Abstract
In academia as in practice, seaports are increasingly viewed as elements in supply chains. It is argued that seaports should add value to shippers by aligning their own business activities with shippers’ Supply Chain Management (SCM) strategies and requirements. The implications of this ‘port-SCM’ philosophy are not fully explored, however. In this context, it is especially important to create mutual understanding between shippers, in terms of their SCM strategies, and port actors, in terms of services provided. In this paper a framework is developed, which aims to improve mutual understanding between shippers and port actors from a SCM point of view. It thereby aims to contribute to the dialogue on how the port logistics system can be better integrated into shippers’ SCM strategies. Three SCM reference models are analysed and twelve SCM subsystems identified that represent broad design areas of shippers’ SCM strategies. Further, the seaport system is discussed in terms of system boundaries and the actors involved. Port actors and SCM subsystems are then combined into one explanatory framework, the SCM-port actor matrix. Finally, applying the matrix, three cases retrieved from academic and trade literature in which port actors are actively involved in conducting shippers’ supply chain strategies are discussed. The paper concludes with a brief outlook on future research needs.
Highlights
Principles of Supply Chain Management (SCM) have become increasingly present in research on seaports (Robinson 2002; Carbone, De Martino 2003a; Bichou, Gray 2004; Van der Lugt, De Langen 2005; Beresford et al 2011)
This paper identifies and addresses content-related as well as methodological shortcomings of the ‘port-SCM’ domain
A widely accepted definition is provided by the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP 2012): ‘supply chain management encompasses the planning and management of all activities involved in sourcing and procurement, conversion, and all logistics management activities
Summary
Principles of Supply Chain Management (SCM) have become increasingly present in research on seaports (Robinson 2002; Carbone, De Martino 2003a; Bichou, Gray 2004; Van der Lugt, De Langen 2005; Beresford et al 2011). Following Robinson’s well received article (Robinson 2002), research in the portSCM domain included work on the integration potential of port operators in car manufacturing SCs (Carbone, De Martino 2003a), new approaches to port performance measurement integrating SC indicators (Marlow, Paixão Casaca 2003; Bichou, Gray 2004), insights on terminal SC integration (Panayides, Song 2009) as well as the development of port-centric logistics concepts (Beresford et al 2011; Mangan 2009; Wall 2007). With very few exceptions, papers neither discuss models from SCM theory in detail nor do they apply concrete models to the port environment (for an exception see Carbone and De Martino (2003a)) but, if at all, only fragments or a simplistic idea of the broader SCM concept
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