English

ABOUT ESALQ-LOG

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The Group of Research and Extension in Agroindustrial Logistics (ESALQ-LOG) aims to develop studies and applied research in logistics as a means of facilitating the national and international business, mainly in the agribusiness segment. The ESALQ-LOG Group, institutionally linked to the Department of Economics, Management and Sociology of College of Agriculture "Luiz de Queiroz" (ESALQ) - University of Sao Paulo (USP), has developed activities of research and extension from the start of the 1990s, standing out in national and international scenarios as a major reference in this area of knowledge.

WHAT DO WE DO?

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Among the main activities carried out by the ESALQ-LOG Group is the development of the organization and structure of databases related to the transport and storage of agricultural products, as well as the development and dissemination of tools to assist agribusiness logistics decisions. In this context, it is responsible for the publication of SIFRECA (Information System for Freights), which continuously conducts a primary data collection on freight prices for commodities. In a similar manner, ESALQ-LOG Group also develops the Storage Information System (SIARMA), with data dissemination on location, capacities and price of grains storage. The ESALQ-LOG Group also develops optimization mathematical models, routing and econometrics procedures, aiming at helping in logistics decisions, such as better definition of routes, optimal location of facilities, among others. Another kind of actuation of ESALQ-LOG Group is regarding to the organization of events and courses. The International Seminar in Agroindustrial Logistics (SILA) and the courses in Agroindustrial Logistics are, respectively, the main examples of projects carried out on this front. Currently, the ESALQ-LOG team consists of approximately 60 members. Freight price information for more than 5,000 different routes are weekly collected and about 25 projects for private and public initiatives are under development.

HISTORY

The history of ESALQ-LOG Group is aligned to the history of Professor José Vicente Caixeta-Filho at the Department of Economics, Management and Sociology of ESALQ/USP. Responsible for implementing a research project involving the development of a mathematical model for transportation of agricultural loads in Brazil, Professor Caixeta initiated studies related to agro-industrial logistics and mathematical modeling. The necessity of data related to unit transport costs (alternatively known as "freight" value) to improve the modeling results opened an opportunity to create a new systematic methodology for collecting this type of information. It was the beginning of SIFRECA - Information System for Freights. The ESALQ-LOG Group was recognized by the Commission for Culture and Extension of ESALQ/USP in 2003 and was registered as an official Group of Research by the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) in 2004. The formalization of a Group of Extension under the Office of Culture and Extension University of ESALQ is a form to make possible major/bigger visibility and, accordingly, a major/bigger interaction of the academic community with the society in general to deepen the theme "logistics in agribusiness". Currently, the Group's infrastructure consists of a main building, a training room and the Auditorium Prof. Antonio Sanchez de Oliveira.