The resilience of logistics
FIRST THE COVID, NOW THE WAR IN UKRAINE. INTERNATIONAL LOGISTICS SUFFERS BUT KNOWS HOW TO CHANGE TO OVERCOME DIFFICULTIESby Camillo Papini
A truly disruptive phenomenon can also withstand the shocks of discontinuity factors. It is the case of the international logistics system which, after its great take-off in 2013, has had to face the pandemic since 2020, now, the consequences of the war in Ukraine. "The scope of logistics will remain global, most cargo will continue to travel by sea, and Chinese or South Korean ports will continue to function as the largest hubs for container ships," explains Ferdinando Pennarola, Professor of Business Organization and Information Systems at Bocconi.
"Except that now the logistics are trying to cope with new kinds of shocks, such as Covid and the conflict in Eastern Europe precisely. Therefore, the medium-term forecast that the evolution of international logistics will structure itself according to a more regional basis", for example around the region surrounding the Mediterranean. In this way, according to Pennarola, risk elements can be reduced, even if this reconfiguration is not a trivial operation and the various tradeable goods will travel along different distribution networks, depending on their type. However, "as long as volumes traded remain high, it will be better for companies to produce in their regional area of ​​reference, rather than importing goods and components from afar", remarks the Professor of Business Organization. “In the eyes of the consumer, confirmation of this reorganization will be the speed of delivery that will still be guaranteed”.
