In a world where most international trade is carried by sea, each port can be seen as a unique chokepoint competing to attract ever more traffic and economic activities. However, ports can also be seen as parts of a wider system, which can be defined as a system of two or more ports located in proximity within a given area. Their fate and governance is jointly influenced when belonging to the same region, country, or transnational space. Investments, shocks, innovations, and delays occurring in one port often affect other ports within a certain spatial range and time lapse. Further understanding of such co-developments in port systems is necessary to go beyond local specificities, through a multidisciplinary and multi-level contribution. Port Systems in Global Competition is an answer to the strong and urgent need for reviewing the relevant theories, concepts, methods, and sources that can be mobilized for the analysis of port systems. With contributions from reputable scholars coming from no less than 11 countries in Europe, Asia, and North America, this book delves into the analysis of port systems from diverse disciplinary angles (geography, regional science, economics, management, engineering, and mathematics/computer sciences), covering innovative empirical approaches to various port systems in the world. The theoretical and empirical knowledge can support and enhance decision-making in relation with the development of ports, supply chains, and transport networks in general. This book is an ideal companion to academics and upper-level students interested in the analysis of transport and economic systems in general, as well as the effective ways to answer complex issues in transportation and socio-economic development. It will be a valuable resource for those researching or studying transportation and supply chains, maritime and port economics, as well as regional development and human geography.

As businesses seek to compete on a global stage, they must be constantly aware of pressures from all levels: regional, local, and worldwide. The organizations that can best build advantages in diverse environments achieve the greatest success. The Handbook of Research on Global Competitive Advantage through Innovation and Entrepreneurship explores the emergence of new ideas and opportunities in various markets and provides organizational leaders with the tools they need to take full advantage of those opportunities. With a focus on economic growth in a fast-paced environment, this handbook is a critical reference for business leaders, economists, and students of economic theory.

Ports in Proximity provides an overview of key contemporary research in the field through a broad range of international case studies. The concepts of strategic management, supply chain management, port and transport economics and economic and transport geography are applied throughout the book to offer an in-depth understanding of the processes underlying spatial and functional dynamics in port systems. The opportunities for cooperation between competing adjacent ports is examined while the avenues for further joint research are identified, setting an agenda for further study.

With 80 percent of the world’s commodities being transported by water, ports are the pillars of the global economy. Port Management and Operations offers readers the opportunity to enhance their strategic thinking and problem-solving skills, while developing market foresight. It examines global port management practices at the regulatory, commercial, technological, operational, financial, and sociopolitical levels. This powerful sourcebook describes how seaports are being affected by the changes occurring nationally, regionally, and globally. Evaluating the new regulatory framework, it pinpoints the industry’s implementation readiness and identifies potential problem areas. The book classifies the spectrum of interrelated port management principles, strategies, and activities in a logical sequence and under four cornerstones—Port Strategy and Structure, Legal and Regulatory Framework, Input: Factors of Production, and Output and Economic Framework. Detailing best practices and the latest industry developments, the book highlights emerging challenges for port managers and identifies opportunities to develop forward-thinking strategies. It examines the effectiveness of current strategies, tactics, tools, and resources of numerous global ports and highlights the necessity of adopting a proactive stance in harmonizing the laws, regulations, and policies pertaining to the maritime, oil, and gas industries. The shipping industry has myriad complexities and this book provides maritime managers and professionals with the wide-ranging and up-to-date understanding required to thrive in today’s highly competitive and evolving environment.

Given the current research direction toward ubiquitous information sharing and digitalization, the huge amount of documents in the world’s largest libraries and archives are stored as digital data in big data centers, including those of Google, Apple, Microsoft, Samsung, Amazon, IBM, and others. The recent advancements in the fast Internet, smart computing, information technologies, and management information systems created a platform for ultra-smart cyberspace and cyber automation driven by digital transformation, artificial intelligence (AI), and ultra-smart humanoid robotics. Welcome to the world of the digital revolution and the new era of digitalization where the dream of paperless factories has become a reality today, and yet there are future challenges ahead of us to make sure that digitalization contributes to the betterment of humankind. This book is a valuable reference providing up-to-date information about current state-of-the-art and future research directions in digital transformation for cyber experts, business and industry practitioners, university faculty, and senior and graduate students worldwide.

This book constitutes the proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Computational Logistics, ICCL 2019, held in Barranquilla, Colombia, in September/October 2019. The 27 papers included in this book were carefully reviewed and selected from 49 submissions. They were organized in topical sections named: freight transportation and urban logistics; maritime and port logistics; vehicle routing problems; network design and distribution problems; and selected topics in decision support systems and ICT tools.

China has progressed dramatically since 1978 when the country started its economic reforms and opened up to the world economy. It took only three decades for China to develop from a closed, centrally planned economy with little sea-borne trade into the world's second largest economy with the largest container shipment volume in the world. The major coastal cities have been gateways linking China with the world and have experienced rapid urbanization and port growth. How has such port growth been speeded up and realized under strong state control and intervention? How have ports and their cities affected each other? What lessons can China’s port-cities learn from other countries, regions and cities? What will be the next stage of port-city interplays in China in this globalizing era? Answering these questions from a geographical perspective, James Wang looks into four sets of port-city relations in China: Economic and functional relations between port and city; port-city spatial relations; external network relations of cities through ports; and port-city governance. These relations formulate a conceptual framework which is used to interpret port-city interplays in individual ports and cities but also in multi-port regions such as the Pearl River Delta. Based on the author’s own research and investigations into more than 25 port cities in China over the past 18 years, this book provides vivid stories about China and challenge existing theories on port development.

Bringing together an international network of leading scholars, this multidisciplinary book unravels some of the most pressing challenges to shipping, ports, and logistics. Divided into five parts--shipping, the analysis of flows and networks, terminal operations and performance, logistics, and port development and governance--this record is an essential read for practitioners in the maritime and logistics world, postgraduate students, policy makers, and professional organizations. As market players expand and improve their services in line with increased requirements on rates, reliability, environmental footprint, and safety and security, this compendium encourages further systematic thinking.

An understanding of logistics is of primary importance in the modern business world and this text allows students and businesspeople alike to become comfortable with the fundamentals of this discipline. In its explanation of logistics—the process of moving a commodity or service from customer order to consumption—this guide provides insight into every step of the process, from order processing and purchasing to packaging and warehousing. Tips are included for integrated logistics, customer service, materials flow, and strategic logistics plans.