We are discussing and holding conferences on whether to build logistics centers, where to locate them, and what they should be like. The topic is popular and attracts great interest, as evidenced by the large number of participants at the conference dedicated to logistics centers in the Greater Poland region, which took place in Poznań this March. Another one, concerning the problems of central Poland, is announced for October in Warsaw. In May of this year, an interesting international conference was held in Jastrzębia Góra, organized as part of the NeLoC project by the Maritime Institute in Gdańsk and the Institute of Logistics and Warehousing. The following picture emerges: the need to build logistics centers is emphasized, local initiatives aimed at initiating construction appear, yet the centers are not being built. Support from Western European governments brings results in the form of a developing network of logistics centers, as evidenced by Germany or Italy. Our initiatives, lacking similar support, are uncoordinated, and some projects compete with each other, which further weakens the already slim chances for their implementation.
In a situation where a transport company with a single means of transport providing a simple transport service calls itself a logistics company, and a warehouse facility is called a logistics center, let us recall the definition that defines a logistics center as a spatial-functional facility with infrastructure and organization,
in which logistics services related to receiving, storing, distributing, and issuing goods are carried out, as well as accompanying services provided by independent
business entities in relation to the sender or recipient.
Despite the problems the economy is facing, logistics services are developing, and logistics operators are changing their image, strengthening their position in supply chains. Can national logistics networks do without logistics centers?
Does Poland need logistics centers?
Yes, because their construction is based on specific assumptions regarding location, organization, functionality, and above all, the role they are to play in logistics networks, composed of diverse, mutually penetrating supply chains created by cooperating enterprises. Logistics centers built according to these assumptions have a beneficial impact on the course of economic processes and the infrastructure and resources used during their implementation. Logistics centers contribute to the growth of intermodality in freight transport, the effect of which is primarily the relief of roads from part of the freight transport previously carried out by road transport.
The article comes from the magazine “Logistyka” 2003/5.