The logistics of the future showcase their potential at a SIL 2025 defined by innovation and artificial intelligence

• Among the 163 innovations presented by the 650 participating companies are intelligent copilots for hauliers, smart vehicle fleets, last-mile delivery drones, virtual reality for training, and alternative fuels, among other new developments.

• Goodman has unveiled the Barcelona City Hub project, an investment of €123 million that will transform the former Nissan factory in Zona Franca into a multisectoral centre for sustainable economic development.

• One of the highlights of this edition is the Digital Supply Chain, an exhibition area that recreates a digital supply chain in real time, with the participation of 15 companies from Barcelona’s Zona Franca.

Barcelona, 19 June 2025. – Innovation is at the forefront of the twenty-seventh edition of SIL 2025, Spain’s leading trade fair for the logistics, transport, intralogistics and supply chain sectors, and one of the world’s major benchmarks. Organized by the Consorci de la Zona Franca de Barcelona (CZFB), it will run until tomorrow, 20 June, in Hall 8 of the Fira de Barcelona’s Plaza España-Montjuïc venue.

The 650 participating companies are presenting 163 world-exclusive innovations, with a strong focus on integrating artificial intelligence into the various stages of the global supply chain. As a result, visitors to the aisles and stands can see intelligent copilots for hauliers, smart vehicle fleets, last-mile delivery drones, virtual reality applied to training, and solutions to make the sector more sustainable, such as alternative fuels or tools to measure and reduce the carbon footprint of freight transport.

Another highlight this year is the Digital Supply Chain, an exhibition area where a digital supply chain is represented in real time and in various daily sessions, showcasing technological details and challenges. This space features 15 companies from the Zona Franca de Barcelona ecosystem, distributed across four key stages of the supply chain: planning, sourcing, production, and delivery and reverse logistics.

The special State delegate at the CZFB and president of SIL, Pere Navarro, notes that “these innovations not only improve the optimisation of logistics processes and the sustainability of operations, but also set new standards, strengthened by the showcase of businesses, the congress for knowledge sharing, and the connections between professionals that take place at every SIL event. These three ingredients allow us to move towards the future of logistics 4.0.”

In this way, many companies are choosing to present their latest innovations at SIL, such as Consolis Tecnyconta, the Spanish subsidiary of European precast concrete leader Grupo Consolis, which is participating in this edition of SIL with the aim of driving large-scale decarbonisation of the construction industry and raising awareness of its Green Spine Line® sustainable product range, among many other examples. For its part, Exotec by Dexter is unveiling the latest generation of its Skypod robots, a comprehensive evolution of its picking system.

Also attracting considerable interest is Serra’s artificial intelligence-powered machine vision solution for industrial safety and plant quality control, as well as Mega Fortris Ibérica’s dataloggers, which provide precise traceability.

Startups are once again playing a prominent role at the event. Over 100 emerging companies are present in the Startup Meeting Area, where, at this twenty-seventh edition of the fair, they are presenting some of the most innovative solutions applied to logistics.

Goodman presents the Barcelona City Hub with the presence of President Illa

The Australian real estate logistics company Goodman presented the Barcelona City Hub project this morning at SIL 2025, in an event presided over by the President of the Generalitat of Catalonia, Salvador Illa, who was joined by Pere Navarro, Special State Delegate to the CZFB, Philippe Van der Beken, Managing Director of Goodman Continental Europe, and Ignacio García Cuenca, Country Manager of Goodman Spain. Barcelona City Hub will complete the reindustrialisation of Barcelona’s Zona Franca with an investment of €123 million and is expected to generate 3.000 jobs. Following the start of vehicle production by Ebro EV Motors and the Chinese company Chery last November, the Barcelona City Hub project has entered a new phase of consolidation. This milestone marks the establishment of a strategic industrial and logistics centre that integrates innovation, sustainability and economic regeneration, and will position the Zona Franca as a benchmark in the transformation of advanced industrial infrastructure in Europe.

Salvador Illa, President of the Generalitat of Catalonia, stated that “thanks to the joint commitment of all stakeholders, this project puts our region at the forefront of industrial revival. Goodman has been a key partner in delivering a shared vision of progress, making Barcelona City Hub an example of commitment to employment and local progress.”

In this regard, Pere Navarro, Special State Delegate to the Consorci de la Zona Franca, added that “we are particularly proud of how this process was managed. The Consorci faced the challenge of reconciling the public interest in reindustrialisation with the principles of legality and financial sustainability. After years of uncertainty, we can now say that the project has been brought to a successful conclusion.”

