Barcelona Port Encourages Partnering for Development

The Port of Barcelona is pursuing an active policy to increase the competitive edge of its customers, fostering the development of efficient and operational services that respond to their needs for international shipping and logistics services. To do this, it provides port companies, customers and users with various tools such as multi-sectoral business missions, specialised courses and seminars on foreign trade matters. Now it has incorporated the methodology of a company called GettingContacts, which provides networking with a customised agenda, which has proven to be a high-performance format especially designed to provide a rapid response to the needs of transport and logistics companies.

Cooperation between businesses and individuals is at the heart of the work of GettingContacts, combining the highest number of contacts in the shortest time possible, thanks to personal agendas to provide participants with very satisfactory results: the organisation crosses the data provided by each of the participants concerning their activities, interests and needs so that everyone begins their session with a personalised agenda with the largest possible number of contacts planned. Participants hold small meetings of up to ten minutes, which serve to establish a first contact during which each one makes a brief statement of their needs and offers.


After several sessions, GettingContacts has shown that it is very successful in adapting to the needs of Port customers and operators, since it provides different professional profiles from various sectors with an initial contact on the same day with different logistics operators that will offer different solutions to their demands. The company has calculated that taking part in a GettingContacts session of the Port of Barcelona is equivalent to five working days. The time limit imposed on these meetings means that they are very executive and are aimed at generating business, helping to find new customers and suppliers and identifying new partners for new projects.

First GettingContacts Logistics Puerto Seco Azuqueca

The Port of Barcelona's commitment to networking between operators and logistics and customers has increased after each session. The Port organised a GettingContacts at its stand during the SIL 2015 International Logistics Fair, which was very well attended and generated more than 400 meetings lasting ten minutes. The call to attend SIL 2016, sent out to shipping companies, shipping agents, freight forwarders, customs brokers, logistics operators, hauliers and shippers (import-export), brought together a large number of participants who held more than 1,000 micro-meetings.

This format has also been taken to the Port's inland markets. Last April, several companies from Barcelona Port Community took part in the second GettingContacts Meeting in La Rioja, especially dedicated to packaging and logistics, which brought together 100 companies.

The Port will also take part in the first GettingContacts Logistics Puerto Seco Azuqueca, to be held on 27 October in Alcalá de Henares (Madrid). Organised by Puerto Seco Azuqueca de Henares, this networking day, sponsored by the Port of Barcelona, has been designed to bring together shippers (industrial and import-export companies) from central Spain with logistics and transport companies (shipping companies, shipping agents, freight forwarders, customs brokers, logistics operators and rail and road transport companies) to help their internationalisation drive.