Material Economy and Logistics 11/2020

The warehouse market in Poland has been developing since the beginning of the 21st century, bringing dynamic changes in the landscape, especially around the big agglomerations. One may notice mainly quantitative changes, which mean the increase in the number of warehouse constructions and warehouse space; moreover, the warehouses themselves have been changing, including their facilities, functions, inner structure. The aim of the present paper is to characterize the changes which have been taking place on the warehouse market in Poland in the period from 2004 to 2020. The following analysis focuses on the direction, extent, pace, reasons for the observed changes and its regional diversity.

Firms are permanently looking for ways leading to the competitive advantage creation. The concept of logistics plays an important role in the process of building such an advantage. The evolution of the logistics concept shows that firms are increasingly focused on the supply chains formation and development, including the key importance of the logistics processes in supply chain.

One of the types of supply chains that deserve the special attention are the short supply chains, playing a significant role in the agri-food sector. It is in this sector that the fast time of product delivery to the end customer is often of the utmost importance. It ensures that the needs and expectations of customers are met. It also enables tangible benefits to be achieved by producers and suppliers.

The aim of the article is to identify the most important premises and symptoms of the logistics concept impact on the development of short supply chains in the agri-food sector. The article is of a conceptual nature. Firstly, the nature of logistics as the concept of the goods and information flow management, as well as the logistics concept development were presented. Then the article presents the essence and significance of the short supply chains, bearing in mind the most important characteristics of the agri-food sector. The last part of the article comprises premises and symptoms of the logistics concept impact on the short supply chains development.

The article constitutes the first part of the study, the purpose of which is to represent the influence of logistics on competitiveness of a service company in contemporary conditions on the example of selected service enterprises. On the basis of the literature studies, the process of building the competitiveness of a service enterprise and the influence of logistics on the competitiveness of contemporary service enterprises has been presented. The research methodology has been described and a short description of the examined population has been made. The results of the research on selected aspects of logistics conditions in the management of the surveyed enterprises have been presented.

The article presents selected technologies for recycling Lithium-Ion batteries (LIBs), later referred to as Li-Ion, used as a power source in hybrid and electric cars. Utilization of the disused Li-Ion, in accordance with the environmental protection principles, allows to recover a number of materials and compounds, including lithium, cobalt and others. The paper also presents the results of an eco-balance analysis of the hydrometallurgical recycling process of the disused Lithium-Ion batteries. The analysis was carried out using the IMPACT2002+ method. The results are given in environmental points, whose positive value means environmental damage, the negative result is an environmental benefit. The results of the analysis are given for the categories specific for the IMPACT2002+ method. These are: human health, ecosystem quality, climate change and resource consumption. The aim of the article is to estimate the potential environmental burdens characteristic for the Lithium-Ion battery recycling technology using the requirements of the ecological Life Cycle Assessment.