The construction industry’s inherent fragmentation fuels Construction Supply Chain (CSC) complexity. Logistics form an essential part of the CSC in terms of costs and project management. In turn, transportation accounts for more than half the logistics costs due to construction materials being low-cost/high-volume, and most other logistics processes being business processes and not physical ones. Construction transport is almost entirely road bound, one of the least sustainable modes with externalities far out of proportion to its numbers. Ergo, its optimisation presents substantial greening (de-carbonisation) opportunity, with potentially far-reaching sustainability impacts. The ASI (Avoid-Shift-Improve) concept considers activity, modal structure, and energy intensity/efficiency as transport carbon components, providing a fundamental optimisation framework. 93% of New Zealand’s freight (a third of it construction related) is road bound, with 99% fossil-fuel (diesel) dependence. Government adoption of ASI elementsvizSupply Chain (SC) efficiency, transport optimisation, data/information sharing, and collaboration for transport decarbonisation aligns with Industry 5.0, but seeks further research for concrete implementation pathways. This paper aims to bridge the gap by proposing a research framework for greening of construction transport as a sustainability enabler for New Zealand.

New Zealand (NZ) construction is highly fragmented, comprises primarily micro small and medium enterprises (MSMEs); 32.5% of approximately 67,000 operating businesses are ‘small’ (up to 19 employees), while 65% are sole traders. The construction supply chain (CSC) is extensive, prone to inefficiencies at segmental boundaries accentuated by project-centric delivery. Conversely, it presents significant opportunity for consolidation and improved efficiency. Vertical integration and CSC management from the supplier-end rather than the project-end enable component elements to be individually independent in terms of ownership, while integrating their management above the tactical CSC level. This leads to improved operational philosophy and employment. Quantifying impacts, however, is a challenge due to lack of tangibility. This can be effectively overcome using quantifiable parameters associated with the CSC’s transport component. The paper investigates transport operations in a narrow NZ CSC segment over a three-month period to quantify improved performance using operational data and further potential for resource optimisation using operations research-based planning. Research outcomes point towards: (i) Fleet management strategy; (ii) Integrated planning and operational delivery; (iii) Non-price attributes in tendering/contracting; (iv) Change in the delivery model of manufactured construction products; (v) Information and communication technology-based solutions; and (vi) Integration of reverse logistics.

Purpose: A long-term collaborative public water infrastructure procurement contract in New Zealand adopts “Enterprise Alliance” delivery (strategy) with a Construction Consolidation Centre (CCC) (operational) logistics solution. New Zealand's unique spatial, market, regulatory and economic circumstances present a research gap pertaining to the sustainability impacts of the combinatory implementation. The paper suggests a literature review-based research framework for examining these.Design/methodology/approach: Systematic literature review (SLR) discovers unique New Zealand attributes, and sustainability impacts of both the approaches overseas. Towards formulating a research framework, the paper discusses sustainability of construction and its New Zealand context, and research focus within the implemented model. Significant issues from SLR reveal Design, Logistics, Impacts and Spin-offs research domains. The paper suggests a research framework and examines an appropriate research design.Findings: CCC implementation under a programme alliance is without precedent in New Zealand. Variance of New Zealand's unique attributes from North American and European characteristics behind successful implementation are likely to impact domestic outcomes. A research framework to test this hypothesis will enable investigating the relevance of the concepts to New Zealand settings and provide a contextual implementation datum. Implementation benchmarks will potentially influence public policy and enrich indigenous knowledge corpus, potentially transferrable to associated domains (urban planning, transportation and energy).Originality/value: The paper attempts to define a research direction in the domain of applying supply chain management principles to the New Zealand's construction sector by investigating the employment of a CCC in a collaborative environment as an infrastructure project delivery vehicle with sustainability leanings.

The extensive and interdisciplinary construction supply chain is susceptible to inefficiencies at the interfaces of organisations. These inefficiencies are exacerbated by intricate logistics systems that operate among numerous stakeholders and actors, involving concurrent activities, processes, and on-and off-site systems. Transportation stands out as the most significant element within construction logistics. The fragmentation of the transport function stems from its intrinsic nature to every business, typically involving externalised asset ownership and deployment. Inefficiencies infiltrate the system due to isolated planning across different segments, gradually accumulating into macro-level visibility. To optimise logistics, particularly the transport function, identified strategies involve reconfiguring activities, combining resources, and repositioning actors. This paper delves into the impact of vertically integrating distribution, implementing integrated planning for transport operations, and incorporating reverse logistics into operations on the transport function within a supply chain for manufactured construction products. The study evaluates sustainability impacts using transport efficiency metrics and domestically determined parameters to benchmark the 'leaning and greening' of the specific supply chain under consideration.

The extensive, interdisciplinary nature of construction supply chains make them prone to inefficiencies at organisational interfaces. Inefficiencies are accentuated by the project-centric delivery paradigm, and complex logistics systems between multiple stakeholders. They manifest as a multitude of concurrent activities, processes, and systems both on and off-site. Transportation is the largest component of the logistics domain. Transport operations are inherently fragmented, intrinsic to every business, while vehicle ownership and deployment is typically externalised. Differentiated waste removal and materials delivery further disintegrate the already fragmented construction supply chain. Inefficiencies from the insularity of the planning process across segmental boundaries aggregate incrementally, with impacts visible at the macro level. Re-configuration of activities, resources and actors are acknowledged strategies for optimising logistics and transportation function. This paper investigates the impact of three integration strategies on a manufactured construction products supply chain efficiency. These strategies include vertical integration of distribution, integrated planning for transport operations, and integration of reverse logistics into operations. Sustainability impacts are evaluated according to domestically determined monetary parameters in order to benchmark performance at the business and national scale.