Due to the coronavirus pandemic, this year’s IAPH World Ports Conference was held from June 21 to June 25, 2021, in a hybrid, mostly digital format.
In fact, the IAPH Regional Session Europe was held on June 21 as part of the international conference’s agenda. Not only European IAPH members, but also participants from around the world attended this time.
The session focused on supply chain resilience and the position of European ports within the trends and forces shaping the global economy.
A multitude of events in recent years temporarily disrupted production in many companies worldwide. Shocks that affect global production are growing more frequent and severe. As a result, ports and logistics chains will have to adapt to this situation, to provide stability despite regular disturbances.
What is more, the COVID-19 pandemic and the Suez Canal blockade have proven that disruption can be expected at any time, and the consequences of climate change or geopolitical conflicts increasingly threaten established processes and supply chains, as well.
Our analyses show that all industries have experienced 1-2 month long disruptions in the supply chain every 3.7 years on the average – this will continue in the future. Companies will have to calculate their prices to compensate for these interruptions, which in the course of a decade can eat up about 40 percent of a year’s profits. Therefore, those responsible for supply chains in various areas will have to re-think.
…as Knut Alicke, Partner at McKinsey & Company, stated.
Several options for strengthening value chain resilience were presented during the meeting. In the keynote, Knut Alicke also examined the feasibility of movement based on industry economics as well as the possibility that governments might act to bolster domestic production of some goods that they deem essential or strategic from a national security or competitiveness perspective.
Jens Meier, CEO of Hamburg Port Authority, who hosted the IAPH regional meeting for the second time as IAPH Vice President Europe, organized this session bringing the message that global supply chains are still a source of strength, not weakness. A more globalized world makes port operations and their efficiency more challenging.
However, their resilience comes from multiple sources of supply and constant adaptation to shocks to reduce the cost of disruptions and the time it takes to recover.
During the panel discussion, he said, “The previous disruptions have given us the opportunity to be very well prepared. I always try to strengthen the whole supply chain process and the way to succeed is through partnerships in data sharing and digitalization.” Jens Meier believes that ports have an opportunity to emerge from the current crisis more agile and innovative while benefiting from all the advantages that global trade offers.
Disruptions, such as COVID-19 and the blockage in the Suez Canal, will occur, but in order to enhance resilience and keep global supply chains intact, we, the actors within the logistics chain, must see ourselves as partners, not as customers and suppliers, with a great deal of shared responsibility and interdependence.
…Barbara Scheel Agersnap, CEO of Copenhagen Malmö Port, concluded.
