ABSTRACT
This chapter traces some of the features of supply and demand for logistics and transport services in Italy by reviewing the most recent surveys and studies on the subject. In today's highly competitive, global marketplace, the pressure on organisations to find new ways to create and deliver value to customers grows ever stronger. In particular, customer service becomes a key differentiator as the sophistication and demands of the customer continually increase. The globalization of industry, the time compression in the production and delivery process and consequently the customer service explosion have led logistics and transport operators to reconfigure their organisations by focusing on responsiveness, reliability and relationship. Freight transport clearance has also a high degree of outsourcing because it is traditionally a service supplied by freight forwarders. The analysis starts from the consideration that maritime transport generally involves different operators, such as shipping firms, small and medium size shipping firms, shipping agents and forwarders and terminal operators.
