Automotive: a shift in the logistics model – greater proximity and integration within production chains
Costs, geopolitical tensions and tariffs are reshaping automotive logistics strategies, whilst artificial intelligence, digitalisation and the optimisation of supply networks are opening up new opportunities for businesses. This is the finding of the Automotive Inbound Logistics Survey 2026, carried out by the international observatory of Automotive Logistics magazine based on around 200 responses gathered from inbound logistics professionals at car manufacturers, suppliers, logistics operators and technology companies worldwide. The research highlights how the ability to ensure resilience, visibility and flexibility has become central in a landscape characterised by more complex supply chains, exposed to trade uncertainties and increasingly oriented towards regionalisation.
Among the main challenges identified are pressures on transport and logistics costs, geopolitical instability and the impact of conflicts on trade flows. Added to these is the impact of tariffs, which affects decisions on the localisation of supplies, forecasting and companies’ margins. At the same time, artificial intelligence, predictive analytics and digital tools for supply chain planning and monitoring represent drivers of competitiveness.
Logistics therefore takes on a role that goes beyond the mere movement of goods: it becomes an integral part of industrial organisation, called upon to connect suppliers, plants and operators through more coordinated and flexible processes. Geographical proximity can help to make this system more efficient, particularly when combined with the integration of activities and the sharing of information. This is a particularly relevant prospect for Emilia’s Motor Valley, an extensive network comprising 39,647 businesses and over one million employees, with a total turnover of 347 billion euros, according to a recent Nomisma survey.
It is within this context that DSV’s Proximity project, developed between Fiorano Modenese and Maranello, fits. The initiative is set in a region where the concentration of automotive firms and highly specialised skills makes the ability to link production and logistics activities particularly significant. The aim is to capitalise on proximity as a means of integration between operators, helping to simplify the coordination of activities and strengthen the system’s ability to meet customer needs.
DSV completes Proximity: 100,000 square metres in Motor Valley
With the completion of the third and final warehouse, DSV has completed a project that brings together, within a single integrated hub, activities previously spread across ten separate facilities, creating a new organisation of logistics services to support the automotive industry.
The new 55,000-square-metre building joins the two units already in operation, measuring approximately 10,000 and 30,000 square metres respectively, bringing the complex’s total floor area to around 100,000 square metres. This infrastructure is designed to align logistics more closely with production requirements, through the integrated management of raw materials and finished products destined for major automotive operators in the region.
Its completion marks the final stage of a process that began with the official inauguration of the hub in September 2025. Underpinning the project is the aim to overcome the traditional separation between logistics and manufacturing activities, transforming the warehouse into a facility directly linked to customers’ industrial processes. The logistics operator thus acts as a link between manufacturers and suppliers, helping to reduce physical distances, operational times and the complexity of the supply chain.
The new layout increases the available operational space by 15 per cent compared with the previous layout, whilst simultaneously reducing overall operational times by 45 per cent. In addition to these results, there is a 45.7 per cent reduction in the number of kilometres travelled daily and a 33.3 per cent reduction in the number of vehicles on the road. These benefits stem from the centralisation of activities and the ability to manage inbound and outbound flows in a coordinated manner.
A key feature will be the dedicated bridge for moving goods between buildings, which will allow flows to be transferred within the complex without requiring lorries to use public roads. This solution reduces unnecessary movements and helps to improve operational efficiency, with positive effects on local traffic as well.
A warehouse that becomes part of the production process
This integration extends beyond infrastructure. Proximity also houses value-added services, including pre-assembly, quality control, product finalisation and integrated management of strategic suppliers. In some cases, staff from supplier companies also operate directly within the hub, working closely with clients’ logistics operations.
Proximity thus takes on both a physical and an organisational dimension. The presence of logistics operators and suppliers on the same site makes it possible to reduce intermediate steps, optimise lead times and increase responsiveness to production requirements. Physical and digital integration also helps to minimise transit times for goods and unnecessary handling, making industrial processes more responsive.
The warehouse is no longer merely a place for storing components and products, but becomes an extension of the factory, capable of taking on certain manufacturing tasks and contributing to the continuity of production lines.
This approach finds a particularly favourable environment in Motor Valley. The challenge is to move from a model where each company operates independently to one based on integration and collaboration, in which relationships between supply chain stakeholders become a driver of development.
Infrastructural innovation and industrial regeneration
A further added value of the project lies in the direct impact it has on the local area. The completion of Proximity, in fact, involves the regeneration of a disused industrial site, which is being given a new productive function. The design and construction were entrusted to GSE Italia, which also oversaw the site’s remediation work.
The third warehouse incorporates technical solutions tailored to the needs of automotive logistics: pile foundations, high-performance industrial flooring, continuous concrete slabs exceeding 1,000 square metres, and IT and BMS (Building Management System) systems for the technical configuration and management of the property. In addition to these facilities, there is a 500 kW photovoltaic system.
The complex has also been awarded BREEAM Excellent environmental certification, which assesses building performance according to criteria including energy efficiency, water and waste management, materials, transport and occupant wellbeing. This recognition accompanies a project in which decarbonisation is linked both to the infrastructure’s characteristics and to the optimisation of logistics processes.
For DSV, a group headquartered in Denmark with an international presence comprising around 150,000 employees in over 90 countries, Proximity represents a concrete application of its strategy for the integration of logistics services. In Italia, the group has around 2,600 employees, over 30 branches and 30 logistics centres, with a total warehouse area exceeding 800,000 square metres.
The completion of the Modena hub offers an example of how logistics can evolve to serve the automotive sector. No longer a function separate from production, but an integral part of industrial organisation, capable of connecting companies and suppliers, improving the use of resources and reducing the complexity of the supply chain. Proximity thus becomes a competitive advantage for the entire region.
Find out more about DSV’s solutions for the automotive sector: https://track.adform.net/C/?bn=91080982
