Is the construction industry aware of supply chain management? The Portuguese contractors’ perspective

2015 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 404-414 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amílcar Arantes ◽  
Luís Miguel D. F. Ferreira ◽  
António Aguiar Costa
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Supply Chain Management ◽  
Focus Group ◽  
Construction Industry ◽  
Construction Sector ◽  
Focus Group Interviews ◽  
Chain Management ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Construction Companies ◽  
Group Interviews

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the understanding and behaviour of construction companies in relation to supply chain management (SCM) and how those relationships can impact the adoption of the SCM concept. Design/methodology/approach – This paper adopted a descriptive study method based on a cross-section survey. A literature review and focus group interviews were used to design the survey questionnaire. The focus group interviews were also used to discuss the results of the survey and draw conclusions. Findings – The results show that the global awareness level of SCM and the relationships level among the entities in the Portuguese construction industry are low, which is in alignment with previous research work. These results also show that SCM in the construction industry is a complex task due to the fact that the relationships between the entities are different, and also often contractors and subcontractors change roles from project-to-project. Research limitations/implications – The limited number of valid responses in the research, particularly when considering categories based on the size of the contractors, can be considered a major limitation of this research, which might have reduced the quality of the statistic tests performed. Practical implications – Construction companies should foster a proper understanding of “the language” and core concepts underpinning SCM practices and should pay particular attention to a systemic and network perspective, avoiding the traditional focus on the management of dyadic relationships. Accordingly, care must be taken to avoid the “simple and direct” transfer of the SCM concept to the construction sector. Originality/value – This paper provides contributions to understanding the awareness of SCM within the construction industry and to the field of SCM, confirming that it is the specifics, and not the context, of the construction sector that are not well-adapted to the assumptions underpinning SCM and related concepts.

scholarly journals Application of RFID combined with blockchain technology in logistics of construction materials

2018 ◽  
Vol 170 ◽  
pp. 03032 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Lanko ◽  
N. Vatin ◽  
A. Kaklauskas
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Supply Chain Management ◽  
Construction Industry ◽  
Construction Materials ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Rfid Technology ◽  
Chain Management ◽  
Construction Companies ◽  
Blockchain Technology ◽  
Ready Mixed Concrete

Nowadays, almost none of the fields of human activity can do without supply chain management. In addition, implementation of one in construction companies contributes to major economic benefits. The article considers the application feasibility of blockchain in logistics of construction materials through the usage of RFID technology. An example of introduction to the process of manufacturing and delivery of ready-mixed concrete is given. The main advantages, shortcomings, perspectives, as well as difficulties arising in the implementation of blockchain technology in the construction industry are described. Special attention is paid to the applicability of these technologies.

scholarly journals Strategies of Green Supply Chain Practices in Construction Industry

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 3209-3212
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Supply Chain Management ◽  
Construction Industry ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Green Supply Chain Management ◽  
Green Supply Chain ◽  
Sustainable Supply Chain ◽  
Sustainable Practices ◽  
Chain Management ◽  
Construction Companies

Greening the supply chain practices is essential to all the sectors. Currently the management looking after the construction activities is also highly focusing on this. It is also coined as sustainable supply chain management. The sustainability is an important factor in construction industry rather than any other industries. The present research paper aimed at identifying and creating awareness of green supply chain management in materials and practices implied in Indian construction Industry. Many of the construction companies are not following sustainable practices in their day-to-day activities. There is a lot of scope to implement the sustainable practices, further helps in reducing the carbon emissions in the supply chain and helps to provide the recycling of the materials and thus reduces the wastage. This improves the construction industry economy and environment. The current research aimed at analyzing the strategies related to green supply chain management practices for construction Industry.

Integration of green supply chain management practices in construction supply chain of CPEC

2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 185-200 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yousaf Ali ◽  
Talal Bin Saad ◽  
Muhammad Sabir ◽  
Noor Muhammad ◽  
Aneel Salman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Supply Chain Management ◽  
Construction Industry ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Green Supply Chain Management ◽  
Green Supply Chain ◽  
Chain Management ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Green Production

