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Supply chain management in the construction industry
Edited by Anders Segerstedt and Thomas Olofsson
Introduction
Numerous researchers claim that the construction industry suffers from poor performance (e.g. [55] Vrijhoef and Koskela, 2000; [11] Cox and Ireland, 2002; [39] Love et al. , 2004), although there may be signs of improvement ([19] Egan, 2002). Supply chain management (SCM) and related concepts such as partnering and lean construction have been proposed as solutions to these problems and have received, during the past decade, increasing interest in construction research and practice ([37] Latham, 1994; [18] Egan, 1998). However, the main conclusion to date is that the industry is lagging behind in terms of supply chain practices and efficiency. The construction industry seems to be facing problems in managing supply chains and obtaining the recommended integration in construction processes ([7] Briscoe and Dainty, 2005).
Different explanations for these problems have been suggested, such as the dominating focus on projects in construction ([14] Dubois and Gadde, 2000, [15] 2002a), the fragmentation of the industry ([12], [13] Dainty et al. , 2001a, b), and the separation of the design and production processes ([18] Egan, 1998; [10] Cooper et al. , 2003; [39] Love et al. , 2004). These factors have been suggested as the "root causes" of observed problems ([11] Cox and Ireland, 2002) including lack of coordination and communication between participants, adversarial contractual relationships, lack of customer-supplier focus, price-based selection, and ineffective use of technology. It is claimed that the industry lacks the will to do what is needed to implement SCM practices and obtain supply chain integration ([7] Briscoe and Dainty, 2005). Others argue that SCM and related concepts are based on assumptions that do not fit well with the specifics of the industry (see [58] Winch, 2003; [31] Green et al. , 2005; [23] Fearne and Fowler, 2006). Hence, explanations for the seemingly poor supply chain performance in construction rest on the belief that theoretical models and concepts are inappropriate for the construction industry, or that the industry is to blame for not being able to implement practices that work well in other sectors.
The aim of this paper is to inquire further into the management of construction supply chains by directing the attention towards the different types...