Millett, S J; Dainty, A R J and Briscoe, G H (2001) Client procurement strategies: A cross-sectoral analysis. In: Akintoye, A (ed.) Proceedings of 17th Annual ARCOM Conference, 5-7 September 2001, Salford, UK.
Abstract
Earlier research suggested that the UK construction industry should adopt best practice from other industries to help improve its productivity. This paper reports on research to examine general procurement practices across all areas of a clients' business. This has been compared with the practices used by the same organization specifically to procure construction projects. The study has taken a cross-sectoral approach drawing on experiences from three different industries: telecommunications, transport and automotive manufacturing. The case studies have comprised interviews at three or more tiers of the supply chain, encompassing parent companies, commissioning clients, main contractors and subcontractors. Analyses have taken place within each case study between construction procurement and other procurement practices. Significant similarities and key differences in the approach to the supply chain are drawn across the case studies.
| Item Type: | Conference Paper (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | procurement; supply chain; case study; cross-sectoral analysis |
| Index terms: | subcontractor, construction industry, commissioning, construction procurement, telecommunication, construction project, sectoral analysis, best practice, procurement strategy, drawing, productivity, case study, interview, main contractor |
| Subjects: | economic and policy analysis, practitioner, data collection methods, business, contractual arrangements, communication, technical documentation, production management, management, industry analysis, completion |
| Topics: | Design Practice, Quality Management, Roles and Professions, Procurement, Business Strategy, Engineering Principles, Project Management, Research Practice |
| Descriptive scope: | 5 PCTEA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here