Today we started very early by leaving for the train station at 7:15. Safe to say everyone was exhausted by the time we arrived in Valencia around 3:00! Yesterday we had a reading for Dr. Gourdin about the Spanish railways and how efficient and state of the art they are compared to other countries. It was interesting to witness the high-speed railways ourselves.  We had a bit of time to rest and gather ourselves before our first walking tour at Ciudad de les Artes y las Cienas. It was so unique and unlike anything I have ever experienced before. I enjoyed learning about the architect, Caltrava. Caltrava is the architect who designed ground zero in New York. All of his work resembles the eye. The Ciudad de les Artes y las Cienas put Valencia on the map. Tourists are very interested in seeing these unique and intriguing buildings. After the tour we took time to explore Valencia and ate a delicious Italian dinner. I am so thankful for the opportunity to travel, meet people and expand my knowledge!

On day 7 we had the opportunity to visit both the Port of Barcelona and Operinter. It was neat to learn about the port of Barcelona and then go to a logistics company that works with the port. At the port of Barcelona we learned about the container ships they recieve and got to take a boat ride around the port to visualize the size of the operation. The Port of Barcelona imports LNG, large container ships, many different car brands and all other types of goods. We saw brands like Mazda and other Japanese car brands at the port being unloaded. Barcelona is an important port due to its location and the size of the city and companies in Barcelona. When on the ship we even got to see Team Italy’s sail boat for the American cup that was taking place. It was sponsored by Prada! There were massive cranes to unload the ships upon arrival and one was knocked down to be reconstructed. In order to operate efficiently the port has to utilize lean tools to get goods in and out. The port is working to become more sustainable and reduce CO2 emissions.

Operinter is a global logistics company. Our host taught us about the sustainable future of Operinter and plans for expansion. Operinter currently operates on every continent but Antartica and has offices in Miami and Los Angeles in the US. There are internship opportunities available within Operinter and I will definitely keep them in mind for my future! It was cool to learn about their role in transportation of goods.

Today we had the opportunity to travel to a logistics park in Valencia and visit Ramatrans which is a global logistics company. Ramatrans differs from other logistics companies because it is a buffer warehouse. The idea of the buffer warehouse is to keep goods for an extended time not to distribute the goods immediately, like a holding space. Ramatrans grew exponentially after they opened an office in Shanghai. China is very important in the world of global logistics and transportation and Ramatrans is one of the biggest importers from China in Spain. Ramatrans has offices internationally with one location in the US in Miami. 

This visit was unique because we actually got to tour the warehouse and visualize everything we had learned rather than imagine it in our head. I was so excited because we got to wear neon yellow safety vests and I felt like the real deal. The company has two warehouses, one normal and one cold for food and other products that need to stay cool. Ramatrans works with El Mundo, the largest newspaper in Spain. The paper is imported from Canada then held at Ramatrans until it is needed for production. Another major company Ramatrans is associated with is Samsung as well as Bezoya which is a massive water brand like coca cola in the US. While touring, I noticed how organized and clean the warehouse was. The operations were almost seamless, every product was strategically placed to make the distribution process simpler. The warehouse relies on human labor but has different machines that are automated to perform different tasks. Louis our guide told us the company had few plans to fully digitize as human labor is so important in logistics for problem solving. If something goes wrong, there must be human labor to solve the problem. 

Their company is very well connected with the Port of Valencia giving them an edge over competitors. Another way they maintain their competitive edge is by diversifying their services. Ramatrans saw an opportunity with a motorbike company that was struggling to assemble and produce the number of bikes in demand and used it to their advantage. Ramatrans assembles the bikes at the warehouse to be shipped pre-assembled to the retailer. This helps the retailer save time and money. 

Louis shared with me that he had been with the company for five years and it was his first professional job. He said in the last five years there have been many challenges but like everything else in the world, Covid was the largest challenge. The containers kept coming into the port but there was no where to go with them as people could not leave and were not shopping in person. He said you could barely see the ground in the warehouse and they were running out of room so they utilized their area that is subcontracted to Lidl and had to use the cold warehouse. Financially, the company did not struggle due to the rise of e-commerce. 

In this visit I got to visualize what a LEAN warehouse should look like and how important organization of goods, people and services is to the success of global logistics. I did not know before the visit about the customs clearances; green, yellow or red. Green in customs gives the go ahead to move the goods. Yellow flags the container and leads to questions and further investigation. Red at customs means that the container must be opened and the officers have to see the product to ensure it is what it is supposed to be. 

