Innovative project “ICIL LAB” will be located at DFactory Barcelona

• ICIL Lab comes as a result of a strategic agreement between CZFB, ICIL and BCL to improve the professionals and companies’ competitiveness in the logistics field.
• The project’s aim is to innovate in the training of logistics professionals through the use of new technologies –such as simulation tools, gamification and virtualisation (metaverse)–.
• This initiative is also supported by other institutions such as the Port de Barcelona, SEAT and the Universitat de Barcelona.

Barcelona, 28 November 2022. The Consorci de la Zona Franca de Barcelona (CZFB), the Institute for Careers and Innovation in Logistics & Supply Chain (ICIL) and the Barcelona-Catalunya Centre Logístic (BCL) have signed an agreement to locate and develop the ‘ICIL LAB’ project in Dfactory Barcelona building –a unique ecosystem dedicated to Industry 4.0 in the promotion of networking and the creation of synergies.

This strategic agreement allows improving professionals and companies’ competitiveness in the logistics sector through the project “ICIL LAB” and the cutting-edge and state-of-the-art space that DFactory has become. In addition, this initiative has also been supported by other institutions such as the Port de Barcelona, SEAT and the Universitat de Barcelona.

The pioneer-in-the-sector project “ICIL LAB” was created with the aim of innovating education. This innovation is done in order to train logistics professionals through the use of new technologies that the sector has to face, using simulation, gamification and virtualisation tools (metaverse). Thus, with the new agreement, the laboratory seeks to reinforce the acquisition of knowledge and skills through the “learning by doing” methodology, based on developing skills in a real scenario.

Following the path traced so far by the laboratory, the three institutions will develop, within the supply chain scope, an area of experimentation and understanding of the new challenges in digitisation, sustainability and new technologies. These challenges must be faced with methodologies applied from simulation, gamification and virtualisation tools (metaverse). ICIL LAB has served as a practical approach to the different areas of production management, distribution networks and warehouses as well as transport –including long-distance, local and last-mile transport–. The objective now is to create, with an innovative vocation, an environment with special emphasis on aspects such as additive production (3D printing), collaborative robotics, augmented reality and blockchain.

As a result, DFactory has become the ideal location to achieve a strong projection in the sector. This building has become an important benchmark for southern Europe in the most cutting-edge digital advances, and is known as the factory of the future. The CZFB has managed to establish an ecosystem with state-of-the-art projects in the fields of 3D printing, robotics, cybersecurity, blockchain and artificial intelligence. Nowadays, DFactory Barcelona facilities consist on a building of up to 17,000m2, divided into four floors, with open, diaphanous and digital spaces in where around 500 people and around thirty companies work.

As an example of the positive understanding between these institutions, DFactory Barcelona building hosted the 18th edition of the “ICIL Debates” on 23 November. This was a meeting point where the problems and new trends in the management of supply chains were discussed, as well as sharing the most important practical knowledge from leading companies in the sector. Therefore, during the day, representatives of high-level companies –such as IBM , Mahou San Miguel, Desigual, Mango, Grupo Carreras, XPO, Fujitsu, Exotec, Affinity Petcare, CAPSA Foods or Veeppe– took part in the event.

Pere Navarro, special delegate of the State at the CZFB, said: “This agreement is possible through the knowledge and contribution offered by the different fields that each of the institutions possesses. In this way, we create a common goal, which is positioning the city and the region as a state-of-the-art centre for Industry 4.0 logistics.”

On the other hand, BCL’s CEO Santiago Bassols explained that “the laboratory project has huge importance in terms of developing innovation in the supply chain and, therefore, in the competitive improvement of the whole logistics sector.”

Xavier Rius, ICIL’s president, added that “the aim of the laboratory is to become an international benchmark and a centre of attraction for talent in the logistics field. In this way, the ICIL continues its solid trajectory as a leading institution in the sector.”