Global supply chains are a vital part of our economy, yet their stability depends heavily on the functioning of key nodes: seaports and inland ports. In recent times, international crises have increasingly caused disruptions worldwide; the flow of materials is severely delayed by geopolitical conflicts, factory closures, and border shutdowns. On top of this, climatic challenges such as extreme low water levels are increasingly restricting inland shipping, leading to significant supply shortages for various goods.
The CritSupPort project, funded by the Federal Ministry for Research, Technology, and Space, addresses the question of how supply can be maintained when these critical nodes are affected by such crises. Its goal is to develop solutions and procedures for cross-sector risk and crisis management of goods handling, with particular focus on the food and healthcare sectors.
Short info
Project period: Februar 2026 - Januar 2029
Funding programme: SIFO (Forschung f. d. zivile Sicherheit) des BMFTR
Funding code: 13N 17743
Project budget: 2.552 T €
Project Partners
Project Partners:
- Logistics Initiative Hamburg
- inter 3 GmbH Institut für Ressourcenmanagement
- Technische Universität Hamburg (TUHH)
- Technische Hochschule Köln (THK)
- Bonn Consulting Group GmbH
- Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften Hamburg (HAW)
Associated Partners:
- Bundesamt für Bevölkerungsschutz und Katastrophenhilfe (BBK)
- Hamburg Port Authority AöR
- duisport - Duisburger Hafen AG
- Hapag Lloyd AG
- Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg, Behörde für Wirtschaft, Arbeit und Innovation
- AGA Norddeutscher Unternehmensverband Großhandel, Außenhandel, Dienstleistungen e.V.
- HHLA Hamburger Hafen und Logistik Aktiengesellschaft
- DP World
- Nephrologicum Hamburg MVZ GmbH
Project contents & goals
Overall Goal:
Using the examples of the food and healthcare sectors, the project aims to develop solutions and procedures for cross-sector risk and crisis management of goods handling.
Sub-Goals:
Mapping critical supply chains and identifying key nodes, as well as creating a risk analysis and assessment of these supply chains
Analyzing interdependencies and logistical, technical, and communication processes within ports
Investigating how disruptions at ports affect upstream and downstream logistics chains
Developing solutions for efficient and robust risk and crisis management