Today we arrived in Barcelona. Our journey began yesterday in Charleston SC at 5:00 and we then connected at JFK in New York. I met a former Barcelona local at the airport while getting dinner and a drink. He offered great local recommendations as well as advice regarding manners and culture. When we arrived in Barcelona my suitcase was broken and luckily Julian carried it for me because I was exhausted and feeling weak. When Marga arrived I was instantly so excited to get to Barcelona and explore. Marga shared some information about the area we are staying in as this is her quarter. We were told this is a very safe, local area where there is lots of shopping and restaurants. I had a language barrier issue at the coffee shop and they gave me a baguette instead of a croissant but I think it was even better than the croissant! Marga took us on the metro to dinner. We learned how to work the metro system and arrived in The gothic quarter. The gothic quarter is beautiful and rich with history. We had mushroom risotto, salmon and vegetables, and lots of lovely wines. Cabernet is my favorite! I am so full as I am waiting for dessert but I always save room for a sweet treat, especially in spain! We passed so many pastry shops and markets. I love visiting markets abroad because they are so different than the offerings in the US. I am so grateful for this opportunity to travel, learn and expand my horizons. Thank you to Dr. G and Dr. G for taking this trip on and making this possible for each of us!

Started the day by getting coffee and breakfast with Sydney and Dr. G. It was the best americano coffee and I loved my croissant and jamon this morning. We headed to the metro where our fearless leader, Sydney, got us to the L9 train. We got off at park logisticas exit to start our first visit! We had the pleasure of visiting Est Eko today which is a logistics startup. Raphael spoke about how new problems arise each quarter, politically, economically etc. Est Eko works to find solutions to reinvent logistics because we are facing problems we’ve never seen before; for example covid. 25-30% of their revenue comes from transportation. The company has only 11 employees. They have an online calendar that shows past and future operations. They utilize artificial intelligence to provide solutions within minutes rather than a day and a half.  We got to tour the incubator with the 3D printing start up. It was so neat to see how advanced 3D printing has become since it’s origin in 1997.

We continued on to lunch at can cuellertas, I had the mixed salad and baby squid. Sydney’s Catalan chicken was incredible! I love trying new foods and experiencing the local culture of Spain. The sagrada familia was unreal! The stained glass was absolutely stunning and the construction is so detailed. Looking forward to exploring more the rest of the evening! 

Today we had the opportunity to hear from a professor at a university in Barcelona. The university was old and had gorgeous stone architecture. Seeing that university really made me want to get my masters at an old school in Europe! Professor Albert provided us with a two hour “master class” covering the topic of logistics management.  Logistics is defined as the process of planning and organizing to make sure that resources are in the places they need to be.  The objective of logistics management is to plan and coordinate the activities necessary to achieve a desired level of delivery service and quality at the lowest possible cost. The scope of logistics ranges from procurement and management of raw materials to the delivery of the final product to the customer. The professor emphasized lowest cost multiple times as the purpose of logistics is to satisfy the customer by establishing linkages of people at all levels in the organization either directly or indirectly to the marketplace.

It is getting more and more difficult to maintain a competitive advantage over other companies. The distinctive factor is the level of customer service offered and that of its competitors.

There are seven R’s of logistics:

• Right time
• Right Place
• Right Price
• Right product
• Right quantity
• Right customer
• Right condition

With online shopping booming consumers expect everything to arrive on time. We viewed a future of logistics video. The video showed the shipment of a package from procurement through to final destination. The flow of the product went through each leg of the transportation process from trucking to sea or air to the deconsolidation and sorting warehouse from the cargo plane. There are uncontrollable events that affect these organized processes that logistics deals with every day. The future of logistics lies in logistics 4.0. We learned about logistics 4.0 at our visit with Estoko, the move to a more digitized world of logistics. The future of automated logistics is the combination of human labor, AI, robots and technology that increases efficiency.

There are pros and cons to each type of transport. For example, air transport is very fast but the worst carbon emissions and low capacity for transport. Road transport is less investment and more flexible. Ocean freight is most important globally compared the the EU road transportation is most important. Within the ocean freight category there are sub categories. 43% of ship freight is a bulk carrier. Bulk carriers carry raw materials primarily. Oil tankers make up 29% of ocean cargo. Container ships consist of chemical containers, LNG ships (liquid natural gas), RORO ships which carry cars, general cargo and livestock ships.

A hot issue with global logistics and ocean freight is gigantism. Ships are getting larger and larger in hopes of transporting more at once. The issue with this is the capacity of the ports is too small. Another issue is the size of rivers and canals that these container ships have to go through. Previously there was a problem where a boat was too large and got stuck in the Suez Canal. I am from near Savannah, Georgia which is an important international port. The port in Savannah has been approved to go through with deepening and widening the river to allow for larger ships to come in. Other challenges for the supply chain include rising freight prices, raw material shortages, congestion at ports, inflation, digital transportation, demand forecasting and supply chain ESG. ESG is so important as we look towards the future. 

This visit was educational and rewarding, I definitely learned a lot about logistics management that I was not aware of before!

