10 July, 2026

New Innovation in Italian Retail Warehousing

Posted on 10 July, 202614 July, 2026 by Will Priestman

Fives, a global leader in Warehouse and Distribution Intralogistics, has been chosen by Coop Consorzio Nord-Ovest to build their highly automated new distribution center in Tortona (AL), a greenfield facility set to become a flagship site for the Italian large-scale retail sector.

With this investment, Coop is preparing to transform the management of logistics flows for fresh products – meat, dairy and cold cuts, enhancing accuracy, speed and operational continuity across its entire supply chain.

The new system will mark a major step forward in Coop’s logistics network, supporting the company’s commitment to high service quality and competitiveness for its members and customers.

Reasons behind Coop’s investment in automation

Automation is a strategic asset for food distribution, delivering greater efficiency, reliability and volume-handling capacity, especially for fresh products. Coop decided to invest in an automated system to:

Optimize sorting operations across its store network
Improve the management of peak operational periods
Enhance order preparation quality and reduce defect rates
Reduce manual errors
Enable workforce specialization and upskilling for higher-value-added activities
Improve the ergonomics of operators’ workstations
Reduce health and safety risks for employees
Meet evolving service requirements

With this project, Coop Consorzio Nord Ovest reinforces its commitment to a modern logistics
model capable of supporting network expansion and enhancing customer service through
investments in innovation

commented Daniele Maini, Logistics Director at Coop.

From Reactive to Proactive Logistics

Posted on 10 July, 202610 July, 2026 by Will Priestman

Many logistics operations still rely on a reactive approach, responding to shipment delays, carrier issues, traffic disruptions, and capacity shortages only after they occur. This is often driven by fragmented systems, limited end-to-end shipment visibility, manual coordination, and a lack of predictive capabilities. Despite ongoing investment in digital transformation, 83% of freight leaders continue to operate reactively, leaving supply chains vulnerable to avoidable disruptions.

The consequences are significant. Reactive logistics leads to emergency transport sourcing, inefficient routing, increased operational costs, reduced customer satisfaction, and unnecessary pressure on logistics teams. Supply chain disruptions cost businesses an average of $184 million annually, while 59% of organizations report financial losses caused by manual errors. Rather than focusing on continuous improvement, operations teams spend valuable time firefighting day-to-day exceptions.

The latest CtrlChain report, From Reactive to Proactive Logistics, highlights how leading organizations are shifting towards a proactive operating model built on three key capabilities: real-time visibility, predictive intelligence, and early intervention. By combining live shipment tracking with AI-driven insights and automated workflows, logistics teams can identify risks before they escalate, allowing them to reroute shipments, engage carriers proactively, and prevent costly service failures before customers are impacted.

The report also identifies the technologies enabling this transition, including modern Transportation Management Systems (TMS), predictive analytics, digital carrier connectivity, continuous shipment monitoring, structured lane planning, and performance management based on real-time data rather than historical reporting. Together, these capabilities help organizations move from reacting to problems toward actively preventing them.

Real-world examples demonstrate the impact. VDL Systems improved visibility across its inbound logistics network, enabling teams to resolve transport issues within hours instead of days, while strengthening coordination between suppliers, carriers, and internal stakeholders. Similar digital logistics initiatives have helped companies reduce manual administration, improve on-time performance, and make faster, more informed operational decisions.

While challenges such as fragmented data, disconnected systems, manual workflows, and organizational resistance remain, the report concludes that companies investing in visibility, predictive capabilities, and digital integration are creating more resilient, efficient, and customer-focused supply chains. As supply chain volatility continues to increase, proactive logistics is becoming not just a competitive advantage but a business necessity for organizations seeking greater agility, reliability, and long-term operational performance.

To learn more about the research and practical strategies for building resilient supply chains, download the full “From Reactive to Proactive Logistics” report from CtrlChain: https://ctrlchain.com/from-reactive-to-proactive-logistics#report-form.

Acquisition Strengthens European Toll Solutions

Posted on 10 July, 202610 July, 2026 by Will Priestman

As road transport across Europe becomes increasingly interconnected, demand is growing for seamless cross-border mobility services that simplify payments, tolling, and fleet operations. The continued rollout of the European Electronic Toll Service (EETS) is accelerating this shift by enabling transport companies to manage toll payments across multiple countries through a single interoperable solution. As businesses seek to broaden their capabilities and improve the customer experience, strategic investments and acquisitions are playing an important role in expanding access to integrated mobility solutions.

DKV Mobility, a B2B platform for on-the-road payments and solutions, is acquiring a majority stake in tolltickets GmbH, a certified provider of European toll solutions headquartered in Rosenheim, Germany. Through this acquisition, DKV Mobility expands its European toll business and gains access to Tolltickets’ platform for the European Electronic Toll Service (EETS). EETS is the Europe-wide standard that allows road tolls in many countries to be settled with a single on-board unit. DKV Mobility is acquiring the shares from Kapsch TrafficCom AG, which will retain a minority stake in the company. Tolltickets will continue to operate as an independent company.

