International logistics operator
International logistics operator
A resilient network for European logistics
A global operator in the logistics and shipping sector with a pervasive international presence and a critical dependence on distributed IT infrastructure across multiple national sites. The organisation runs complex operations that require continuous, reliable access to international platforms and centralised services.
Sector
International logistics and shipping
Revenue
Multi-million (anonymised)
Headquarters
Central Europe
The industry scenario
According to Gartner, multi-operator and multi-technology architectures represent the preferred model for ensuring operational continuity in critical logistics networks, reducing geographic bottlenecks by up to 40% in 2025.
Gartner — Magic Quadrant for WAN Edge Infrastructure · 2025
Challenge
Nationwide infrastructure resilience
According to the Supply Chain Finance Observatory of the Politecnico di Milano, in 2025 67% of Italian logistics operators identified the infrastructure resilience of connectivity as a critical factor for operational continuity, with 41% still reporting dependence on a single network provider as a primary risk. For an international logistics operator, a connectivity outage means paralysis of visibility over flows, the inability to manage customs documentation and loss of synchronisation with global business partners.
Areas of intervention
The international logistics operator faced four critical areas linked to the continuity and reliability of its connectivity infrastructure:
Heterogeneous territorial coverage
Several national sites distributed across areas with asymmetric connectivity infrastructure: some regions had high-capacity optical fibre, others required alternative solutions. The lack of uniform access generated operational bottlenecks and dependence on territorial constraints.
Concentration of operational risk
Connectivity was largely entrusted to one or two network providers per geographic area, exposing the group to critical vulnerabilities in the event of an outage. The unavailability of connectivity at a single site could interrupt global logistics flows and synchronisation with the international platforms.
Integration with the global ecosystem
The group’s core services ran on international platforms with stringent requirements for latency, reliability and SLAs. The national connectivity infrastructure had to guarantee stable, high-performing access, enabling real-time synchronisation of logistics processes.
Scalability and technological adaptability
The solution had to be modular and flexible to adapt to the specifics of each site, allowing future extensions to new locations without requiring complex infrastructure investment or commercial renegotiations with individual territorial operators.
Solutions
Multi-site connectivity architecture and data resilience
Retelit designed a hybrid infrastructure that integrates direct connectivity, private cloud and disaster recovery to ensure operational continuity for the distributed logistics nodes and real-time visibility over goods flows.
Services activated and technologies
Connectivity
SD-WAN and dedicated dark fiber
Deployment of SD-WAN to optimise application traffic between logistics hubs and branches, integrated with dedicated fiber on the critical segments. This ensures predictable latency, automatic failover and centralised bandwidth management according to operational priorities.
Data infrastructure
Private cloud with local hosting and housing
Provision of private cloud environments in data centers with dedicated housing, strategically located to reduce latency towards the logistics nodes and maintain data sovereignty. It supports tracking, WMS and warehouse-management applications with scalability and infrastructure isolation.
Operational continuity
Geographic redundancy and replicated backup
Synchronous replication of critical data to a second, geographically distinct site, with contractually defined RTO and RPO. It enables rapid recovery in the event of an outage without losing transactional information on shipments in progress.
Results
Operational continuity and reduced latency across global operations
The SD-WAN infrastructure and multi-provider connectivity eliminated the bottlenecks in critical communications between logistics hubs.
A reduction in data-synchronisation times between international sorting centres, with a direct impact on the speed of order processing.
Elimination of dependence on a single telecom operator, ensuring automatic failover and service continuity during faults or congestion.
Reduced delays in IoT communications between tracking systems and inventory-control platforms, improving real-time visibility over shipments.
Bandwidth optimisation based on the traffic profile, allowing the IT team to allocate resources to critical processes without over-provisioning.
An approach that can be replicated in your sector
A resilient network infrastructure for international logistics
Discover how operators in the sector manage the complexity of global operations with intelligent connectivity and geographic redundancy.
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