Short Sea Shipping in Supply Chains. A Strategic Assessment |
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Authors: | P. Morales-Fusco S. Saurí G. De Melo |
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Affiliation: | 1. CENIT — Centre for Innovation in Transport , BarcelonaTech-UPC , Jordi Girona 1-3, Building C3 - Office S120, Barcelona , 08034 , Spain pau.morales@upc.edu;3. CENIT — Centre for Innovation in Transport , BarcelonaTech-UPC , Jordi Girona 1-3, Building C3 - Office S120, Barcelona , 08034 , Spain;4. Department of Transportation and Territory Infrastructure , Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya — BarcelonaTech , B1 Building, Jordi Girona s/n, Barcelona , 08034 , Spain;5. Department of Science and Nautical Engineering , Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya – BarcelonaTech , NT1 Building, Pla?a Palau, 18 08003 , Barcelona , Spain |
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Abstract: | The feasibility of implementing short sea shipping (SSS) between two specific ports has been typically approached on the operative level, in terms of time and cost for a specific origin–destination pair. This paper focuses on the strategic level. Particularly, its goal is to study the potential of SSS in different industrial sectors by analysing their freight-distribution strategies. To achieve the objective, some standard freight-distribution strategies are defined based on the requirements of the industry, the demand and the product being transported. The information is complemented with a survey of more than 100 Spanish companies distributing internationally. As a result it is concluded that there are economies of scale related to the size of the carrier (the ship) and its capacity to absorb the variability in demand. This potential increases with the cargo value. Additionally, a framework of supply/distribution chains is provided which can help to identify potential customers/sectors and the feasibility of new potential shipping lines. The value of this paper resides in its approach (strategic, instead of operational/tactical), and the solid groundwork point provided for future researchers. |
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Keywords: | supply chain management short sea shipping freight transportation transportation strategy logistics co-modality modal shift strategic logistics |
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