The paper was presented at the Polish Logistics Congress “Logistics 2004 – Logistics networks in the integrated European market”. Poznań, May 19-21, 2004.
The purpose of this article is to illustrate the relationships between industrial districts and the integrated logistics system of a region. It presents both the definitions of major economic zones, their logistical and economic characteristics, as well as more detailed information regarding trends in the industrial zones of the Emilia-Romagna region.
The document also outlines a strategy for creating an integrated regional logistics system, which is based on detailed characteristics of industrial zones and a comparison of the “filière” concept and the supply chain. The final part of the article also presents the actions taken in the Emilia-Romagna region as part of the identified strategy.
1. Industrial districts – economic and social approach
Industrial districts are defined by Italian literature as socio-economic territories characterized by the activity of both the population and industrial enterprises in a given region, distributed across the area naturally and historically.
Although the purpose of this article is neither to characterize industrial districts based on extensive literature nor to detail the complexity of this concept, the cited definition helps in understanding some specific features of industrial districts, which will prove helpful in the later analysis of logistics activities and the impact on regional policy and the logistics system. The definition identifying industrial districts characterizes them from two distinct points of view: economic and social. From an economic point of view, industrial districts are characterized by the dispersion of enterprises and a specific environment of small and medium-sized enterprises in a specific territory. Each district has its own domain that identifies the primary production branch in the area of a given district: for example, Sassuolo – ceramic tiles, Pesaro – furniture, Montebelluna – sports goods, Prato – textile goods. Such a “label,” however, limits the area that is in some way assigned to a given district, which creates a risk of oversimplifying its structure. Despite the fact that there is indeed a dominant branch of production, the term “filière” better describes the economic features of the district. A filière is a multi-industry chain of specialized enterprises connected by medium- and long-term relationships based on processes of structural division of labor, product distribution, and the goal of value creation. The final value of a product is influenced by a chain process based on the horizontal decentralization of individual operational activities related to the industrial profile of a given district, the production process, and activities such as transport, logistics, financial activities, or consulting. These few factors, however, partially limit the filière phenomenon to the definition of a supply chain. The further part of the document defines the relationships occurring between these approaches. The concept of filière goes somewhat beyond the concept of a supply chain in such a way that it does not limit industrial districts to market and price relationships between small and medium-sized enterprises. In a sense, industrial districts represent a phenomenon of tightening industrial and social ties, as there are strong interactions between economic, social, and institutional spheres occurring within the territory of a given district, which are not without significance for logistics and transport in small and medium-sized enterprises. Economic relations represent not only the point of contact between supply and demand. Districts are also a social system in which interpersonal relationships, skills, and the spirit of entrepreneurship, as well as mutual trust between people and SMEs, play a very important role. These few sentences mentioned above have preliminarily outlined the complexity of the industrial district system, which has an impact on regional logistics and transport systems. Although local SMEs are characterized by strong ties among themselves, industrial districts are not economically self-sufficient systems and must face equally complex economic and transport challenges that are characterized by a global rather than a local or regional reach.
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