional goods delivery routes have indeed confirmed the need to strengthen local distribution. The growth in demand has also highlighted the limitations regarding intermodal transport that will have to be strengthened. Finally, awareness of the importance of process digitization and supply chain visibility has increased.

Digitalization, innovation, and logistics-transport integration are also some of the topics that will be at the center of the Transpotec Logitec 2022 trade show and training offering. This means experiencing innovation and new digital solutions first-hand, to which it is becoming increasingly necessary to direct one's investment if wanting to remain competitive.