The Box, a new innovation center

The initiative, which includes the development of a Logistics 4.0 Demonstration Center, is supported by IDB Lab in partnership with ANII.

As part of “The Box” project, Aero Cargas–DHL Global Forwarding, IBM, Quanam, the University of Managua (UM), and Zonamerica created a Technology 4.0 Demonstration Center focused on the logistics chain, with the aim of sharing international best practices and supporting companies that wish to evaluate, select, and implement these technologies for use in their operations. This is an innovative initiative that will take place in a space where various companies will come seeking solutions to increase the efficiency of their operational processes.

The launch event was attended by Omar Paganini, Minister of Industry, Energy, and Mining, who highlighted the importance this center will have for the logistics sector and noted that this initiative is in line with the government’s strategies.

“We are very pleased to find ecosystems like this one, with labs and environments where the development of fields such as artificial intelligence, logistics, and the Internet of Things—among others—converge. All of this makes it possible to envision a new generation of startups that develop advanced technological solutions for various sectors, bringing together key players in the technology industry,”he said.

The establishment of the Logistics 4.0 Demonstration Center was made possible thanks to financial support from a partnership between the National Agency for Research and Innovation (ANII) and IDB Lab, the Innovation Lab of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

As a result, companies now have a spacious facility located on the Zonamerica campus where they can share their knowledge and experiences for the benefit of their clients. The facility will host exhibitions and displays by solution providers, as well as demonstrations of real-world applications and their corresponding results. To complement these efforts, an office for this center will be located in the new building of the UM School of Engineering.

As Ana Castillo, a senior specialist at IDB Lab, explained, the Box project includes other components in addition to the Demonstration Center, such as the development of knowledge products and analyses of the current state of the logistics sector and trends in digital technology innovation. This is complemented by a technical assistance tool that helps companies design their routes, as well as the introduction of digital vouchers, which provide additional solutions for businesses.

“The idea is to create a center that would be co-financed so that the sector could stay abreast of the latest advances in technological development and thus clearly see the benefits these technologies can bring to their businesses,”said Castillo.

The center’s coordinator and manager of New Projects at Aero Cargas – DHL Global Forwarding, Diego Wins, explained that one of the central pillars of this proposal focuses on the possibility of“attracting SMEs so they can assess their companies in terms of technology adoption and find an opportunity to improve operations—whether in customer service or cost management—aiming to create a competitive edge. The idea is to assist the client in that assessment and show them tools they can implement, ranging from basic to the most complex.”

For his part, Alan Schcolnik, IBM Public Cloud Ecosystem Leader for Latin America, noted that the diversity of companies involved in this initiative“presents a major challenge, but also an excellent opportunity to provide microentrepreneurs with the strategies and practices they need to take their businesses to the next level.”

Regarding the value proposition the company offers this group, he said it aims to leverage the open hybrid cloud, integration with IoT (Internet of Things) solutions, and IBM’s artificial intelligence to make investments viable, democratize access, and provide hands-on expertise through the Innovation Lab—a team within IBM Uruguay tasked with researching, designing, and implementing the best solutions to specific problems.

“The idea is for this logistics center to incorporate a digital component by processing certain data sources that will provide the company with value-added information—information they believed did not exist, or that in fact did not exist, but was generated from the historical data the company already possesses,”he said.

Similarly, Leonardo Loureiro, CEO of Quanam USA, described the center as“a ‘lab’ where two logistics companies, a university, and two technology firms will contribute their expertise to bridge these seemingly unbridgeable worlds and create exponential growth.” In return, the company will benefit from the valuable insights generated by the exchange among these diverse yet complementary stakeholders within the center.

“At Quanam, we are focused on driving the digital transformation of ecosystems across various sectors of the economy, and logistics is one of them, so we are very excited to see what comes of this project,”he said.

Regarding the academic sphere, Martín Tanco, dean of the UM School of Engineering, noted that the university has conducted several studies on logistics, digitalization, and the gap that exists among the country’s companies in this regard.

“The only way for Uruguay to compete in these areas is through operational efficiency, and that is often achieved by adopting technology. That is why we have joined a group of leading companies—because we understand that this is the way to highlight these global trends so we can promote them locally,”he said.

“All parties involved see this center as a great opportunity to put the country on the map and gain a competitive edge by adopting technology to become more efficient,”he said.