Kuehne+Nagel has opened a 40,000 sqm distribution centre for Italian publisher Mondadori at San Giorgio Bigarello, near Mantua in Lombardy. The site has been running since June, and it pulls together book and magazine operations that were previously scattered across three separate locations.
Strategic Rationale
One specialised facility gives Mondadori tighter coordination between its school and trade publishing arms. It also lets the group knit physical and digital channels together, e-commerce included, from a single base. Group CEO Antonio Porro said the arrangement lets school publishing rely on a distribution network that can react quickly to the needs of schools, teachers, students and families across Italy.
Operational Details
The warehouse covers storage, order preparation and dispatch. At full pace it should process around 20 million books a year, which makes it the largest logistics centre in Italy dedicated to educational publishing. The building carries LEED Gold certification. Close to 200 people work there.
The contract with Kuehne+Nagel runs for an initial six years. Whether the single-site model becomes the template for other European publishers juggling omnichannel demand is the question worth watching.
