Quality assurance in the maritime port logistics chain: the case of Valencia, Spain

Abstract

The provision of port services is an important link in international logistics. Historically, ports have constituted a bottleneck in maritime transport. Moreover, the quality of port services has been compromised by the complex internal port organisation and the considerable number of bodies that participate in the transfer of goods between ships and inland transport vehicles. The efficiency of port services affects not only the port authorities, service providers and customers, but also the port hinterland through the multiplier effect on the regional economy. The problems of port organisation are explained using principal‐agent concepts. The authors then explore the concept of quality in relation to port services, and discuss certification of service providers as a means of signalling quality to their customers. Finally, the accreditation system of the port of Valencia, Spain, is presented as a model, one that is superior to the accepted ISO standards, whereby port service quality and efficiency may be enhanced.

Port Governance Model by Managers’ and Customers’ Point of View: A Study at Port of Valencia, Spain

“…This port is a reference in governance and in 2009 was considered best-in-class by the Port Cluster Governance Committee (PCGC) of the Global Institute of Logistics (GIL). This recognition was due to the maturity of its quality system to the port community, called Marca de Garantí a, which guarantees a known minimum quality of services to the final customers, duly authorised and controlled by the Port Authority (López & Poole, 1998), for presenting a committed and integrated port logistics chain; for the information systems that drive process improvement and support the coordination of the different actors involved in the port; for the leadership of the Port Authority of Valencia (APV) and its research and training arm, Fundación Valenciaport (FV), in the process of coordination of the port community, and the good relations port-city evidenced in Valencia. According to FV data, Valencia is the first commercial port of Spain with regard to container throughput, it is among the top ten in Europe and among the top 50 in the world, ranking 30th place in the world in 2012 in the ranking put by the World Shipping Council with 4.47 million TEUs (Twenty-foot Equivalent Units).…”

Marketing Strategies in Port Industry: An Exploratory Study and a Research Agenda

“…Variables used in this study comply in general with two criteria: The first has to do with the activities of the port per se. Research supports that activities of a port may be decomposed to seven handling stages: (1) passage of the ship through the approach channel up to the quay; (2) transit storage; (3) loading the cargo on to land transport; (4) discharge of the cargo from the ship's hold to the quay; (5) moving the cargo from transit to the loading platform; (6) moving the cargo from the quay to transit storage; (7) departure of land transport from the port area (Lopez and Poole, 1998). The second criterion follows a rather more mechanisticexploratory-way based on availability of data and validity of the research instrument (Cullinane and Song, 2003).…”

Enhancing Fishing Port Services Quality to Support Fish Supply Chains of the Island Fisheries at the Belitung Island

“…Service performance with lowest score was the suggestions and complaints response in an empathy dimension value of 2.84. Integrated services can speed up the process of shipping fishery products more efficiently (Lopez et al, 1998). It is important to have clear and agreed cooperation between service providers and service users.…”