Cross-border logistics between EU and Russia : The flow of goods between Murmansk-Finland-Sweden with focus on the logistical interfaces in a supply chain

The study provides a mapping and description of the flow of goods by road transportation across the two northernmost border crossings of Finland towards Russia, and a unique overall view is presented of the cross-boundary logistics in this region.Rather than having a focus on grand-scale need for investments in infrastructure, this study aims to highlight the present situation in the Barents region and what is feasible to achieve with existing infrastructure and resources. The study has been executed since the potential for trade and cooperation between the countries in the region is perceived to be far greater than what is currently experienced. It should be noted that the total population of the Barents region is about 5.5 million. Of these, about 788 000 people live in the Murmansk region. This can for instance be compared with the population of the counties of Norrbotten and Västerbotten, amounting to around 248 000 and 260 000 respectively.The current flow of goods across the northern border stations of Russia towards Finland and Norway must be considered to be very modest and does primarily consist of fish products, potatoes, various supplies to the mining industry on the Kola Peninsula, wild berries, and subcontracted goods. Consequently, trucks do often run without cargo in one direction and the extent to which these transports are coordinated is low. If coordinated and a partnership would be initiated between parties possessing warehouse terminals on both sides of the Finnish-Russian border, it would be possible to improve the services of cross-border logistics without a need for large-scale investments. A suggestion of an alternative logistics solution is therefore presented for general cargo. Today, most transports across these northern border crossings are arranged according to the principle of truckload shipping, but the proposed solution would entail less-than-truckload shipping to be put into wider practice.Enhanced logistics services would facilitate supply chain solutions across the national borders in the Barents region, and the Murmansk area appears to be relatively unexploited by west European companies. As a result of globalization, the general importance of effective Supply Chain Management is increasing for businesses. Accordingly, global sourcing has become part of the purchasing strategy for many companies. Still, there are challenges connected to global sourcing but these can be mitigated if the geographical distance is reduced between the supplier and the customer. For instance, this would be the case if a Nordic company locates some of its production to the Murmansk region instead of placing it in Asia.This study has been made during the first half of year 2013 as a part of the Barents Logistics 2 project.Validerat; 20130614 (global_studentproject_submitter