Construction hubs may be the key for the construction industry
The results of TKI Dinalog's initial research projects on construction hubs led to follow-up questions and studies.
Published on August 31, 2025
Team IO+ selects and features the most important news stories on innovation and technology, carefully curated by our editors.
A construction hub is a smart storage facility on the outskirts of the city where building materials are collected. From this hub, exactly the right materials are sent to the construction site in packages every day, as needed. This keeps the construction site tidy and avoids unnecessary storage.
Because materials are combined in fewer trips, the number of freight movements is greatly reduced, resulting in less traffic and fewer emissions in the city. The first research projects by TKI Dinalog into construction hubs date back to 2014. The results led to follow-up questions and research.
The enormous construction challenge, combined with tightened legislation and regulations surrounding nitrogen, means that the construction hub is once again the focus of attention. How do the parties involved, such as TNO, VolkerWessels, Bouwend Nederland, and TKI Dinalog, look back on the various studies and their impact on the further development and adoption of construction hubs in the market?
Space and emission constraints
Construction logistics account for approximately one-third of total urban logistics. Given the enormous, mostly inner-city, construction challenge facing the Netherlands, that percentage will only increase. At the same time, infrastructural and logistical capacity in cities is limited, and ambitions in the areas of climate, environment, and traffic safety are under pressure. In order to create space for growth in the construction sector, efficiency and sustainability improvements are therefore needed. The construction hub is one potential logistical solution.
A control tower is a digital platform that helps to better coordinate all links in the construction chain, from supplier to construction site. It provides an overview of the ent
ire process and makes it possible to bundle materials and transport more intelligently, so that everything runs more efficiently, more clearly, and with less waste. Between 2010 and 2014, the Platform Logistics in Construction conducted research into innovations in construction logistics and identified significant potential for savings. They shared best practices and applicable measures, but the findings were mainly theoretical in nature. In order to gain practical insights, TKI Dinalog therefore started a follow-up study with a consortium in 2014. Under the title Cross Chain Control Centers (4C) in construction logistics, they investigated opportunities for improvement in construction logistics processes through the use of construction logistics control towers and construction hubs.
Remarkable improvements
The results were remarkable. At the testing ground in Utrecht, a construction project by VolkerWessels, the use of a construction hub reduced the number of transport movements during the finishing phase by almost 70%, with a corresponding reduction in CO2 emissions. Productivity on the construction site increased by up to 40%, construction costs fell, and there were fewer complaints from the surrounding area. “The results were a real eye-opener that made everyone think: wow!” says Ivo Agricola, head of concept development for construction logistics at VolkerWessels Materieel & Logistiek. “Now, years later, we are achieving the same reduction percentages and we even see that there are still opportunities for optimization.”
Siem van Merriënboer, senior consultant at TNO: "Another finding was that in order to get a grip on the chain cooperation that is necessary for an efficient construction hub, you need control towers. However, the necessary supporting ICT was still lacking." This prompted TKI Dinalog to start a follow-up study (2016-2018), in which various ICT tools were tested in nine construction projects. This provided important user experiences and a better understanding of ICT needs. The existing vision of 4C in construction logistics was developed into the intended construction logistics control tower, together with a set of functional requirements.Then things went quiet for a while. “Despite the positive effects of the construction hub, for a long time we were unable to put together a broadly supported consortium for a follow-up study,” Van Merriënboer recalls. The increase in inner-city construction and the mandatory nitrogen restrictions changed that. The study “Fundamentals of a Construction Logistics Control Tower,” conducted by a new consortium, resulted in 2024 in an action plan for the implementation of construction logistics control towers and a roadmap for upscaling within the Dutch construction sector.
Proof of concept
In order to arrive at widely supported solutions, TKI Dinalog's studies are always public-private partnerships involving knowledge institutions, market parties, and governments. “The combination of scientific research and direct collaboration with companies in the field really adds value,” says Niels Sneek, program manager at TKI Dinalog. “This gives researchers a platform to test and validate new insights and interim results. It is precisely the applied, practical nature of this type of research that meets the needs of the sector and the government.”
“It is a challenge to bring these different worlds together,” says Van Merriënboer, “but it does lead to a common narrative. The market, research, and government reinforce each other.” Agricola agrees: "Such research ensures that we not only look at our own business, but also at the social interest. That is important, as is measuring and working with real data. By having a neutral third party provide insight into the results, we prevent everyone from shouting out their own perspective or feelings. Researchers only present the facts when they are available and do so in a nuanced way."
