Supply Chain Management and Logistics in Construction: Delivering Tomorrow's Built Environment

This is a book that is clearly aimed at a specific business vertical, yet in many ways a lot of the advice can be transferred into other areas with a smidgeon of imagination.This reviewer’s first impression was to wonder WHY the construction industry would need its own special book, as surely moving bits and pieces around for builders and other trades is hardly unique. There can be issues moving a lorry-load of glass, of course, but then moving highly corrosive chemicals around the world is manageable too; it is just a matter of technique and procedure. Yet boy, was one wrong! There are some subtle differences that can be found within the construction industry’s use of logistics (not all participants are even clued-up but when they’ve seen this book…) and these could possibly be implemented within many other sectors.So this book became a great little read, a surprising source of knowledge that one never imagined would be of importance – even for someone who has no immediate plans to work within the construction industry in any function. Some of the chapters give a lot of food for thought, such as the use of returnable packaging and off-site product manufacture and assembly. It clearly has the potential to be the book you didn’t think you needed but are a lot more inspired and informed about as a result of it. The price is a little bit on the high side for a speculative purchase, even though the potential savings for your enterprise could be clearly much higher.One had not considered that even the larger house builders might not have that much purchasing power for many products, when they “only” build 10,000 buildings a year and their delivery address can be the entire country. So every small saving and efficiency within the supply chain can be important, as well as ensuring that production continues unabated. The author puts forward some interesting ideas for creative thinking that might, on first glance, be counterintuitive, yet in the real world could offer up a sizeable saving. You will have to read the book to discover that knowledge and other things that may have you going “duh…” when you realise the apparently obvious things you may be overlooking.That’s about it. An unexpected, positive surprise in other words. If you have any input to the supply chain or purchasing function, in any industry, this book might be capable of improving your company’s bottom line.

Done well, the use of supply chain companies brings technical superiority and innovation to the project, and their specialist knowledge and experience brings enhanced efficiency, quality and consistency of delivery. However, there can also be increased risk if the strengths and weaknesses of the third party companies are not fully understood and managed.” (p. 78)Supply Chain Management & Logistics in Construction: Delivering Tomorrow’s Built Environment (Kogan Page 2015) contains the collective knowledge of seventeen highly qualified contributors representing a number of roles within the industry – including its suppliers. Greger Lungesjö, listed as the book’s author, serves a double role as contributor and editor.It is important to clarify that logistics has a different meaning in the construction industry than it does in others. Logistics is the term used to describe the movement of materials, people, and supporting services around a project site – not getting the materials, equipment, and people to the building site. You might even think of logistics as the ‘indirect spend’ of a construction site/project. It is absolutely critical, but it does not become part of the final structure. Fear not however, supply chain is still supply chain – an area of investment from which the industry is just starting to realize the potential for benefit.In their effort to improve supply chain management, the construction industry has looked primarily to manufacturing and retail for leadership. But the project-oriented nature of construction, as well as the role of sub-contractors who divide both risks and costs among themselves, adds to the complexity and makes the needs of construction unique.Whether you know construction as a primary activity or a sourced one, it is a critical contributor to any national economy as measured by percent of GDP, job creation, or gross value. Broad trends such as urbanization, sustainability, data modeling, and just in time management have major impacts on construction projects.The four sections of the book break the chapters down as follows: - Strategic Perspectives (chapters 1-5) – Note: Anyone with a more traditional supply chain perspective serving or working in the construction industry is likely to get the fastest value from chapters 4 and 5 which address supply chain management in general and then, more specifically, risk considerations. - The Impact of Building Information Modeling (BIM) and New Data Management Capabilities (chapter 6) - Construction Logistics and Sustainability (chapters 7-8) - Logistics Operations (9-13)One of the most undeniable takeaways from the book is the importance of timing: both in logistics and supply chain. Connecting the two efforts better for the sake of efficiency will require a focus on throughput (think about the limited mechanisms for moving materials) and storage (particularly in urban settings) constraints. Materials, people, and equipment must be available when needed, but not a second too soon or a minute too late. Efforts to incorporate prefabrication have relieved some of the strain of site logistics, but only to a certain extent. 3PLs are underutilized, according to the contributors, and are an area of significant future potential.Although there is some case study content, it is ‘anonymous’ and generalized in terms of numbers, which is too bad. That being said, it is better to have that information included than not.In a more general connection to our supply chain management coverage, suppliers and providers are playing an increasing role in project delivery and completion. We are familiar with the general contractor vs. subcontractor construction management approach, but that does not mean that the balance of labor and oversight has stayed the same. And as we well know, the more risk, responsibility, and cost is tied up in those subcontractors, the more important the process for selecting them. Any procurement professional can relate to that.

UK centric, but ideas and concepts can easily be applied to US and CanadaNew look at supply chain for construction, new ideas and great concepts.Very interesting breakdown of bulk materials like aggregates, what they are, where they are used and where they come from.

Clear and concise