Logistics Geostrategy as a Decision Factor to Locate a Multimodal Logistics Platform

Abstract

The objective of this chapter is to study some geographical aspects that in one way or another influence decisions, such as finding the best place to locate a Multimodal Logistics Platform (MLP), without neglecting the consideration of other factors affecting decisions of locating infrastructure, such as economics, politics and environment. The first step, is studying all the geographical aspects: physical space, weather, topography and other factors that indirectly affect the reliable operation of this kind of logistics infrastructure. This study investigates the use of the quantitative method of “Weighting factors” to evaluate every one of the mentioned factors; the method will be evaluated by a group of experts in the field, who will define the geographic aspects that really influence the decision to locate an MLP. To check the result, a nonparametric statistics test named U of Mann-Whitney will be used. The case will be first applied to compare two countries: Mexico and Panama. It is the first of a series of logistical studies to decide on the best country to locate an MLP.