Ports Cities And Global Supply Chains

Global trends in policy and technology related fields are rapidly reshaping the port industry worldwide. International in scope, this volume provides multidisciplinary insights into the role port cities adopt in dealing with global supply chains. Throughout the book, concepts of strategic management, supply chain management, port and transport economics and economic and transport geography are applied to offer an in-depth understanding of the processes underlying global supply chains and associated spatial and functional dynamics in port-cities. The book also discusses policy outcomes and implications relevant to port-cities positioned in different segments of global supply chains.

Written by leading experts in the field, this book offers an introduction to recent developments in port and hinterland strategies, operations and related specializations. The book begins with a broad overview of port definitions, concepts and the role of ports in global supply chains, and an examination of strategic topics such as port management, governance, performance, hinterlands and the port-city relationship. The second part of the book examines operational aspects of maritime, port and land networks. A range of topics are explored, such as liner networks, finance and business models, port-industrial clusters, container terminals, intermodality/synchromodality, handling and warehousing. The final section of the book provides insights into key issues of port development and management, from security, sustainability, innovation strategies, transition management and labour issues. Drawing on a variety of global case studies, theoretical insights are supplemented with real world and best practice examples, this book will be of interest to advanced undergraduates, postgraduates, scholars and professionals interested in maritime studies, transport studies, economics and geography.

This book investigates the trends and challenges that ports, logistics and supply chains have tackled in recent decades and the way forward. A new concept, port focal logistics is introduced which appreciates the efforts by previous studies in this field, but simultaneously recognize the limitations, and the need for further improvements.

Port Inter-Organizational Information Systems aims at providing insights into the ways global sea ports are challenged by the need for managing complex information flows, given the developments in global supply chains. We argue that special port IT capabilities are needed to address these challenges by sharing information and planning and executing container transport in a collaborative way, establishing inter-organizational information architectures, and coordinating interests to successfully implement the technological infrastructures. We focus on the role of port community systems that support port communities in meeting the demands of global supply chains. Port Inter-Organizational Information Systems has a multidisciplinary nature and should be of interest to students, researchers, and practitioners in several fields, including information management, information systems, operations management, supply chain management, and technology management. The book combines a number of chapters where concepts are explained, while referring to a large repository of case studies provided in an appendix. Also, an introduction to the container transport network is provided in another appendix.

This book illustrates and discusses the main characteristics of port-city development dynamics with a focus on the fast-growing city-states of the Middle East, which are emerging as key players in logistics and the global supply chain. Maritime ports and the cities hosting them have long fascinated scholars – geographers, economists, architects, urban planners, sociologists etc. – as they become centres of exchange where different social and urban environments meet, at the intersection between land and sea. Given that the current body of literature on the topic is biased – mainly concerning the Western world and East Asian region – with mono-disciplinary tendencies, this book outlines a theoretical basis from a wide range of literature, linking port-city studies, globalization theories and logistics, and adopts a multidisciplinary perspective. The main target audience of the book includes scholars and graduate students in urban studies, spatial planning, urban and regional economics, logistics, geography and transport geography with an interest in studying port geography and the port-city interface, port infrastructure development and port hinterland dynamics; it will also benefit policymakers and urban planners whose work involves these topics.

Port Business is essential reading for all those with an interest in trade and transportation and the role of ports in the global supply chain. It discusses the various types of ports in existence, identifies the major ports per category, analyzes what the key business drivers are, describes their governance, how they are managed, which trends influence them, and what kind of impact they have on supply chains. Dr. Jürgen Sorgenfrei uses his significant consulting and project development experience within the international ports, shipping, rail & logistics sector, and in global economics, trade, analytics, and forecasting as well as in intermodal hinterland transport to provide this comprehensive overview of port management. The book is a combination of a strong background in principles and practical knowledge and is an indispensable resource for those interested in maritime economics. .