5 questions to...
Marco Ferrando
Interview with the Senior Client Manager Hospitality & Logistics of Engineering.
With ten years of experience in consulting and ICT services, Marco Ferrando is responsible for business development in the Cruises, Hospitality, and Logistics markets for the ENG Group.
Marco holds a degree in Management Engineering from the University of Genoa and has gained professional experience in consulting and system integration companies, working in both national and international contexts.
Throughout his career, he has led complex Digital Transformation initiatives based on PaaS and SaaS platforms, system integration, and outsourcing models, supporting enterprise clients in modernizing their processes and IT architecture.
1. THE LOGISTICS SECTOR IS UNDERGOING STRUCTURAL AND TECHNOLOGICAL TRANSFORMATION: HOW ARE COMPANIES IN THIS INDUSTRY FACING THIS EVOLUTION?
The logistics sector is experiencing one of the deepest revolutions in its recent history.
The integration of physical and digital worlds has become a strategic necessity: supply chains are being redefined end-to-end to ensure efficiency, visibility, and resilience. Industry players are investing in warehouse automation, collaborative robotics, IoT sensors, and digital platforms capable of orchestrating the entire logistics ecosystem—from suppliers to end customers.
This transformation stems from the need to address increasingly complex challenges: demand volatility, environmental sustainability, skilled labor shortages, and cost pressures. Companies are moving toward “Connected Logistics” models, where data becomes central for real-time decision-making, flow optimization, and inefficiency reduction.
Paradigms such as Digital Twin, which allows simulation of the entire supply chain, and supply chain control towers, which enable integrated and predictive monitoring of every process link, are emerging.
2. AMONG THE CHALLENGES LOGISTICS COMPANIES FACE IS THE DIGITALIZATION AND AUTOMATION OF PROCESSES TO IMPROVE ROUTES, TRACEABILITY, AND SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT. WHAT SKILLS ARE NEEDED TO ADDRESS THEM EFFECTIVELY?
Logistics digitalization requires a new balance between technology, processes, and human skills.
On one hand, highly specialized profiles are needed in areas such as ERP, WMS, and TMS integration, cloud architecture, data analytics, and cybersecurity. On the other hand, professionals who understand business processes and can translate technological complexity into operational value are essential.
The ability to connect IT with operations is today the real enabling factor. Companies must develop cross-functional teams that combine data engineering, industrial automation, artificial intelligence, and process design skills.
At the same time, strong attention to change management and digital culture is required: digitalization is not just about introducing new technologies, but about redesigning processes and enabling people to manage them differently.
This combination - technology, processes, and skills - is what distinguishes a modernization project from a truly sustainable transformation.
3. TO IMPROVE EFFICIENCY, VISIBILITY, AND TRACEABILITY, EFFECTIVE WAREHOUSE MANAGEMENT IS ESSENTIAL, ACHIEVED THROUGH A STRONG WMS SOLUTION. WHAT EXPERIENCE DOES ENGINEERING HAVE IN THIS AREA?
At Engineering, we have gained significant experience in Warehouse Management and optimization, supporting large industrial players and logistics operators in the digitalization of processes.
Our approach always begins with an assessment of the client’s digital maturity, followed by the definition of WMS architectures integrated with ERP, MES, and field devices.
Our solutions enable native connectivity between IT and operations, ensuring full visibility over stock, movements, and performance. The goal is to increase productivity, reduce lead times, improve operational accuracy, and optimize space utilization.
With cross-disciplinary expertise in Cloud, IoT, and Analytics, we can integrate the physical components (sensors, automation, AGVs, RFID) with the informational layer, enabling predictive and self-adaptive warehouse models.
Furthermore, our strong know-how on ERP platforms such as SAP and proprietary solutions for traceability and serialization ensures compliance, scalability, and operational continuity, even in highly complex or regulated environments.
4. THE HOSPITALITY MARKET AND THE CRUISE SECTOR ARE UNDERGOING SIGNIFICANT EVOLUTIONS: FROM SUSTAINABILITY TO HYPER-PERSONALIZED GUEST EXPERIENCES AND SERVICE AUTOMATION. HOW DOES ENGINEERING SUPPORT THE MAIN OPERATORS IN THIS TRANSITION?
One of the most dynamic frontiers in the evolution of the Hospitality market is the Cruise sector, where sustainability, energy efficiency, and hyper-personalization of the guest experience are key development drivers.
Companies must manage enormous volumes of data from heterogeneous systems - booking, PMS, onboard services, mobile apps - which, if properly leveraged, can generate deep customer insights and improve every moment of the onboard experience.
Engineering supports leading operators in this transformation journey by providing integrated digital solutions that combine AI, analytics, and process automation.
Through personalized customer engagement platforms, predictive systems for energy management and maintenance, and tools for integrated onboard service management, we help clients achieve new standards of efficiency and quality.
Collaboration with major players in the Cruise sector exemplifies our ability to integrate digital technologies with operational processes in a complex, experience-driven environment. The result is a more sustainable, efficient, and customer-centric hospitality model.
5. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IS PROFOUNDLY TRANSFORMING ALL THE INDUSTRY SECTORS YOU MANAGE. WHAT DEVELOPMENTS DO YOU FORESEE?
Artificial Intelligence plays an increasingly central role in the transformation of logistics processes, enabling a structural shift from reactive operating models to predictive and adaptive ones.
Through machine learning algorithms and advanced analytics, companies are now able to forecast demand, optimize inventory levels, improve transport planning, and reduce operating costs.
AI also makes it possible to dynamically orchestrate WMS and TMS, enhancing warehouse efficiency, on-time delivery performance, and the overall resilience of the supply chain, especially in complex, highly variable environments.
In the Hospitality sector, Artificial Intelligence is a key enabler of experience personalization and operational process optimization. Advanced data analytics allows for an increasingly accurate understanding of guest behaviors and preferences, making it possible to design tailored offers and services across the entire customer journey. At the same time, AI supports back-office process automation, predictive asset management, and energy consumption monitoring, helping to improve both operational efficiency and the sustainability of hospitality facilities.
The Cruise industry represents a complex ecosystem in which logistics and hospitality are uniquely integrated, and Artificial Intelligence plays a strategic role in coordinating in real time procurement, onboard services, passenger flows, and the management of critical assets. Thanks to AI, it is possible to anticipate guest needs, predictively optimize energy consumption and maintenance activities, and orchestrate personalized services at scale. In this way, the ship becomes an intelligent digital platform, capable of increasing operational efficiency, enhancing sustainability, and delivering a highly personalized and seamless travel experience, transforming data and technology into tangible value for both passengers and operators.
In process digitalization, the key enabler is the ability to connect IT and operations by developing cross-functional teams with expertise in data engineering, industrial automation, AI, and process design.
Marco Ferrando
Senior Client Manager Hospitality & Logistics of Engineering
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