Sunday was our first truly free day to enjoy Barcelona. Sydney and I slept in and got our day started by traveling on the metro to La Ramblas. We met with Matt for lunch at a gorgeous rooftop. The rooftop had views of the mountains, the beach AND the city! We got to take it all in at once. After lunch we explored the area and admired the old architecture. We did some shopping and bought a hairdryer with a European plug because I kept breaking the adapters. I always overpower my adapters in Europe with my hair tools so this will be a great investment! That evening Sydney and I went up to the rooftop at our hotel and to our surprise there was a language exchange going on. In Barcelona there is a group for people who are from other countries to meet friends and  help with language and cultural development. We joined the event and spoke with a local real estate investor, a man in finance from Ireland and an artist from New Orleans who has been in Barcelona for 15 years. It was so neat to see people from all ages, genders and backgrounds interacting and share their love of cultural immersion. That was one of my highlights of the trip for sure as it was a surprise and I love meeting new people!

I started the day by watching the sun rise over the beautiful beach of Barcelona. It was a moment I wanted to capture however I looked in my purse to realize my phone was stolen. Unfortunately the pickpocket rumors are true! I did not let it ruin the day however. We hiked up to Park Guell and enjoyed the beautiful park and the company. It has been so nice getting to know these girls and guys on the trip, I know they will be new friends! Sydney helped me with my phone situation and took me to get a flip phone. We decompressed with a shopping trip and continued to explore the culture of the city. We ate dinner at a tapas restaurant where we enjoyed greek salad, stuffed eggplant, bravas and vino tinto. We met a local businessman and discussed local and international issues and cultural differences, very interesting! He spoke 6 languages and moved here from Morocco 16 years ago. I am excited for a good night rest and to start fresh tomorrow!

Today was our first logistics company visit. We took the metro to a logistics park where we got very, very lost trying to find the building! A couple students put their Spanish to the test asking nearby workers where to go. Once we found the building, they were so welcoming and happy to see us. I was excited to learn about Estoko as it is a start up logistics company. Estoko offers a warehousing as a service cloud solution. This gives their clients access to a sophisticated logistics artificial intelligence platform. The platform connects businesses with storage, fulfillment and distribution to independent warehouses with excess space. The company is working with over 300 integrated warehouses in Spain.  Estoko is part of the Logistics 4.0 movement. Logistics 4.0 is the shift of the economy to digitalisation. The use of technology simplifies the complex supply chain management issues. Digitalisation of the processes creates visibility across the value chain and improves performance. The logistics 4.0 approach optimizes supply chain operations with the integration of new technology. Many companies are looking to the future with logistics 4.0 and Estoko has an advantage as it has already developed the software and artifical intelligence necessary to operate. Estoko currently operates in Spain but is looking to become a larger global presence. The company is in an “incubator” which is where start up companies use the office space for their operations. In the incubator next to them was a 3D printing company. We got to tour the 3D printing space and learn the process that goes into the production of products. They were working on prosthetics, sunglasses, remotes and more. I thought the production of prosthetics was interesting and will make prosthetics accessible to more than just the few who can afford it.

After the tour we had lunch at Can Cullertes where we got to experience traditional Catalan food. The Catalan chicken was delicious, it was cooked with plums and different spices. After lunch we toured the famous Mercat and got to see the many different vendors ranging from fruit to oysters. I bought flavored olive oil and salts. I love to cook so I am excited to use the oil and salt to enhance my recipes! After the Mercat we had a guided tour of the Sagrada Familia. I have seen it from the outside before but never got to go inside. The inside was absolutely breathtaking! The reflection of the light from the stained glass was stunning. Different colors radiated throughout and you could tell the artistry and detail that went into the construction of the building.

Today we had the opportunity to go to the Port of Valencia. The Port tours and presentations are so enlightening and I learned a lot about port operations. The port of Valencia is an international, public port and the most important port in Spain due to its proximity to Madrid, Barcelona and access to railways, roads and water.  The Port Authority of Valencia trades under the name Valencia Port and is the public body responsible for managing three state owned public ports; Sagunto, Valencia and Gandia. The port is home to major shipping companies like Cosco, MSC and Grimaldi. Valencia’s central location and access to the advanced railway systems and water give it an advantage as a port. The port had its roots all the way back in 1763 when it was just one arm. The major evolution came in the 1950s-80s when big container ships grew in popularity there. Now the port has grown to multiple terminals and docks. MSC is currently looking to further expand to the new terminal being built. The port has a lot of traffic every day as 12-14 container ships come in on average per day. 45% of the overall container traffic comes from Middle and far East Asia, 12% comes from North America, 13% from Central and South America and 12% from the Black and Mediterranean sea. I guess the reason the large majority is coming from the Middle and far East is because that is where many companies manufacture their products. The port developed the Port Community System” which is an electronic trading platform used to simplify operational tasks and documents. The Port Community System is now used by 925 companies. I was astonished by the size of the port, it was massive! There were thousands of containers we saw on our drive around the port. Our guide took us to two different look out spots where we had a view of the entire port. We were able to watch a container ship leave the port with exports. It was neat to compare the Port of Barcelona and Port of Valencia. I believe the Port of Valencia utilizes more LEAN tools and has a more streamlined and efficient operational system. It is evident that Valencia is the preferred port of Spain as it is ranked the #1 Spanish container port, the 4th in Europe and 27th in the world. I enjoyed this visit and learning about the past, present and future for the Port of Valencia.