Sebastian Klauke, CEO of DKV Mobility, says:

Our toll business is a key building block of our integrated mobility platform. With a majority stake in Tolltickets, we are securing a strong long-term position in the European EETS market, gaining greater scope to actively shape its development, and consistently continuing our growth course.

DKV Mobility is expanding its position as an integrated mobility platform, giving customers access to essential fleet-related services across Europe from a single source. Its toll business is one of the strategic core areas of this platform.

Georg Kapsch, CEO of Kapsch TrafficCom AG, says:

For over a decade, we have been invested in Tolltickets and watched it grow remarkably. DKV Mobility is exactly the right partner to take the company to the next level, combining Tolltickets’ technology with the scale needed to grow across Europe. We remain committed to supporting its continued success.

Jérôme Lejeune, Managing Director at DKV Mobility responsible for Toll & Refund Services, adds:

We have been working successfully with Tolltickets as a sales partner for many years. With this strategic partnership, we are now taking the next step and deepening our collaboration in the European toll business. Our customers will benefit from this step as we will be able to provide our toll solutions across Europe even more reliably and flexibly in the future.

Quentin Couret, Managing Director of Tolltickets, comments:

With DKV Mobility, we are strengthening a partnership that has been built over many years – bringing together our experience in the toll business and their large, Europe-wide customer base. As an independent company, this gives us the momentum we need to keep growing and to make our technology accessible to even more customers.

Tolltickets was founded in 2007, is headquartered in Rosenheim, Germany, and employs around 60 people. The company is one of the leading certified EETS providers. Tolltickets offers its own on-board units as well as vignettes and gives customers access to toll systems in 15 European countries through a single solution. More than 100,000 vehicles are managed via its platform. The company serves both business customers and private customers through its online shop.

The closing of transaction is subject to regulatory approval and is expected until the end of the year

Survey Reveals Connectivity Is Holding Back Logistics

Posted on 10 July, 20269 July, 2026 by Will Priestman

Logistics and transport organisations are feeling the strain of IoT connectivity more acutely than any other industry, according to a major global survey produced for IoT firm.

165 IoT decision-makers in major logistics and transport organisations across the world were questioned for The Connected Fleet 2026, produced by Pelion in partnership with ABI Research. In total 675 business leaders throughout a variety of industries took part in the survey.

Among the logistics and transport professionals surveyed, 68 percent revealed that unstable cellular connectivity or network capacity is a major obstacle to scaling their IoT deployments – the highest proportion of any sector included in the research.

For businesses that rely on real-time fleet tracking, cold-chain monitoring and parcel visibility, even brief periods of connectivity loss can disrupt operations, reduce customer visibility and impact service-level agreements. The findings reflect an industry under growing pressure to deliver uninterrupted, data-driven logistics across increasingly complex supply chains.

The rapid development of AI, combined with an increasingly global marketplace for growth-hungry companies means effective, consistent connectivity has become essential infrastructure for businesses in a multitude of industries – enabling organisations to track assets across the world, monitor performance remotely, optimise supply chains and respond faster to operational issues wherever and whenever they occur.

The findings also reveal security is emerging as an equally significant challenge. More than a quarter (27%) of logistics respondents reported experiencing a cellular IoT security incident during the past 12 months – the highest rate across all industries surveyed, ahead of manufacturing (26%), smart buildings (25%), healthcare (24%) and energy (19%).

As transport operators connect more vehicles, trailers, warehouses and cargo assets, the industry’s attack surface continues to expand. This mirrors wider market trends, with analysts forecasting that the number of connected IoT devices worldwide will exceed 40 billion by the end of the decade1, making robust device management and network security increasingly critical for supply chain resilience.

The research also reveals that logistics leaders are particularly concerned about their ability to detect threats before they disrupt operations. 62 percent identified insufficient threat detection as one of their biggest risks when scaling IoT deployments – the highest figure recorded across all sectors.

Unlike industries where compliance or data privacy dominate security discussions, logistics organisations are primarily focused on maintaining visibility across highly distributed fleets and warehouse environments, where cyber incidents can quickly translate into operational delays, lost shipments and financial losses. With ransomware and supply chain attacks continuing to target critical infrastructure globally, improving real-time monitoring and automated threat detection is becoming a strategic priority.

In the longer term, logistics is set to become even more international in its use of connected technologies. Pelion’s research predicts that by 2030, 49 percent of logistics IoT deployments will operate across international borders, compared with 29 percent today.

Dave Weidner, CEO of Pelion, said:

Connectivity itself is no longer the difficult part of enterprise IoT. The challenge comes when enterprise customers take their fleets internationally, grow in scale, and operate across multiple networks, jurisdictions and regulatory environments. Organisations are increasingly looking for partners that can simplify that operational complexity rather than add to it.

The potential for an IoT revolution is significant, but only if we can overcome some of the critical infrastructure, security and expertise barriers holding deployment back. If we can overcome some of the short-term challenges, the future of enterprise IoT connectivity will be increasingly borderless, managed and eSIM-enabled, with buyers placing greater emphasis on security architecture, advisory services and unified management platforms when selecting connectivity providers.

Reasons behind Coop’s investment in automation

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