Searching for Best Practices in Developing Ports as Logistics Centers

Global firms are seeking to implement their global logistics strategies in two ways: the use of centralized inventories and/or postponement of final assembly. These strategies stress the importance of regional logistics centers. In most cases, regional logistics centers are located in or near ports so that changing demands can be met with economy, reliability and flexibility, The port can profit not only from the activities of logistics center itself, but also the increasing flow of cargo through the logistics center. A number of ports respond to this trend by shifting their emphasis from traditional cargo-handling services to value-added services. This paper presents guidelines drawn from the best practices of ports to be successful logistics centers to provide many aspects of value-added logistics services. These include: Effective Planning and Development of Logistics Centers; Institutional Incentive Scheme; Development of Free Trade Zones; Financing Infrastructure related to Logistics Centers; Developing Logistics Service Providers and Logistics Professionals; Development of Information Technology; and Regulatory and Administrative Issues. These guidelines will help managers of ports and policy makers of governments in the East Asian region learn to recognize, analyze and adopt the best practices for use.