We use cookies to provide you with a better experience. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies in accordance with our Cookie Policy.
  • INDUSTRY PRESS ROOM
  • ABOUT
  • CONTACT
  • MEDIA FILE
  • Create Account
  • Sign In
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Free Newsletters
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • TRANSPORTATION
  • MATERIAL HANDLING
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • LIFT TRUCKS
  • PODCAST ETC
    • Podcast
    • Webcasts
    • Blogs
      • One-Off Sound Off
      • Global Logistics and Risk
      • Empowering Your Performance Edge
      • Analytics & Big Data
      • Submit your blog post
    • Events
    • White Papers
    • Industry Press Room
      • Upload Your News
    • New Products
      • Upload Your Product News
    • Conference Guides
    • Conference Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • DCV-TV
    • DCV-TV 1: News
    • DCV-TV 2: Case Studies
    • DCV-TV 3: Webcasts
    • DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
    • DCV-TV 5: Solution Profiles
    • MODEX 2022
    • Upload Your Video
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • TRANSPORTATION
  • MATERIAL HANDLING
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • LIFT TRUCKS
  • PODCAST ETC
    • Podcast
    • Webcasts
    • Blogs
      • One-Off Sound Off
      • Global Logistics and Risk
      • Empowering Your Performance Edge
      • Analytics & Big Data
      • Submit your blog post
    • Events
    • White Papers
    • Industry Press Room
      • Upload Your News
    • New Products
      • Upload Your Product News
    • Conference Guides
    • Conference Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • DCV-TV
    • DCV-TV 1: News
    • DCV-TV 2: Case Studies
    • DCV-TV 3: Webcasts
    • DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
    • DCV-TV 5: Solution Profiles
    • MODEX 2022
    • Upload Your Video
Home » Group developing legal framework for shared supply chains in Europe
newsworthy

Group developing legal framework for shared supply chains in Europe

May 30, 2013
James A. Cooke
No Comments

A business consortium in Europe is developing a legal framework that will allow companies on the continent to collaborate on transportation and warehousing services without violating European antitrust laws.

The group, known as Collaboration Concepts for Co-Modality (CO³) expects to complete its work sometime next year, according to Sven Verstrepen, business development director for TriVizor, a Belgian company which orchestrates supply chain collaborations. The project was seeded with a $2 million grant from the European Commission (EC), the European Union's (EU) antitrust arm, because the EC felt shared transportation and warehousing services could help reduce Europe's dependence on foreign oil, ease traffic congestion, and cut greenhouse gas emissions, according to Verstrepen.

The legal framework will, among other things, describe how companies could establish a "neutral trustee" to organize and manage the shared network so competing shippers could work together without running afoul of the law, Verstrepen said. "Legally, you need to put up a firewall between competitors," he told the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) Europe Conference 2013 in Amsterdam earlier this month.

In addition to the legal framework, the consortium is sponsoring pilot tests for "co-loading," where shippers use the same carrier to deliver their goods to shared customers. Verstrepen said the tests would help the consortium demonstrate ways shippers can distribute costs and share the benefits from logistics collaboration.

CO³ was formed in 2010 to lay the foundation for the sharing of transportation and distribution services. An industry board meets twice a year to ensure that the organization balances the needs and expectations of shippers and intermediaries, Verstrepen said.

Verstrepen said the participants in pilot programs are well-known multinational companies that don't want to be identified until the pilots have proved successful.

At one time, the EC would approve collaborative agreements before they were launched, said Verstrepen. Today, however, companies can move forward on partnerships without government approval, and the EC will intervene only when it believes legal boundaries have been violated, he added.

"The fact that the EC is sponsoring CO³, and that the legal framework is a pivotal building block [of] it, can be considered an informal encouragement of Europe for what we do," Verstrepen said in an e-mail.

The concept of collaborative transportation, warehousing, and distribution has been around for years. However, businesses in the U.S. have been slow to participate due in part to antitrust concerns and in part because they have been reluctant to share their processes with rivals.

Transportation Regulation/Government Business Management & Finance
  • Related Articles

    Sharing supply chains for mutual gain

    "Transparent Supply Chains for Better Business" shows a sharp increase in transparency by suppliers

    Driver Shortage/Capacity Crunch Voted Biggest Challenge for Supply Chains in 2019

Jamescooke
James Cooke is a principal analyst with Nucleus Research in Boston, covering supply chain planning software. He was previously the editor of CSCMP?s Supply Chain Quarterly and a staff writer for DC Velocity.

Recent Articles by James Cooke

Getting smart about using software intelligence

Where's the payback in software?

R is for "robot": interview with Tom Bonkenburg

You must login or register in order to post a comment.

Report Abusive Comment

Most Popular Articles

  • FedEx agrees to buy 10% stake in Berkshire Grey

  • The robots are here. Now what?

  • No vacancy at the warehouse

  • XPO says planned spin-off will be called RXO

  • Shippers, battling escalating packaging costs, look for answers

Now Playing on DCV-TV

B733ed1b 0136 43ce af0c 290a6166b91b

With a freight recession likely, should your freight costs be going down?

DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
With recent reports that the freight market appears to be softening, I’ve received some interesting emails and calls from logistics executives. They've shared some questions they've fielded from other C-Level executives who have seen reports from consultants or news articles and now are asking: “Why haven’t our...

FEATURED WHITE PAPERS

  • Choose the Best Auto ID Technology for Tracking RTIs

  • 8 ways your facility can benefit from Hyster Reaction

  • Why Use RFID to Track RTIs

  • THE NEW WAY TO WAREHOUSE: 4 Innovations in Automation & Robotics to Boost Warehouse Productivity

View More

Subscribe to DC Velocity Magazine

GET YOUR FREE SUBSCRIPTION
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • NEWSLETTERS
  • ADVERTISING
  • CUSTOMER CARE
  • CONTACT
  • ABOUT
  • STAFF
  • PRIVACY POLICY

Copyright ©2022. All Rights ReservedDesign, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing