Philip Morris Picks TIM to Digitise Logistics Management

TIM and Philip Morris Manufacturing & Technology Bologna have signed an agreement for the pursuit of an important project to digitise accesses and logistics in the plant of Crespellano, in the province of Bologna, based on Internet of Things technology.

The collaboration envisages the use of an innovative yard management system developed by TIM and Olivetti, a digital farm for the Group IoT, which will further improve the planning and tracking of flows of transport vehicles and goods entering, leaving and stationary at the production site, minimising road haulier wait time.

The heart of the solution is a digital application, based on IoT technology, which avoids the formation of queues and stationary vehicles. An innovation that will also have important positive effects on the environment, enabling a considerable reduction in CO2 emissions.

The digitisation of logistics will also make it possible to assure greater security and transparency in the chain’s information processes, facilitating the controls by the relevant authorities.

“We are particularly proud to pursue this project with the Philip Morris Group, dedicated to an important production site for the local economy and which constitutes an effective example of collaboration with players of the various production chains”, Federico Rigoni, TIM's Chief Revenue Officer declared. “The initiative is also in line with our strategy in the Italian industrial districts, where, with our cutting-edge competences and infrastructure, we wish to flank both excellent small businesses and important companies attentive towards the potential offered up by technology in creating value for the ecosystem, in the digital transformation”.

“The project with TIM seeks to constantly improve the efficiency of our production plants, taking a sustainable approach” - in the words of Marco Hannappel, President and Managing Director of Philip Morris Italia, adding “we are proud to start collaborating with an Italian excellence with which we are working to increasingly digitise our plant for smoke-free products, which this year will attract significant further investments”.

The project confirms the constant search for the best possible technological solutions by which to improve the sustainability of the production site, also in synergy with companies from various different sectors. The partnership with the TIM Group, in fact, comes under the scope of a series of collaborations and investments of the Philip Morris Group on the Italian industrial scene. Both companies also collaborate with the BI-REX Competence Centre of Bologna - established by the Ministry of Economic Development under the scope of the government’s Industry 4.0 plan - with a specific focus on big data.