The paper was presented at the Polish Logistics Congress “Logistics 2004 – Logistics networks in an integrated European market”. Poznań, May 19-21, 2004.
The authors have dedicated this paper to the role of rail transport in creating logistics networks. Economic exchange, structural changes in transport, and the construction of trans-European transport networks create a necessity for establishing modal points where commercial processing is performed and a logistics product is created. Information technology facilitates the creation of partnership arrangements with many links in the logistics chain, more broadly understood as a network. Its efficient functioning will create new value for the customer. The long-term concept of relationship marketing, which aligns with the development of logistics partnerships, also plays a part in this.
Premises for creating logistics networks – selected elements
The goal of logistics activity is to reduce the operating costs of enterprises in the market by having a logistics operator take over certain non-core activities while ensuring a high level of quality. Through this, the circulation of goods in the economy should be accelerated, i.e., the conversion of goods into cash. This is facilitated by logistics management, which is the ability to perform an appropriate analysis of a business partner’s processes, integrate into these processes, and shorten their execution time.
Currently, more and more companies are trying to offer various types of logistics services to a greater or lesser extent, mainly based on an extensive IT network, allowing for integration with the IT systems of customers and suppliers. In this way, companies ensure an efficient flow of information regarding:
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inventory levels,
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the location of a given shipment,
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irregularities (delays, damage, losses),
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documents, orders, statements,
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calculating prices for services,
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customer relationship management, e.g., market research, analyzing feedback on services in order to better adapt them to customer needs,
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payments made.
The above elements, combined with the appropriate coordination of production with material flows and finished goods intended for the final recipient, lead to cost optimization, which is one of the fundamental goals of modern production process management. These actions aim to reduce the demand for transport and warehousing services both in the material supply phase and in the distribution phase of finished products. The implementation of these tasks leads to the creation of logistics platforms, bringing together so-called logistics service providers in a specific area, who often undertake joint actions.
In the era of globalization, those areas of international cooperation that are based on the speed of information flow, the exchange of technical ideas, and the ability to adapt to operating in conditions of a dynamically changing market environment are gaining increasing importance. The exchange of experience and the undertaking of joint initiatives lead to the creation of innovative logistics solutions and, consequently, to the linking of individual elements of supply chains, i.e., to the integration of logistics systems through:
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planning optimal supply chains,
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analyzing and selecting the best service providers for each link in the supply chain,
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creating a uniform and optimal solution for the supply chain,
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offering global solutions (trans-European networks),
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developing and improving existing concepts and solutions.
However, in conditions of economic downturn, it is increasingly difficult to enter the TSL (transport-forwarding-logistics) market, which is caused by an increase in entry barriers, including limited access to international know-how. Therefore, only enterprises focused on partnership-based business activities will be able to overcome these barriers and maintain, or even strengthen, their existing market position.
Recently, we have also observed a significant increase in the importance of logistics in the operations of most Polish enterprises. Integrated supply chains are now widely considered to be the solutions with the greatest potential for achieving savings and generating profits. Small and medium-sized forwarding and transport companies have very quickly exploited this situation, starting to create local logistics centers that constitute the initial or final link of the logistics channel. Many such facilities have been built, for example, around Warsaw and Poznań. However, despite numerous concepts for locating international logistics centers in our country (for example, the project of the Institute of Logistics and Warehousing from Poznań, Prof. Leszek Mindur, the Maritime Institute in Gdańsk, or PKP CARGO SA, etc., which generally point to the same locations as optimal for this type of investment), none have been built to date. No government program has been created that would assume the construction of a network of logistics centers. Although the Sectoral Operational Program for 2004-2006 of the Ministry of Infrastructure includes a provision for supporting the construction of rail container terminals and logistics centers as well as the development of intermodal transport, only the construction of the International Logistics Center in Sławków can currently count on government support. However, it should be realized that in a developed market economy, such entities should not be created as a result of administrative decisions made at various levels (ministries, central, regional, or local authorities), but should constitute a natural response to the demand for logistics services. Administrative authorities should only support and promote these projects, as well as create favorable conditions for their creation, e.g., through the construction of accompanying infrastructure, i.e., the construction of road networks, sewage systems, or the application of appropriate tax incentives for logistics operators.
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