Where are the products that Rosario residents buy stored?

These spaces can be from logistics or storage companies. Upon purchase, the firm assigned for distribution removes the merchandise from that warehouse to take it to its final destination, which may be a pickup point or the buyer’s home. All this articulation between different parties occurs through API systems, which are application programming interfaces that integrate the different software on which e-commerce works so that the entire process occurs in coordination.

However, all this is possible in record time if the items weigh less than 20 kilos, which makes them malleable in the different logistical stages: “Those that are larger like mattresses and refrigerators take longer. For this, tracking is essential because it decompresses anxiety and allows the buyer to know when they have to wait for that delivery.”, D’Agostino expands. Furthermore, the Andreani executive emphasizes that tracking is a service highly valued by customers, even more than immediate delivery because it allows them to coordinate their schedules to be home at the time the purchase arrives.

Logistics centers in ecommerce

“Since the COVID-19 pandemic, logistics companies have been looking for places to operate in Rosario because it is a strategic point as an obligatory passage between Buenos Aires and Córdoba, as well as to reach the north of the country,” explains Patricio Arpini, in charge of the real estate agency that bears his name and that specializes in the marketing of large warehouses. Arpini knows what the needs of companies are when looking for operational bases that are suitable for large storage of merchandise: “They need high ceilings for the racks (shelves) with a good concrete floor and large gates for trucks to enter,” he adds regarding the most requested features.

Another key piece of information that adds speed to the system is the location of the deposits. Arpini emphasizes the importance of these points being close to the cities and well connected so that travel times are as short as possible: “The storage and logistics spaces must be at a certain distance from the urbanization so as not to complicate traffic and to maintain security measures, but also with easy accessibility so that the utility vehicles, which are the ones who carry the product in the final phase, can go and come”.

Where are they located?

Among the most in demand is the Rosario Logistics Center, which has 36,000 m2 and is located next to the Pérez Metropolitan Industrial Park. It has a subdivision of several modules that transporters rent along with 5,000 m2 warehouses for storage. In addition, Andreani has its own 20,000 m2 plant in Circunvalación on the Rosario-Buenos Aires highway to connect directly with Capital, while the rest is divided into other logistics centers in strategic points of greater Rosario, with average surfaces of 5,000 m2. While there are new projects for that sector, such as the area planned by the developers of Ciudad Industria next to that industrial park in Funes.

In what has to do with the operation, Bi-trains enter the logistics warehouses daily, which are tractor trucks that can carry up to two trailers linked by couplings, allowing the transportation of large volumes of merchandise in a single trip: “Andreani has a fleet of several bittrains for a more efficient service with lower costs and also less pollution in terms of carbon gas emissions,” explains D’Agostino. For the circulation of these vehicles, Rosario is well positioned, since not all national routes are suitable to support this type of transfer, Therefore, its circulation is limited to route 9 Rosario – Buenos Aires and the Rosario – Córdoba highway.

Differences between Buenos Aires, Córdoba and Rosario

Although it is clear that the greatest e-commerce consumption occurs in Buenos Aires and AMBA, in the interior the trend is booming: “Every year with the Hot Sale and Cyber ​​Monday initiatives, more and more are added companies to participate for the first time. The majority are from Santa Fe and the traffic is led by Rosario, but not only because of the size of the population, but also because of a matter of maturation of the public regarding the custom of this type of shopping.”explains Franco Bonis, Litoral director of CACE, which brings together the areas of Santa Fe, Corrientes and Misiones. “In the last edition of the Hot Sale, this purchasing preference translated into 223 thousand users from the Litoral, mainly from Rosario, circulating on the official site,” he adds.

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Franco Bonis, Litoral director of the Argentine Chamber of Electronic Commerce.

Photo: courtesy Franco Bonis.

And if Rosario is compared with Córdoba, D’Agostino identifies that the latter has a better internal market and supplies more to its own city and its surroundings than Rosario: “Both cities register similar volumes in parcel services. But Rosario sends more than 30% of the total generated to CABA and AMBA, while Córdoba only 20%.