Recently, the term “public logistics” has begun to appear in foreign-language literature. However, it has not yet been clearly defined or conceptualized. This may be due to the fact that all logistics activities utilizing communal goods, such as road infrastructure, are at least partially public. This concept, however, is not considered in the context of infrastructure, but rather in terms of logistics activities related to the implementation of public tasks. Therefore, an alternative could potentially be the term “logistics of public tasks.” The question arises, however, whether the emerging research area justifies giving it a separate name and formulating a new concept in management sciences. Nevertheless, the gravity of the phenomena associated with this term requires discussion.
Logistics processes in the public sector do not differ per se from those implemented in business practice. Public tasks, however, are subject to specific conditions that give logistics services a special character. The differences are visible already at the level of objectives. In the public sector, the public good dominates. In business practice, the pursuit of generating (financial) benefits prevails. Furthermore, public tasks must be performed in accordance with the Public Procurement Law. It assumes the principle of equal rights for all entities to participate in their implementation. While these elements do not clearly distinguish their specificity from business tasks, they entail many consequences.
Distinguishing logistics as a function in an enterprise from its public character can be done based on the institutions performing logistics tasks and the assignment of responsibility for their realization. Until recently, such a distinction was not necessary, as most public tasks were performed independently by public institutions. At that time, we were dealing with the unity of the principal and the contractor. Currently, the separation between them is increasingly common, which often results from the difficulties of independently performing public tasks and the need to increase efficiency in the public sector. This separation has led to a shift of the coordination function from the administrative hierarchy towards the market. Consequently, a new interface has emerged between the public principal and the private contractor.
Logistics, due to its importance as a coordination function, seems to be particularly predisposed to optimally shaping the aforementioned interfaces, as well as the processes associated with them. The scope of logistics activities here is essentially unlimited. Public logistics can include elements of classic services (transport, warehousing, order picking), as well as consulting, financial, or personnel services. It can concern both the implementation of public tasks by logistics companies within the framework of public-private partnerships (e.g., waste collection) and the logistics support of the public sector (e.g., hospital supply).
The inclusion of logistics companies in the implementation of public tasks should bring benefits to the public sector, such as cost reduction, increased flexibility in responding to changing market needs, or increased beneficiary satisfaction.
In Germany, the private sector carries out public tasks worth 300 billion euros annually. This trend is growing. In Poland, the potential for such cooperation is also enormous, as evidenced by the fact that public sector spending reaches almost 49% of GDP. This fact should have consequences for the policy of local governments in the sphere of logistics. It should guarantee the supply of public goods and services in accordance with social needs, in the sense of supply chain management, while the takeover of logistics tasks by the private sector, within the framework of contract logistics, should become a new public task.
The growing importance of the private sector in the implementation of public tasks means that it bears increasing co-responsibility for fulfilling them towards citizens. The only question is to what extent local authorities are ready to share this responsibility. This is undoubtedly a dilemma. Such a model is obviously associated with the danger of losing influence over part of one’s own image. On the other hand, introducing modern forms of financing public tasks (e.g., securitization) or using EU funds often imposes a public-private partnership model. This causes a noticeable dynamic of growth in the involvement of the private sector in the public sphere in our country as well.
The article comes from the magazine “Logistyka” 6/2010.