There’s no doubt that Romania is absolutely ready for logistics outsourcing, according to Robin Martens, managing director of the Romanian branch of Archicom in Bucharest. This was the central theme of the first logistics seminar held in Bucharest in mid-March. Together with Trafic Media (publisher of the leading logistics magazines in Romania), Archicom was responsible for the organisation and content of this well attended logistics event. More than 85% of the 200 attendees were supply chain managers and directors of Romanian companies, and only 15% were from Western European logistics service providers. A high level of appreciation was expressed in the reactions to the program that emerged during the panel discussion and questions at the press conference. Great enthusiasm about this initiative, and particularly the quality of the attendees, was also expressed by the sponsors, who included Centrum Transport, KLG Europe, DHL, ING, Cargo Partners, PWC Auditors & Accountants etc. As well as the content itself, the opportunity for networking in the exhibition area during the pauses was particularly valued by all participants.



One of the day’s conclusions was that there is a tremendous need for logistics outsourcing to professional partners. The culture of the Romanians in general, and the knowledge of logistics and the supply chain available there in particular, demand specialised external knowledge. As well as that, there is a great need for parties who are willing to make investments in Romania, and in particular there is a lack of trained logistics specialists in the country. To meet this need, Archicom S.r.l. has developed a number of logistics courses which will be held from 13 April in Romania.

A portal site (www.logisticsportal.ro) has been developed specifically for the Romanian logistics market, and this was officially opened at the seminar by Mr. Marian Þurlea (General Manager of the Romanian National Road Authority). Prior to the opening, Mr. Þurlea gave a presentation about the developments in transport and logistics in Romania.

Archicom S.r.l. and Trafic Media will jointly organise a further 5 seminars in the coming 2 years. The next seminar to be held on 4 October 2007 has the theme of ‘Client driven warehousing and Value Added Services’.