{"60826":{"#nid":"60826","#data":{"type":"news","title":"New Georgia Tech-Panama Logistics Innovation \u0026 Research Center Launched","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech celebrated the inauguration ceremonies for the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.panama.gatech.edu \u0022\u003EGeorgia Tech-Panama Logistics Innovation \u0026amp; Research Center\u003C\/a\u003E in Panama City, Panama, on September 7, 2010. The center is the latest addition to the Georgia Tech \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.scl.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESupply Chain \u0026amp; Logistics Institute\u2019s \u003C\/a\u003E(SCL) logistics innovation network of centers that focus on improving country-level logistics performance and increasing trade competitiveness.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EUnder an agreement negotiated with the Panama\u2019s National Secretariat of\nScience, Technology and Innovation, SCL has established and will operate the Georgia Tech \u2013Panama Logistics Innovation and Research Center located in Panama City, Panama.\nThe center has three core thrusts -- applied research, education, and competitiveness -- and two primary objectives 1) to improve the logistics performance of Panama and 2) to establish Panama as the trade hub of the Americas. The center will establish education programs to increase human capital in logistics with both formal degree programs and through executive education; develop repositories and models to support trade analytics; develop performance, integration and visibility systems; facilitate stronger industry and infrastructure linkages to improve Panama\u2019s competitiveness; provide leadership for the development of a National Logistics Plan and National\nLogistics Council; and provide innovation for logistics leading to new logistics\nservices and jobs.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EHolding a vision of Panama as a logistics, communications, education, research, and scientific tourism hub, Dr. Dario Solis, former director of research and professor of mechanical and electrical engineering at Universidad Tecnol\u00f3gica de Panam\u00e1 (UTP)\/Technological University of Panama, has been tapped as the center\u0027s managing director. Solis\u0027 many projects have been strategically and synergistically oriented around efforts to improve national infrastructure in transportation, to exploit Panama\u0027s competitive advantage in telecommunications, and to exercise its potential as an academic and research destination. Solis sees this as \u201ca historical opportunity for the country of Panama to develop its huge potential and to become a dominate player in global trade.\u201d He believes this opportunity can generate the resources necessary to improve the quality of life for all Panamanians.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EPaying close attention to the center\u2019s development is Panamanian President \u003Cstrong\u003ERicardo Martinelli and Georgia Tech President \u003C\/strong\u003EG. P. \u201cBud\u201d Peterson, both of whom spoke at the center\u2019s opening program.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Panama is a natural place for a trade hub,\u201d said Don Ratliff, SCL executive director.\u0026nbsp; It is well suited for free enterprise growth with convenient air and sea transportation to the rest of Latin America, has an outstanding financial district, and good commercial development infrastructure.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EAnd there\u0027s the canal, presently undergoing a multi-billion-dollar expansion. When completed in 2014, the waterway\u0027s capacity will be doubled and allow much bigger cargo ships.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Panama possessive an entrepreneurial spirit and a vision for becoming the trade hub of the Americas,\u0022 explains Jaymie Forrest, SCL managing director. \u0022Panama is poised for growth and development in the required supporting logistics services.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EA bilingual workforce is another plus, she added, along with Panama\u0027s Colon Free Zone, a manufacturing, warehousing, and re-export center that is the second-largest free-trade zone in the world after Hong Kong.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EBut for all of Panama\u0027s hard assets, it lacks the high level of integration necessary for trade-hub status. There is lack of logistics services and supporting infrastructure such as public warehousing, temperature controlled faculties, logistics technology and the human capital experienced in supply chain operations. This is a good opportunity for Georgia Tech to transfer knowledge and apply value.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EA value assessment to determine priorities in terms of infrastructure improvement will be one of the center\u0027s top orders of business. Ongoing improvements in logistics and the application of relevant new technologies will ensure Panama\u0027s competitiveness and build its stature as a trade hub.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EBesides the immense economic advantages for Panama, a world-class trade hub,  there is also expected to provide new opportunities for U.S. companies serving the logistics industry and, perhaps most importantly, boost American exports.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022We manufacture more products by value than any other country in the world,\u0022 said Ratliff. \u0022Many of these products are exportable, but they\u0027re made by small- and medium-size enterprises that simply don\u0027t have the capabilities to export to small countries.\u0022 Nor is it economically worthwhile for these companies to develop and maintain individual trade relationships with separate Latin American countries representing markets of just four or five million people each, he added.