Construction logistics status and actors’ opinions – an industry wide survey in Sweden

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether construction logistics services are still carried out mostly in an ad hoc manner, or has advanced to a more standardized, strategically implemented practice and to explore different actors’ attitudes towards construction logistics.

Design/methodology/approach

Unlike previous studies of construction logistics, relying on single or multiple case studies, a survey was designed to deliver a generalizable snapshot of contemporary industry practices and the status of construction logistics. A total of 902 responses from the Swedish construction industry were collected with the help of the industry wide questionnaire.

Findings

The results show that construction logistics setups (CLSs) are only used by 14% of the responding organizations, which confirms that construction logistics services are still mostly carried out in an ad hoc manner. This may change considering that respondents with more experience in the industry claim an increased demand for CLSs. The ad hoc approach is less common among contractors than other types of organizations and large organizations. Furthermore, there is a more positive attitude towards the benefits of construction logistics among the respondents from organizations having a standard CLS.

Originality/value

This is the first industry wide survey presenting the status of implementation level of standardized logistics services in the construction industry and the attitudes among industry actors towards logistics.