Despite often being overlooked, the procurement of construction materials is one of the most important elements of any construction project.

Delays in the delivery of key materials can bring construction to a grinding halt, leading to significant delays and rising costs, as workers remain unable to go forward with tasks that need completing.

In this article, we speak to the team at Joloda Hydraroll to take a look at some of the often-overlooked reasons as to why logistics are so important in the construction industry.

Keeping to the schedule

Construction projects are renowned for going over the estimated timeline for completion, and the key factor behind these delays lies in ineffective logistics management.

Construction companies that can keep to the predicted schedule can develop an excellent reputation, in addition to keeping costs down for both themselves and for clients.

An efficient approach to logistics management is perhaps the most effective way of ensuring that teams can stay on schedule, and should be a priority for this reason alone.

Maximising efficiency

When logistics processes go wrong, workers often end up sitting around doing nothing. Not only can that be frustrating for crews, those additional costs often can’t be passed on to clients, leading to budgets being stretched and overall project profit margins decreasing.

Effective logistics management helps to ensure that projects operate at maximum efficiency, with minimal time wasted and unnecessary costs kept at a minimum.

Building a reputation

Remaining on schedule and delivering projects on the promised timescale is an excellent way of developing a stellar reputation in the construction industry. This will likely increase the chances that the project also remains on budget, further developing a relationship of trust with clients. It also helps to ensure that you don’t develop a reputation for being unreliable, which can be extremely damaging, especially with larger projects.

Outsourcing to improve the logistics process

The most effective way of improving the overall efficiency of the logistics process is through outsourcing, which provides the following benefits:

Automation

Through using established, experienced third party logistics (3PL) services, you stand to benefit from their investment in technology.

This includes real time updates to online portals, which show both product availability and where products are in the delivery process. Through automation, unexpected material shortages can be kept at a minimum, allowing you to plan ahead of time for further procurement.

Focusing on the project at hand

Putting the logistics process in the hands of a 3PL allows for total concentration on the project at hand, further decreasing the likelihood that project managers miss things as a result of having their concentration stretched between too many things.

Being able to focus completely on the actual project site increases the chances that construction efforts remain on target, leading to more effective project management.