We\u2019ve moved on from the debate about who really did coin the \u2018portcentric\u2019 word and these days it\u2019s an unusual port that doesn\u2019t aspire to attract portcentric, or one-stop-shop, business.<\/p>\n
In many ways, portcentric simply represents ports going back to what they did pre-containerisation \u2013 unloading, unpacking and storing cargo at the port, ready for onward despatch to where it\u2019s needed. As Stephen Taylor, director of PortCentric Logistics Partners, points out, in traditional cargoes the portcentric approach has always been there.<\/p>\n
He also emphasises that portcentric solutions can fit with the business models of small and medium sized ports just as well as they can with the larger ports \u2013 and that this is far from being a UK-centric or Europe-centric idea.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe concept of portcentric is about having distribution centres at the port or near the port rather than trucking [containers] into the middle of the state or country and distributing out, often doubling mileage,\u201d says Stephen Taylor, director of PortCentric Logistics Partners. \u201cThe business case is the same in a lot of countries.\u201d<\/p>\n
He believes that the business case for portcentric logistics is stronger today than it was even 12 months ago, particularly because of the increasing price of oil and consequently higher cost of road haulage.<\/p>\n
\u201cAny steps that can be taken to reduce the number of miles by road in a supply chain that starts in Asia and finishes, say, in Norwich, will reduce cost in the supply chain and bring down the eventual cost to the consumer,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
Many ports and logistics experts believe that the UK is set for a major switch to portcentric logistics, as many of the original 25- or 30-year leases for distribution centre facilities in the \u2018golden triangle\u2019 of Lutterworth, Daventry and Milton Keynes come up for renewal. \u201cSome of the leases for major facilities that importers are locked into are ending in the next two years \u2013 leaving them free to start looking at alternative locations,\u201d says Mr Taylor. \u201cThere is a view that could lead to a clear shift of activity to port-based facilities.\u201d<\/p>\n
He believes that DP World\u2019s London Gateway will be well placed to accommodate some of this activity, thanks to the 9m sq ft warehousing and logistics park being developed alongside the container port.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you look at investments at the moment, London Gateway is clearly an outstanding case study of applying portcentric logistics thinking to container port development and I believe it will create a new dynamic in the south-east,\u201d he says. \u201cIt isn\u2019t going to be \u2018click your fingers and overnight there will be a full logistics park\u2019, but it will happen over time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Some significant shifts in logistics patterns are expected in the US when the expanded Panama Canal opens. Mr Taylor has already worked with Port Manatee in Tampa Bay, one of Florida\u2019s largest ports and the closest deepwater port to the Panama Canal. Port Manatee is surrounded by nearly 5,000 acres of land available for development.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause of the Panama Canal expansion, the port is creating new container terminal facilities; as part of its business case for developing the port, it believes portcentric logistics can be a magnet for investment,\u201d he says. \u201cManatee is serving a local, but huge, market; there are about 12m people living within 150 miles of the port.\u201d<\/p>\n
Are US shippers\/importers interested in portcentric as a way of reducing the carbon footprint, improving efficiency, eliminating empty road miles, and so on? \u201cAbsolutely,\u201d says Dan Flaherty, vice president\/general manager, port logistics, at Schneider Logistics.<\/p>\n