Khalfan, M; McDermott, P and Cooper, R (2004) Integrating the supply chain within construction industry. In: Khosrowshahi, F (ed.) Proceedings of 20th Annual ARCOM Conference, 1-3 September 2004, Edinburgh, UK.
Abstract
Since the middle of the 1990's, the researchers and people within the construction industry have moved towards Supply Chain Management (SCM) philosophy in order to make construction industry more effective and more efficient. The main driver behind the adoption of this philosophy was the successes within other industry sectors. SCM can be defined as network of different organisations, linked upstream and downstream in a chain, aiming to produce quality and value in the services and products for the end consumers through integrated processes and activities. In order to achieve the optimised level of integration of the whole supply chain, the industry has responded in various forms. One of the efforts is the change in procurement, from traditional to partnering arrangements. Research work has been done showing benefits of adopting the partnering arrangements, enjoyed by the whole supply chain. Despite the work done in this field (mentioned in this paper), there is still a need to look at: the different levels of integration within construction supply chain for example upstream by the client or client organisations and downstream by the sub-contractors and suppliers; the responses towards these partnering initiatives by the subcontractors and material suppliers; changes in the supply chain structures due to the implementation of SCM philosophy and partnering; analyses of rise in the competition among downstream supply chain (based on facts and evidences); level of collaboration and integration among supply chain participants; client-led supply chain vs. contractor-led supply chain; changes in public and private clients procurement system; the demand management within client organisation(s); government initiatives; supply chain networks and clusters; and integration of SMEs within these partnering arrangements. The paper will look at the research done within construction supply chain and will identify gaps for further research dealing with some of the issues mentioned above.
| Item Type: | Conference Paper (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | supply chain integration; construction industry |
| Index terms: | implementation, construction industry, subcontractor, supply chain integration, collaboration, integration, construction supply chain, competition, procurement system, evidence, sub-contractor, philosophy, government initiatives, client organization, partnering, industry sector, demand management |
| Subjects: | construction logistics, practitioner, evaluation and assessment methods, client relations, supply chain integration, contractual arrangements, management, philosophical studies, industry analysis, political science, partnership management, organizational analysis, market analysis |
| Topics: | Organizational Design, Supply Chain Management, Roles and Professions, Stakeholder Management, Governance, Procurement, Research Practice |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCTA |
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