Supply Chain Frontiers issue #35. Read all articles in this issue.
The Latin American Center for Logistics Innovation (CLI) and the Secretariat for Economic Development (SDDE) have agreed to create a special research unit that will focus on increasing logistics excellence in the city of Bogotá, Colombia, and the surrounding region.
The first phase of the $234,000 agreement between Bogotá-based CLI and SDDE will run from August 2009 to August 2010. However, the partnership is projected to continue for four years, representing a total investment of nearly $1 million.
The primary goal of the agreement is to generate knowledge about the particular logistics needs of Bogotá and the Capital Region. The work will impact small fruit and vegetable growers of the Bogotá savannah as well as independent merchants who sell products in the city’s small shops. Consumers will also benefit as food supply chains in Bogotá and Cundinamarca become more efficient.
The first project is titled, “An Analysis of the Fruit and Vegetable Supply Chain for Bogotá,” and is framed within the objectives of the Procurement Master Plan. The project aims to make the flow of fruits and vegetables to Bogotá more efficient, achieving cost savings that can be transferred to final consumers and affording them better nutrition levels at lower prices.
According to Rafael Flórez Barajas, director of LOGyCA, “The signing of this agreement with the District Secretariat for Economic Development opens a series of new opportunities so that Bogotá and the Capital Region can become a logistics node and be transformed into a competitiveness center not only for Colombia, but also for Latin America.”
Through this agreement, LOGyCA – CLI will become a partner and a resource for SDDE with respect to the strengthening of productive chains, mobility issues, and urban logistics. The execution of this agreement was made possible through the common and ongoing effort of these two entities to increase the region’s competitiveness.
Mariella Barragán, District Secretary for Economic Development, states that the “startup of this partnership gives the city an opportunity to take the lead in planning for improved logistics in the city region, increasing its competitiveness, and leveraging the investment in the project. Thanks to this agreement, the city can improve its capacity to implement public policies that generate more wealth, more jobs, and more welfare for citizens.” The main mission of the District Secretariat for Economic Development is to revitalize the capital district by guiding and leading the formulation of economic development policies for commercial, business, and tourism interests.
For more information on the new research unit in Bogotá, contact María del Mar Hermida, mhermida@logyca.org .