A CONCEPTUAL MODEL FOR THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF INTEGRATED PORT LOGISTICS

In the transport sector, the sea, ships and ports have always played an important role in logistics, i.e. activities, services and movements involved in the transfer of goods for the purpose of production and distribution. The logistics of ports of the ‘smart’ type, based on ICTs (Information and Communication Technologies), in particular, enable the integration of increasingly sophisticated processes in global port supply chain management. Close cooperation between port actors naturally requires cohesion not in operations and the strategies and policies of government but also has great impact nowadays on the theme of social responsibility of port supply chains. Given these considerations, the main purposes of our study are: 1) the construction of a conceptual model of ‘advanced’ SCM (Supply Chain Management) for port logistics and 2) the theorization of a synthetic index of sustainable competitiveness.