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003ETypically, government-sponsored trade assistance is limited to marketing and\ndoes not address logistics needs, transportation, value-added product-support\nservices and a host of key elements that constitute the practical demands of\ninternational trade. The Panama Center will be designed to meet these needs\nwhile providing, in effect, a single point of access for these smaller markets.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022If we\u0027re going to increase exports, which everyone believes is a good\nidea, then we have to make it so that exporting to a number of small countries\nis the same as exporting to one large country,\u0022 Ratliff explained.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EAs the largest research group in the world focused on supply chain and\nlogistics, SCL is the ideal partner for Panama\u0027s trade-hub development. In\nrecent years, SCL has leveraged its traditional expertise to embrace issues\nsurrounding international trade. SCL founded The Logistics Institute (TLI)\nAsia-Pacific in 1998 at the request of the government to improve logistics\neducation. Based in Singapore, the center supports Singapore\u0027s Asian trade hub\nwith research, education, and consulting expertise in global logistics and\nsupply chain management. The learning\u2019s from TLI-Asia Pacific offers a template\nfor Panama in many ways. \u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EIn Central America, SCL established a regional presence in 2009 with its\nTrade-Chain Innovation and Productivity Center, which opened in Costa Rica to\nsupport increasing trade exports and improving logistics performance while\nsupporting some of the countries strategic initiatives and planning\ninvestments. In particular this center is focused on food exports and preparing\nfor the challenges of traceability and meeting the forthcoming US food safety\nregulations. \u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThe Panama center is expected to serve as a springboard for logistics\ninnovation, education and research throughout the Americas, according to\nForrest.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003ESCL\u0027s emerging leadership role in international trade also dovetails with\nGeorgia Tech\u0027s 25-year strategic plan, which calls for leveraging Tech\u0027s global\nengagement as a means of securing a larger international footprint. Logistics\nwas identified as one of four high-potential industry sectors warranting\nparticular emphasis in research and industry partnerships. The other sectors\nare energy, healthcare, and transportation.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022What Panama wants to do and\nwhat we want to do are very compatible,\u0022 Ratliff said. \u0022They have all\nthe right pieces -- we\u0027ll help bring them all together.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech celebrated the inauguration ceremonies for the Georgia\nTech-Panama Logistics Innovation \u0026amp; Research Center in Panama City, Panama,\non September 7, 2010. The center is the latest addition to the Georgia Tech\nSupply Chain \u0026amp; Logistics Institute\u2019s logistics innovation network of\ncenters that focus on improving country-level logistics performance and\nincreasing trade competitiveness.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"New Georgia Tech-Panama Logistics Innovation \u0026 Research Center Launched"}],"uid":"27328","created_gmt":"2010-09-07 12:11:29","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:07:23","author":"Edie Cohen","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2010-09-07T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2010-09-07T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"60825":{"id":"60825","type":"image","title":"Dr.Dario Solis, Managing Director, Georgia Tech-Panama Logistics Innovation \u0026 Research Center","body":null,"created":"1449176296","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 20:58:16","changed":"1475894528","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:42:08","alt":"Dr.Dario Solis, Managing Director, Georgia Tech-Panama Logistics Innovation \u0026 Research Center","file":{"fid":"191220","name":"solis_thumb[1].jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/solis_thumb%5B1%5D_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/solis_thumb%5B1%5D_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":5949,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/solis_thumb%5B1%5D_0.jpg?itok=alMov4mc"}},"60827":{"id":"60827","type":"image","title":"Cargo ship passes through Panama Canal","body":null,"created":"1449176296","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 20:58:16","changed":"1475894528","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:42:08","alt":"Cargo ship passes through Panama Canal","file":{"fid":"191221","name":"press_release.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/press_release_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/press_release_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":11490,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/press_release_0.jpg?itok=sma5eus-"}}},"media_ids":["60825","60827"],"groups":[{"id":"1242","name":"School of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISYE)"}],"categories":[{"id":"145","name":"Engineering"}],"keywords":[{"id":"10244","name":"Georiga Tech"},{"id":"426","name":"isye"},{"id":"10585","name":"Panama Logistics Innovation \u0026 Research Center"},{"id":"167077","name":"scl"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:barbara.christopher@isye.gatech.edu\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBarbara \nChristopher\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIndustrial and Systems Engineering\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E404.385.3102\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}