None

Latin America is a diverse place with different cultures, climates and geographical aspects. Although there are still many challenges in the region, in recent decades the context has changed dramatically. In 2012, the region had a population of 581.4 million, GDP equal to USD 5,344 billion and a life expectancy of 74 years, which is close to that of some developed countries (The World Bank, 2014). What's more, Latin America has a highly urbanized population (79%) living in some of the largest metropolitan regions in the world including São Paulo, Mexico City and Buenos Aires. Isolated and rural regions are still evident, and often require tailored infrastructure solutions: for instance, hospitals and bank agencies established aboard ships service local communities in Amazonia. As a region, Latin America is now a large potential market. Each of its countries has a booming middle class which increasingly demands more sophisticated products and services. Global companies are also investing in new plants in countries like Mexico in order to decrease the logistical costs of shipping from other regions such as Asia. While the Latin American retail industry is still dominated by smaller stores, or nanostores (Blanco and Fransoo, 2013), the global retail index published by A.T. Kearney in 2012 ranked Brazil and Chile at the top for retail growth. Some local multinational companies, or multi-latinas, are strong global players in diverse industries like airplanes, food, oil, cement, beverages, banking and telecommunications, amongst others. The region has highly competitive agribusiness supply chains like the Chilean wine, the Colombian rose and the Brazilian and Argentinean grain and meat supply chains, which are strong competitors in global markets. This is the context of this IJPDLM ebook. It is not only a call for businesses to leverage the future growth of Latin America, but also for academics in the region and around the world to renew their interest in research within the Latin American context: e.g. the need for effective supply chain management where there is a complex combination of raising markets, unique regional variations and contrasts.