For his part, Philippe Van der Beken, Managing Director of Goodman Continental Europe, commented that “at a time when supply chains are being reinvented and local manufacturing is being prioritised, Barcelona City Hub stands as a real and functional model of how public-private collaboration, social dialogue and long-term investment can recover key industrial spaces, without losing sight of the social and economic impact.” Likewise, Ignacio García Cuenca, Country Manager of Goodman Spain, stated that “Barcelona City Hub represents a unique and historic opportunity for Catalonia and for Spain. This project not only preserves Catalan industry but also marks a turning point in the modernisation of essential infrastructure for our country’s digital and logistics economy.”

Innovation and Talent for a Sustainable Future

Another major attraction of the event is the SIL Knowledge programme, spread across three simultaneous spaces with more than 70 hours of content and featuring over 350 international speakers, including logistics and supply chain directors from leading companies such as PC Componentes, Silbon, Ebro, Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, Amazon, Dr. Oetker Ibérica, Nestlé Purina, Clecat, Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial, SEAT, Ebro, Kern Pharma and Synthesia Technology Europe, among others.

Under the theme ‘Innovation and Talent for a Sustainable Future’, this year the focus is on the geopolitical strategies affecting logistics, within sustainable logistics, in the incorporation of Industry 4.0 into logistics solutions and processes, and in the sector’s ability to attract and retain talent.

Meanwhile, at the CZFB stand, the session ‘Connected mobility in a real environment: synergies between living labs to accelerate innovation’ was presented, where the new Connected Mobility Sandbox/Living Lab promoted by the Consorci de la Zona Franca was unveiled. This is conceived as a real-world testing environment to accelerate the innovation and deployment of V2X technologies, connected infrastructures, and value-added mobility services. According to Raül González, a freelance expert in innovation, communication, and connected mobility: “The CZFB Mobility Sandbox Living Lab is a pioneering laboratory for connected and intelligent driving, created in 2022. What makes it unique is that it is developed in a real industrial environment, with a high density of heavy vehicles and complex mobility challenges. This allows for the testing of innovative solutions that improve road safety, increase operational efficiency, reduce costs, and attract investment, with the goal of protecting lives and reducing material damage and disruptions.”

BWAW by SIL

Today and tomorrow, BWAW by SIL takes centre stage in the Hospitality Zone of the CZFB. As the second theme of the ‘Events by SIL’ programme, this event features a programme aimed at promoting gender equality in a traditionally very male-dominated sector, with the aim of continuing to make progress towards parity and giving visibility to the role of women in logistics. Among the various sessions, topics explored include diversity in 4.0 technologies, leadership with perspective, logistics as a network for success and collaboration, and attracting female talent to the logistics sector of the future.

During the opening of this event, the general director of the CZFB and SIL, Blanca Sorigué, highlighted: “As part of our commitment to the 2030 Agenda, at CZFB we decided that SIL should address SDG 5 on gender equality in logistics. These actions are crucial to highlight female talent in a predominantly male sphere. The programme shines a spotlight on the role and position of women in this sector, to understand where we are starting from and, above all, what public and private sectors can do to advance towards gender equality in an industry as vital to the economy as logistics.”

Meanwhile, Clúster Logístic de Catalunya took advantage of the fair to present the annual report Contribution of logistics to the economy. Additionally, SIL has served as a meeting point to host the international congress of the Consejo General de Colegios de Agentes de Aduanas y Representantes Aduaneros, under the title ‘International Customs Cooperation in the Digital Era’. During the official opening, Antonio Llobet, president of the Consejo General de Aduanas y representantes Aduaneros, emphasised that “only through cooperation between administrations, businesses and international organisations will we be able to move towards more agile procedures, more efficient regulation and smarter control. The goal is clear: to turn customs into a genuine platform for growth in times of prosperity and for resilience in times of uncertainty.” Llobet added: “In a global context marked by digital transformation, sustainability and growing social demands regarding security, customs must strengthen their role as strategic actors. We are committed to a green, transparent and connected customs system, capable of effectively protecting consumer rights and guaranteeing legal certainty in every operation.”

 Tomorrow, the final day of SIL 2025 will take place, focusing on the creation of job opportunities with a new edition of the Job Market Place and the presentation of the SIL 2025 Best Innovation Awards, which will be held at 12:45 pm at the CZFB stand.