Safe and responsible
“Our conclusions and calculation models are always thoroughly tested and validated,” says Van Merriënboer. "This ensures an accepted proof of concept for a theory or system. We demonstrate that it works. That is the first step. We then often use models to show what the impact could be. With such predictions, you hope to persuade parties to actually apply it in practice."
“Studies like these make it possible to invest in all kinds of innovations together in a safe, responsible way,” says Arjan Walinga, policy advisor for chain cooperation at Bouwend Nederland. "To develop ourselves as a sector. That is difficult to achieve on a project or individual basis. Eighty percent of our members are SMEs. They have neither the time nor the money for such extensive studies. Development often starts with large companies, but for us it is very important that it then reaches SMEs."
Due to the ever-increasing challenges in more and more inner cities—safety, congestion, unforeseen work—we are already seeing that it is becoming more difficult and that costs are rising. So it doesn't have to become more expensive to work with construction hubs in the future, but we do have to adapt a lot of processes. And that transition is where the problem lies.“ Van Merriënboer: ”One of the processes that makes it difficult is that the benefits of a construction hub differ per chain party. The main gains come from higher productivity on the construction site, but the investments are in the logistics process, while the logistics costs are already included in the cost price of the building materials. So you have to make agreements about that."
Agricola: "Another factor is that construction is always project-oriented. You are constantly dealing with a new project organization, and every discussion about the construction hub starts from scratch. We sometimes say that 20% of our work is facts and data and 80% is convincing people. TNO has measured the impact of the construction hubs: those are facts. We have a growing network of ambassadors who have applied our Construction Hub in a project. But convincing the rest of the sector to do things differently: that's the challenge.
Impact of the studies
Because VolkerWessels was convinced of the benefits, they developed a new business model, the white label BouwHub, which is accessible to every builder. “We now have operational BouwHubs in a number of cities and can eventually expand this network to cities where there is sufficient market demand,” says Agricola. Walinga was surprised by this development: “I didn't think construction companies would start offering white label construction hubs. It would be illogical to have a separate construction hub for each project, but I wondered if they would dare to let competitors in.”
The construction hub concept was also taken up outside the consortia. “The studies and publications show that there is more attention for it and that it is being considered as a solution,” reports Van Merriënboer. "This prompted several contractors to start their own construction hubs for complex construction projects in inner cities. In addition, an exploratory study was conducted in Amsterdam, for example, into the potential of construction hubs in combination with transport by water. And the Top Sector Logistics is investigating why construction hubs are or are not being used and how their use can be stimulated. It is difficult to determine the exact impact of research, but it is clear that it has a positive influence on a more efficient and sustainable construction process."
Sneek observes another important development: "For example, you now see that provinces and municipalities are increasingly including in their tenders that a construction hub must be used to achieve policy goals in the area of clean and emission-free construction. This was not an issue at all when we started the research. I think this is a very good and concrete example of how research ultimately finds its way into new policy. Good policy also requires good research."
Scaling up construction hubs
The question is how we can scale up the construction hubs. “The biggest challenge will be to get SMEs to use the construction hubs for smaller deliveries,” says Walinga. "This will require parties to come forward who can bring together white label goods flows. The coordination between them will probably be in software systems. It would be great if there were a kind of ‘parcel service’ for small builders, which would be extremely efficient due to the large volumes. The lion's share of contractors belongs to the SME sector, so there is a lot of impact to be gained there."
Van Merriënboer looks more to regulation. “Regulations should give companies a push to think about innovation and logistics optimization. Recent research by TKI Dinalog shows that 75% of transport will soon no longer be able to enter city centers due to zero-emission zones. So companies have to start thinking smarter. Construction hubs and shared logistics can be solutions, together with the use of control towers.”
Important link
“We will have to tackle this issue: that much is certain,” says Agricola. "We are seeing increasing complexity on and around construction sites, in locations where people live, work, and go to school. The results of the studies show that construction hubs contribute to more efficient, cleaner, and safer construction. I also see construction hubs as an important link in the transition to zero-emission zones: after all, we will then need to replace far fewer trucks with emission-free alternatives. So let's now focus our time and energy on implementing the knowledge we have gained about construction hubs."
TKI Dinalog, as an independent institute for logistics knowledge development in the Netherlands, is contributing to this in the Mobile Equipment and Construction Logistics program of the Top Sector Logistics. This is where the follow-up research on construction hubs is taking place. Sneek: “But within this program, we also provide concrete dos and don'ts, tips and tricks, and fact sheets for policymakers and contractors, based on practical experience in various Living Labs. This nicely illustrates the translation of multi-year research into validated, practical solutions.”