The Logistics Sector on the Southern Shores of the Western ... - cetmo

October 2010<strong>The</strong> <strong>Logistics</strong> <strong>Sector</strong>on the Southern Shores of the Western Mediterraneanlogistics sector, operators' opinions need to be taken into account. In this area, the mainrecommendations are the following:• In the case of logistics zones, pay particular attention to the conditions governing accessto the hubs for private companies and particularly SMEs to ensure easy, widespread use.Give the management of the logistics zones to neutral, specialized property operators(who will not compete with their own clients), who will manage the zone permanently sothat the companies established there can benefit from ancillary services, favourableconditions for their customers and the facilities they need for the development of theirbusiness activities.• Specific vocational training for the transport and logistics sector was the most frequentsubject raised across the board during interviews. It is in this area that collaborationbetween government departments and operators is most essential, for definingprogrammes, linking in-house and outside training in companies, and planning how topass on European know-how appropriate to the stage of development in each countryand thus avoid irrelevant material.• Rigorously enforce conditions for entering different industry sectors and the market; drawup the descriptions of professions, which do not yet exist, and integrate them into nationalregulations.E. Creating Areas for Cooperation and Business InitiativeAs explained in Chapter 5 of this report, encouraging the creation of business clusters is themost appropriate path for stimulating modernization and business innovation, since itpromotes competitive cooperation between operators in both the public and private sectors.This method also has the advantage of being relevant regardless of the level of developmentof the logistics sector in question, since it aims to foster the progress of business activitiesand consolidate them over the long term through continuous improvement.In this area, the main recommendations are the following:• Initiate dialogue between government departments and the private sector and agree onthe need to encourage business participation in the modernization process by creating anarea for competitive cooperation between companies in addition to public-privatecooperation.• Start sharing principles and examples of logistics clusters with the most advancednational companies and invite public companies and private operators to take part.• Study how to apply the cluster methodology to the national reality by means of actionsuch as the following:◦ Establish a detailed map of the logistics sector to identify potential driving forces andthe type of clusters to be encouraged: vertical clusters according to the form oftransport or profession; regional clusters (in ports, towns or logistics zones) andclusters of specific chains.◦ Define a strategy for cluster development and types of company groupings, as wellas the structures needed to foster business participation. Include public companiesand foreign operators.14 CETMO