Supply Chain Frontiers issue #46
A new European research project called FUTUREMED aims to improve the competitiveness of ports in the Mediterranean area. The Zaragoza Logistics Center (ZLC) in Zaragoza, Spain, a Global SCALE Network member center, is one of the primary partners in the project.
The Mediterranean ports system has long been a historic gateway to European markets. Its importance in this context has not diminished, but there are certain parts of the system – notably the so-called Latin Arc – that have become more prominent in recent years.
The Latin Arc is gaining in economic importance as a link in supply chains that connect markets in Europe and the Far East. This emerging economic axis extends from Spain (close to Madrid) through the Valencia region and Cataluña (Valencia and Barcelona), the Languedoc-Roussillon region in France (Montpellier, Toulouse, Marseille), and through the Po Valley up to central-northern Italy (Bologna, Verona, Vicenza).
One reason for the Arc’s increasing significance is the entry of eastern countries into the European Union (EU). In the future, products sourced in Asia could cease to be delivered direct to customers in eastern European countries owing to the long lead times involved. Instead, they could be delivered through newly established distribution centers in the Latin Arc. At the same time, the EU wants to minimize the congestion problems and environmental threats posed by rising traffic levels in the region.
The FUTUREMED project includes partner organizations from Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Slovenia, and Spain, as well as associated partners in Croatia, Malta, and Morocco. Its overall goal is to increase the competitiveness of Mediterranean ports for three types of traffic: freight, passenger, and tourist.
To meet this objective, the project team is focusing on technical and procedural improvements. The main targets are:
- A dynamic system for the real-time management of freight and passenger flows. The goal is to identify actions that will relieve congestion and eliminate bottlenecks in the interface between ports – especially those that are located within cities – and their hinterlands.
- Digitizing intra-EU port-to-port and port-to-operator communications related to bureaucratic processes such as the enforcement of Customs regulations.
- Solutions that afford operators higher levels of visibility along the transportation chain.
- Solutions for a specific supply chain such as agro-food.
A key component of the project is to develop environmentally sustainable supply chains. To this end, the project team will look at intermodal options in the port network. Also of importance are the promotion of meaningful interactions among port operators, customers, and stakeholders, and the leveraging of synergies between the facilities.
New standards and regulations will be required to make way for these improvements. At present, national and international standards cover similar logistics activities. The idea is to eliminate wasteful duplication and inconsistencies by developing unified regulations.
Also, it is generally accepted that more accurate and faster information flows, improved cargo tracking and tracing, and streamlined customs procedures are necessary if the project is to succeed. But achieving these improvements is difficult because stakeholders such as third-party logistics services providers tend to operate “closed” systems that do not communicate with one another. Thus, there is a need for standards and regulations that remove these silos and encourage interoperability.
The benefits of the FUTUREMED project are widespread. As the project team points out, southern European ports “contribute to the economic and social cohesion of Europe.” Moreover, the eastern Mediterranean region offers much potential for establishing “intermodal maritime corridors” that foster sustainable transportation and the development of more efficient distribution networks.
FUTUREMED is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund, one of the main funding instruments within the European Regional Policy. The project is expected to run from June 2012 through the end of May 2015. A number of pilot projects are planned to test information systems designed to improve communications between Mediterranean ports.
For more information on the project, contact the ZLC Transport Department at: jfroldan@zlc.edu.es.