The Bulletin Panama put together an interesting article on the meeting this week at the Sheraton Hotel which is an Annual Conference of Business Executives (CADE). The focus will be on “Logistics: Motor of development for Panama and the region.”
Obviously, for Panama, logistics has a very different meaning than for the region. For Panama, its geographical position, the Canal, railway, ports, Tocumen airport, the Free Zone, etc., make logistics an economic activity of singular importance.
In a recent study by the firm INTRACORP, it is concluded that the logistics and maritime sectors in the country account for 33% of GDP. That is, one of every three dollars of economic activity comes from this sector.
That is the reality of the logistics that most Panamanians already know and it is referred to as the logistics platform, the extreme of saying that Panama is the logistics platform of the Americas.
But to understand the role of logistics as an engine of development in the region, it is necessary to know what is logistics and how it can contribute to productivity or competitiveness of a country.
By definition, logistics comprises the steps to follow to accomplish anything. Indeed, logistics is there to do the supermarket shopping for the home, take a walk along the beach, organizing a wedding, going to school, in agriculture, cattle raising, banking and the hospitality industry.
Logistics is present in coordination and planning of several elements that something to be somewhere at a certain time, as required.
That said, logistics are essential in any business to produce and to sell.
With globalization, the importance of logistics has increased, as both inputs and outputs are coming and going to and from more remote locations, making coordination more complicated and requiring many more steps. This complexity of logistics makes connectivity become increasingly important. The Canal, ports, Tocumen Airport, and other transport centers provide logistics to those who have settled in Panama, making Panama, by far, the best connectivity point of the Americas.
Logistics and connectivity are essential for a country to compete in foreign trade, requiring inputs that can come from anywhere in the world and sales and distribution channels that allow sending products to the largest number of consumers at the lowest possible cost. That is the reason that logistics is an engine of development.
So the topic at CADE 2015 is critical to Panama and the region. There the major players in the logistics sector will flock; cargo owners, transport operators, service providers, government agencies. In short, all the elements that can make Panama offer better service to both local and foreign trade.
CADE is an important event marking a milestone in the Panamanian business sector, seeking, through dialogue and debate, that both government and the private enterprise sector analyze problems and find solutions that will eventually help boost plans and State policies. On this occasion, facing the imminent opening of the third set of locks of the Panama Canal, CADE becomes an element of logistics so that we can leverage such great work and anticipate change and policies to be implemented, both in institutional matters and infrastructure, to enhance the competitiveness of Panama and the region.