The Analysis of Location Determinants of Companies from the Logistics Outsourcing Sector – Case Study on the Example of Poland

a. Purpose The article presents a general review of literature focused on logistics processes outsourcing. An attempt was made to determine the ranking of selected cities in Poland. The main determinant of the ranking were the factors of location of the companies in the logistics outsourcing sector. The analysis was based on a number of variables that addressed different aspects of localization, i.e. the labour market, transportation infrastructure, economic climate, etc. b. Design/methodology/approach The article type is literature review and research and its purpose is to present the positioning of individual Polish cities for the logistics outsourcing sector. The city ranking was created using the Hellwig’s method [Dañska-Borsiak & Laskowska, 2016: 75]. The ranking of cities was created. It presents the validity of the scale of cities. It also demonstrates the possibilities of location advantages of cities, as well as the other factors influencing direct investments. c. Findings More and more companies are looking for new opportunities to obtain and to keep a competitive advantage on the market. To get this they build their own branch offices or transfer of some functions to the outside company and – usually – out of the country, where the main office is located. This is an offshoring process. Offshoring is very often a strategic decision for a company. It allows to increase the competitiveness on the market. If offshoring is carried out properly, it can considerably contribute to improvement of the operational efficiency and it enables it to focus on the core business. The use of this management model makes possible to give an opportunity to use a unique know-how, technology and competencies, etc. The decision to locate the company’s headquarters at a given location is influenced by many factors, including the competitiveness of a given location, which is subject to constant verification. Nowadays, once competitive advantage achieved is not constant. There is continuous need to search for new directions of development of effective territorial units, especially in the conditions of globalization. d. Research limitations/implications Problem with access to some statistical data at the cities level, which forces researchers to analyse the researched phenomenon at the level of the voivodships. e. Practical implications The presented results may create the basis for further discussion on the issues of cities development in Poland. This country has an opportunity to attract foreign investments owing to the cost competitiveness and relatively high quality of human resources. f. Originality/value The added vaue of the paper is the statistical analysis of different factors influencing the offshoring locations development and competitiveness.