The fully computerized management of incoming and outgoing goods, as well as the internal handling of the warehouse. The registration and identification of each individual pallet with a PDA. A portal accessible to customers for inventory management, movement tracking and order entry. If the supply chain crisis is exponentially increasing the demand for warehouses and logistics services, this is a demand that not only requires physical spaces, but also a technological and IT leap in quality. And the Ceccarelli Group has invested on both fronts: in square meters and in technologies. 15,000, starting from meters, are the new covered spaces made available for the management of the customer warehouse, among the 8,500 of the new logistics hub just inaugurated in Pradamano, on the south-eastern outskirts of Udine, and the 6,500 that will soon be operational in Amaro , in Alto Friuli. "With the aim - reveals president Luca Ceccarelli - of a new 8,000-meter pole also in the province of Pordenone". Pradamano, very fresh from official paint but operational since February, is practically sold out, with its 2,600 pallet spaces on the shelves and 3,500 square meters for oversized goods. "We travel at full capacity and this - explains Ceccarelli - did not surprise us: we were among the first to understand the changes in a market which, having gone from the shock of the pandemic to the precariousness of the supply chain, was forced to reposition itself rapidly by a make to order logic to a make to stock strategy, so as not to be caught unprepared for new orders ».
Warehouse hunger, then. The impact of the pandemic, the shortage of drivers, the closed ports, from Trieste to Shanghai, the blackouts linked to the energy crisis and the war. Hence the sold out of Pradamano, in line with the expectations of a rapidly growing group like Ceccarelli. The turnover is clear: "Thirty-nine million in 2019, 42 in 2020, 46 in 2021", rattles off the president. "And in the first half - he adds - the transport component is growing by 20%, not only due to the adjustment of the price lists". Logistics will also help to make sales soar, especially since the goal is to reach three hubs in Friuli Venezia Giulia when fully operational. The group, moreover, is convinced that we are not facing a momentary change of strategy in production strategies. "We are sure that the increase in the use of logistics will be structural" explains Ceccarelli.
From the 3,000 meters destined for third-party warehouses on which the Group counted before the investment in Pradamano, when fully operational it will increase to 2,000. But the investment, it was said, is not just in space. The Group's bet is also on the innovation of WMS tools (Warehouse management system): a goal, explains Matteo Pegoraro, head of the Ceccarelli logistics division, on which Euros Srl works, a software house entirely controlled by the Group, with a staff of six. developers. "Who do not only work on the development of our Wms software, but are able to create customized IT solutions for each client". The added value is to offer a warehouse which, although physically distant, is controlled directly by the customer, optimizing time and costs.
