Understanding current and future requirements on logistics service offerings in the Danish construction industry

Sammanfattning: Purpose - The purpose of this research is to create a better understanding of what the current and future customer requirements are on logistics service offerings in the Danish construction industry and how the studied case company can better match these. Methodology - The research was conducted as a case study. A supplier (referred to as the case company) of tools, consumables and installation materials in the construction industry was studied. Empirical data was collected from three sources: interviews with personnel and customers of the case company, sales and delivery data from the case company, and grey literature on the Danish construction industry and its actors. By combining qualitative and quantitative data, an understanding of the requirements on logistics service offerings was established. Following this, an analysis on how the case company could focus its efforts to improve the match with the requirements was performed. Findings - The study identifies and analyzes the relative importance of seven dimensions of logistics service offerings and fourteen services. Based on the empirical findings and analyzes, offering early and fast deliveries was indicated to be of the highest importance on the studied market. Requirements do however vary depending on customer segment. Installation firms are currently more demanding but requirements from contractors are indicated to increase faster the coming years. And as it is a competitive market, customers are indicated to become increasingly cost-sensitive. Requirements and willingness to pay in specific situations do, however, seem to be dependent on several contextual factors, such as industry characteristics, project characteristics and product characteristics. This study identifies customer segments, service dimensions and services that the case company could focus on to improve current and future match with customer requirements. Originality - Previous studies on logistics in the construction industry have often investigated how improved logistics could improve productivity in construction projects. They usually have the perspective of constructions firms or end-clients. Furthermore, requirements on logistics service offerings have often been analyzed in B2C and e-commerce contexts. This study is original in that it analyzes the requirements on logistics services from a supplier perspective in the (Danish) construction industry. It complements previous studies by analyzing the requirements in a B2B context and by investigating the actual requirements, not would-be requirements to improve productivity.