Logistics only make the news when one of the links in the supply chain breaks and economic activity comes to a standstill, as happened a year ago when a container ship blocked the Suez Canal. However, the sector ran like clockwork during the pandemic. The International Logistics Exhibition (SIL), which will be held from May 31 to June 2 in Barcelona, will claim the essential role of this transversal activity for the entire economy.
In addition to occupying a fair pavilion in Montjuïc with the participation of 650 companies, a third of them international, presenting a hundred innovations and holding a congress with 300 speakers, it will also host the joint meeting of the Association of Chambers of Commerce and Industry of the Mediterranean (Ascame) to promote alliances between Africa, Europe and Asia, both port and free and special economic zones.
The global supply model has diminished due to the rise of new technologies, the tendency to bring production closer to consumers and the change in demand patterns with the increase in electronic commerce, which is based on the so-called last mile logistics . Pere Navarro, special delegate of the State in the Barcelona Free Trade Zone Consortium (CZFB), and president of the SIL, points out that one of the objectives of this show is to highlight “the need to reinforce our role as a business bridge so that international economies benefit. In a new edition of MedaLogistics, the aim is to promote the Mediterranean region, which could become a productive and logistical link between North and South, since its location makes it possible to shorten the logistics circuits between the European Union and Africa and, in this way, act bridge.
Among the experts who will participate in the MedaLogistics Week within the SIL, stand out Adina Valean, European Commissioner for Transport; Kamel al-Wazir, Minister of Transportation of Egypt; Ahmad Alwakil, president of Ascame; Lamia Kerdjoudj-Belkai, General Secretary of Feport; Osama Mounier, president and of the Suez Canal Authority; Erdal Sabri Ergen, Deputy Secretary General for Transport and Urban Development at the Secretariat of the Union for the Mediterranean; and Ali Tounsi, Secretary General of ICA Africa. The SIL will be inaugurated by Raquel Sánchez, Minister of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda.
The general coordinator of Ascame, Anwar Zibaoui, stresses that “the time has come to rethink the relationship between the EU and the Mediterranean region, and jointly promote a project capable of competing globally and reducing barriers by uniting the strength of three continents”. In this sense, he points out that “Europe has a historic opportunity in the development of this new alliance that questions the current logistics system and seeks balance by moving away from current risks and crises.” An alliance that joins the traditional one with Latin America.
Logistics is a strategic sector, because it accounts for more than 10% of employment in Spain with around one million people related to this activity. This edition of the SIL, which Blanca Sorigué, director of the CZFB, describes as a “reunion”, expects to exceed 15,000 visitors, since on Friday there were more than 12,000 registered from 81 different countries, when in 2019 the show received a total of 11,200 visitors .
Sorigué underlines the “ecosystem” generated by this fair, since business is facilitated with meetings with more than a hundred decision-makers, knowledge is transferred with conferences by 300 speakers on the axes of innovation, sustainability and talent, in addition to promoting professional relationships. Thus, Barcelona will become the logistics capital of the world this week, hosting the most important trade fair for the sector in southern Europe. In addition to logistics circles and retail trade, this year the startups circle will be launched, with the participation of 150 companies that will present their innovations applied to the sector.
The autonomous community invited to this year’s SIL is Extremadura, led by its president, Guillermo Fernández Vara, and his government, along with companies from this community to present an Iberian logistics plan related to its role as a bridge and relationship between the rest of Spain and Portugal. Among the 650 companies participating in the SIL, 30% are foreign (29 from Europe, 18 from Africa, 17 from America, 16 from Asia and 1 from Oceania). In this edition, the fair will feature the world exclusive presentation of more than one hundred innovations. In addition, 150 startups will participate in the fair, among which 10 have been selected by the Start-up Innovation Hub to compete for the Best Startup Award.
