Organizing logistics to achieve strategic fit in building contractors: a configurations approach

Abstract

Previous research indicates that the success of logistics solutions in building projects depends on how they are organized in accordance with the logistics context, which is determined by building contractors’ competitive priorities, product characteristics, and production process choices. Taking a configurations approach, the purpose of this paper is to describe the fit between the logistics context and the organizing of logistics at a strategic level. A conceptual research framework is derived from literature postulating an influence of the logistics context on the organizing of logistics. The framework is applied to four cases by the means of strategic profiling, which provides a snapshot of the fit in the cases’ logistics configurations. The findings indicate that the type of production process influences the degree to which logistics decisions should be made centrally and that the degree of standardization and pre-engineering influence the degree to which logistics processes should be formalized. The main contributions are the identification of logistics configuration variables and the description of the fit between building contractors’ logistics context and the organizing of logistics. For managerial practice, a logistics configuration profiling template was developed that can be used as a tool in the logistic strategy process.