Implementing Public-Private Partnerships: The Case of French Port Authorities

Introduction

As they compete fiercely against one another, supply chains are constantly trying to improve their performance, through process and network re-designs which are specifically affecting freight transportation routes, thus possibly leading to a reduction of the number of ports of call.

In order to keep their place in present logistics networks and earn new ones in other chains, ports must therefore optimize their processes for allocating resources to the activities they are trusted with.

More specifically, one of the predominant orientations of Port Authorities (PAs)' strategy consists in setting up partnerships with the purpose of combining the partners' financial and operational resources for the most efficient service of the supply chains they are (or would like to be) part of.

Standing out as one of the possible frames for this collective approach of port strategy making, public-private partnerships (PPPs) have drawn the attention of French ports, where various instances of their implementation can be found.

This paper, the purpose of which is essentially managerial, focuses on this PPP-based strategic option. A first section presents the research questions dealt with and the data collecting methodology retained, while a second section describes and discusses in a decision support-minded way the findings resulting from data processing.