Organising logistics and transport activities in construction

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify and analyse how different ways of organising transport and logistics activities in construction impact on efficiency. The paper scrutinises three particular transport and logistics configurations: the de-centralised coordinated configuration, the on-site coordinated configuration and the supply network coordinated configuration.

Design/methodology/approach

Three configurations are derived from the literature and from case studies. The efficiency of the three configurations is analysed on three levels of analysis: the construction site, the supply chain, and across supply chains and construction sites.

Findings

The paper concludes that there are possibilities to enhance efficiency on all three levels of analysis by widening the scope of coordination beyond the individual construction site.

Practical implications

The analysis points to efficiency potentials in applying the supply network coordinated configuration, although this configuration puts high demands on collaboration amongst the actors involved.

Originality/value

The paper provides illustration, and explanation, of the efficiency potentials involved in the three configurations.

Citation

Dubois, A., Hulthén, K. and Sundquist, V. (2019), "Organising logistics and transport activities in construction", The International Journal of Logistics Management, Vol. 30 No. 2, pp. 620-640. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJLM-12-2017-0325