During this time, along with the development of the economy and changing market needs, the Institute’s activities have increasingly focused on comprehensive services in developing new concepts and solutions to increase the efficiency of enterprises and entire supply chains. With the rapid development of logistics worldwide since the 1980s, the Poznań-based Institute has established a number of contacts with similar institutions in Europe, participating in many international research projects and programs, becoming one of the most important centers of logistical thought on our continent.
Currently, the Institute of Logistics and Warehousing (ILiM) carries out research and development work in the field of logistics and e-economy, placing great emphasis on the practical application of the knowledge developed. Thanks to the high level of expertise of over 100 employees and the innovative solutions they implement, ILiM has gained the status of a competence center, integrating a large group of partners from the private and public sectors. Examples of the practical application of solutions developed by the Institute’s specialists include the optimization of the “Żywiec” mineral water distribution network and the streamlining of customer service processes for the mobile operator Plus GSM. Also worthy of note are the organizational and technological warehouse projects carried out for, among others, Unilever, Philips Lighting Poland, and GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals. As part of several dozen international projects, the Institute currently cooperates with over 200 research organizations from all over Europe, and the results of its work are primarily modern methodologies, tools, and standards.
One of the most important milestones in the history of the Institute of Logistics and Warehousing was its admission in 1990 to the international organization EAN (now GS1), which deals with developing standards and popularizing the barcode system worldwide. ILiM represents our country in this organization, and at the same time, it houses the facility that assigns barcodes to all entities using them on their products or in their current business operations. GS1 Poland today consists of 17,000 companies using GS1 standards. One of the largest undertakings of the Institute of Logistics and Warehousing in terms of disseminating knowledge was – in addition to its ongoing publishing activities – the establishment of the College of Logistics in Poznań in 2001, which quickly became a leading university in the country, providing education in the field of broadly understood logistics. Its graduates, holding bachelor’s and master’s degrees, have no trouble finding work in their profession in the country, and some also secure positions abroad. Earlier, in 1997, in response to increasingly felt educational needs, the Institute established the Center for Logistics Education, which improves the qualifications of the emerging logistics staff in Poland through training and workshops. Another example of meeting the current market needs of manufacturers and distributors, including in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector, is the initiation by ILiM of the creation of ECR Poland, which deals with developing new, better methods of effective customer service. Thanks to the Institute’s cooperation with the UN organization UNTPDC, the electronic Trade Support Platform Trade Point Poznań was created. Since the beginning of the 21st century, the Institute of Logistics and Warehousing has also managed the European Logistics Certification System in Poland.
The contribution of ILiM to the development of Polish logistical thought was appreciated, among others, by the Minister of Economy in a special letter handed to the Institute’s management on October 10, 2007, during a gala ceremony on the occasion of its 40th anniversary, while the provincial authorities awarded the Institute the Honorary Badge for Merit to the Greater Poland Voivodeship.
