“Port before Factory” Mode Based on Symbiosis Theory

With the development of port-neighboring industry, the port industry of China is gradually exploring the new mode of “Port before Factory”. The steel factories and port enterprises that carry out the mode of “Port before Factory” have typical characteristic of symbiosis, and the relationship in the symbiotic system is mainly affected by the symbiotic mechanism. The aims of this study were to study the symbiotic relationship between the ports and steel factories under the “Port before Factory” mode and to propose a new idea of symbiotic evolution to improve the management efficiency of the ports from the outside. Logistic symbiotic model was constructed to assess the symbiotic relationship between port A and factory B under “Port before Factory” mode. And then numerical simulation was adopted to verify the impact of different symbiotic relationships on the development of the two enterprises. The results indicated that port A and factory B can evolve towards a more advanced symbiotic relationship and the new mode of “Port before Factory” can realize a “win-win” of port enterprises and manufacturing enterprises. The findings of this study may serve as guidelines for port enterprises and manufacturing enterprises to strengthen their cooperation.