Logistic Clusters: Excelling the Logistic Management of Coyote Logistics’ Operations in Northern Europe, what forms of benefits impact a firm’s decision to locate in a logistics cluster?

III.I PROBLEM STATEMENT AND Qs
GOAL: setting up an important customer’s supply chain
The aim of this paper is to develop a literature based conceptual framework for an ongoing research project. Key themes in the literature will be operationalized in the next stages of research. To do this the paper explores what logistics cluster benefits are and how they can be used by incumbents, potential entrants, to guide a firm’s decision to locate in a cluster. Such a
decision requires knowledge of and ability to identify efficiencies and benefits of, proximity, supply chain integration, and the availability of value added logistics services.

III.I.I RESEARCH QUESTION
The research question explored is “what forms of benefits impact a firm’s decision to locate in a logistics cluster? And sub questions of:
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IV. THE EFFECTS OF CLUSTERING
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IV.I BENEFITS
What benefits will there be from locating the activities in a logistics cluster? What are the prerequisites from capturing these benefits?

Logistics clustering results in four specific benefits for firms; those deriving from collaboration opportunities and value added services, opportunities for upward mobility, job growth at multiple levels and regional growth. (Rivera, Gligor & Sheffi 2016, pp. 252-5). The authors note,

“…logistics clustering provides specific benefits to companies. These benefits derive mostly from
opportunities for collaboration and offering value added services. Logistics clusters also offer
upward career mobility for employees”.
(Sheffi 2013, pp. 44-7) notes that collaboration is a phenomenon also observed in industrial
clusters Grandori and Soda (1995).The growth of jobs and upward mobility are predicted in cluster theory by several scholars refer Table 1.

What is noteworthy is that a logistics cluster has an positive feedback element of growth which is a benefit “reciprocal reinforcing feedback mechanism makes it more attractive as it grows” (Sheffi 2013, p. 481). Krugman, Paul (1990)expressed this as “manufactures production will tend to concentrate where there is a large market, but the market is large where manufactures production is concentrated”.

Therefore in the context of a cluster that is growing collaboration takes many forms. Horizontal
collaboration is facilitated by the presence of a logistics provider, to coordinate use of ship/aircraft, warehousing capacity, and demand based expansion and contraction of capacity and availability of specialized workers. So, it can be seen that logistics management activities are part of the realisation of LC benefits, an observation by (Sheffi 2013). Job diversification to sub-clusters and value added services which attract other service providers, suppliers was noted by (Porter 1998, 2000). (Sheffi 2013) gives the example moving to value added services, of YCH global logistics which evolved from a simple passenger transport company to a regional 4PL and developing specialised supply chain software which it now sells via a subsidiary Y3, similar to UPS which offers dedicated supply chain solutions to customers

IV.II ENABLERS / INFLUENCERS/PRECEDENTS OF LCB
Enablers facilitating LCB are VALS and its components, SCI, proximity and logistics infrastructure investment which are discussed next. In the ensuing discussion an attempt will be made to link the enablers to the logistics performance of firms as well as how the concepts could be measured.
IV.II.I PROXIMITY OF LOCATION

IV.II.I VALUE ADDED LOGISTICS SERVICES (VALS)

IV.II.I.I AGILITY, POSTPONEMENT, INFORMATION MANAGEMENT

IV.II.I.I REVERSE LOGISTICS AND THE GREEN SUPPLY CHAIN
IV.II.I SUPPLY CHAIN INTEGRATION STRATEGIES AND PROCESSES

IV. LCs EUROPE AND DK
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IV.II XXX
What is your advice on where to locate the logistics and supply chain activities of the company? Here she wants a comparison of two potential clusters where she is especially interested in what Denmark has to offer.
IV.II XXX
How do the selected clusters compare to main European logistics clusters?
V. ØRESUND AND BEYOND: COMPARING LCS ACROSS DK, HK AND CA
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V.I XXX
How does the Øresund/Greater Copenhagen logistics cluster differentiate from the logistics clusters in Vancouver and Shenzhen?