Meta-Logistic Operators as Focal Organizations in Italian Logistic Platforms

Logistic systems are more and more becoming key elements in building sustainable competitive advantage for business systems. In particular, logistic platforms (in Italian, interporti) carry out a highly central role in the Italian economic system, facilitating interconnections between various transport modalities and increasing the importance of ports’ ability to join overland routes with sea routes. Traditionally, literature has adopted a systemic perspective in which continuous interactions take place between actors and activities characterizing the system and determining success. In this sense, as Christopher (1992) claims, 'real competition is not [any more] company against company, but rather supply chain against supply chain' (p.14). The aim of the paper is to analyze the activities carried out within the logistic platform infrastructures, amongst which a leading role is played by a certain special typology of the actor, here defined as Meta-Logistic Operators (MLOs)