The Institute for Transport and Logistics in Bologna, together with 9 European partners, is co-creating the CASTLE project. It is a response to regional needs for improving transport policy and the logistics activities of SME sector companies. The project involves conducting research and analysis, as well as creating a new tool for regional policy (to be used by regional public administration) for formulating transport policy and evaluating the effects of its implementation. CASTLE is based on the experiences of project partners, including the CORELOG project. These show significant benefits of promoting logistics innovations in SME sector companies.
As part of the project, a Regional Forum on Logistics was organized in Poznań in April. The meeting was organized by the Marshal’s Office of the Greater Poland Voivodeship and the Institute of Logistics and Warehousing. The main topic of the meeting was to present the issues and possibilities of the project, focusing on SME sector companies in Greater Poland and their mutual cooperation to optimize cargo transport organization; intermodal infrastructure in Germany and Italy was also discussed.
One of the invited guests was Prof. Włodzimierz Rydzkowski (University of Gdańsk), a promoter of transport and logistics knowledge. The professor presented the barriers that hinder the use of rail and intermodal transport in Greater Poland. According to research, these include cargo batches that are too small, longer transport times, the necessity of using containers, and a lack of offers from transport companies.
Prof. Rydzkowski emphasized the importance of the meeting, stating that “a great value of the forum was that it was co-organized by the local government authorities of the Greater Poland Voivodeship. The mission of the voivodeship is to promote actions to increase the competitiveness of companies operating in the region, also by using means aimed at achieving logistics excellence by these companies. Such actions are possible thanks to close cooperation with a leading research and scientific center – the Institute of Logistics and Warehousing in Poznań“.
The meeting was attended by over a dozen representatives of Greater Poland companies and offices, municipalities, as well as representatives of the scientific community. The project is scheduled to conclude in October 2011.
Further information about the CASTLE project can be found on the project website http://www.castle-project.eu