Purpose China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects are widely spread throughout Pakistan with the potential to have a massive impact on Pakistan’s economic future. CPEC projects have, therefore, made it imperative that green practices are adapted to provide sustainability to the CPEC projects. The adoption of green supply chain management (GSCM) framework will significantly increase the value attained from CPEC projects through the increased benefits to the socio-cultural and economic conditions of Pakistan without causing harm to the environment. The purpose of this paper is to identify and rank the GSCM practices for implementation in the construction industry of Pakistan according to expert opinion. Design/methodology/approach This study targets the experts who are employed as supply chain managers in the different construction industries of Pakistan. The opinions of these experts have been extracted through an online questionnaire that was based on six alternatives along with four criteria. The tool of multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) that is a Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) has been used to analyze the results. Findings Six alternatives that have been used for this study are green design, green procurement, green production, green warehousing, green transportation and green recycling. The top-ranked alternative as a practice for GSCM is green warehousing followed by green production. The lowest ranked alternative in this study is green recycling. The alternatives have been ranked on the basis of “cc” values derived through TOPSIS. Practical implications As the advancement in the construction industry will definitely going to impact the environmental sustainability of the country, the results derived through this research will assist the managers of the construction industry of Pakistan to adopt best practices among green supply chain in order to lower their impact. Originality/value Framework using TOPSIS in order to find the best GSCM practice in Pakistan has not been reported before this study.

Barriers and opportunities to greening the construction supply chain management

2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 1211-1237 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Ahmed ◽  
Muhammad Jamaluddin Thaheem ◽  
Ahsen Maqsoom
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Supply Chain ◽  
Supply Chain Management ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Construction Industry ◽  
Extensive Literature ◽  
Holistic View ◽  
Chain Management ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Barriers And Opportunities

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate critical barriers hindering the adoption of green supply chain management (GSCM) and the opportunities that can be exploited with such an implementation in the construction industry of developing countries. It also devises strategies to avoid critical barriers in implementation and exploit opportunities for a better overall environmental performance of the construction industry. Design/methodology/approach This research relies upon an extensive literature review; data are collected from 163 professionals and 15 interviews of field professionals from 11 developing countries are conducted. The barriers and opportunities are synthesized through literature review and then data are collected over their significance from the construction professionals through an online survey. To highlight the interconnectedness of the critical barriers and opportunities, a causal loop framework is developed. Furthermore, expert opinion is sought to develop the strategies. Findings This research integrates information from different sources and provides a holistic view of the current situation of GSCM in developing countries. In total, 34 barriers and 23 opportunities are extracted from literature. The top 4 barriers fall under the “involvement and support” category, whereas the top four opportunities fall under the “environmental” category. Furthermore, the strategies to implement GSCM include suitable policies by top management to incorporate practices such as innovative green design, green procurement, green packaging, green distribution and even end-of-life management, which play a vital role in emission reduction. Originality/value This research is a first attempt at evaluating the barriers and opportunities facing GSCM in the construction sector of the developing countries. The findings encourage the stakeholders in adopting GSCM practices by presenting a clear picture of the potential benefits that can be exploited by implementing the proposed strategies to eliminate critical barriers in the construction industry.

SCM competencies in construction: issues and challenges in New Zealand

2015 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 522-538 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Fei Ying ◽  
John Tookey ◽  
Johannes Roberti
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Supply Chain Management ◽  
Construction Industry ◽  
Central Business District ◽  
Skills Training ◽  
Chain Management ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Study Approach

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to understand the nature and extent of current practice of construction supply chain management (CSCM) in the New Zealand (NZ) construction industry; consequently, to examine the challenges and issues that the industry is confronted in implementing an efficient CSCM. The construction industry, which contributes around 5 per cent to gross domestic product, is a vitally important industry in NZ. With over 50,000 businesses, the construction industry is the third largest industry by business count in NZ’s economy (Statistics New Zealand, 2009). Although it is widely accepted that productivity can be improved by adoption of effective supply chain management (SCM), no studies have investigated this at the tactical level in the NZ context. Design/methodology/approach – A case study approach is used for probing SCM practice on a NZ$75-million commercial project located in Auckland Central Business District. The supply chain network of the principal ground works and superstructure construction stages was studied. Findings – The key findings of the case study suggest that the flow of materials remains the main focus of CSCM practice. It was found that essential skills training for CSCM was extremely limited and largely ill-defined in terms of its nature and content. Finally, it was identified that as the NZ construction industry moves towards a significantly more collaborative framework, the efficacy of CSCM operations is expected to substantially improve. However, this last point did not negate the requirement to expand and improve skills training in CSCM. Originality/value – The results of the case study present that our best industry proponents are inadequate in their knowledge of CSCM as a result of education and training. This is a key issue that needs to be addressed through education at all levels. Similarly, they have virtually nil capability with logistics and the efficiency of transportation as a result of standard contractual costing procedures. Until the SCM/logistics knowledge gap is recognised and addressed, the improvements in logistics and, therefore, SCM will not occur in the NZ construction industry. That said, the findings related to partnering and collaborative thinking in NZ are encouraging. NZ has these elements largely in place already and a willingness to engage, particularly in alliances, in the future. It remains to be seen whether there will be sufficient energy expended in NZ by the leading players to create effective partnering and alliancing through improving SCM and logistics competencies.

The drivers of supply management capability

2016 ◽  
Vol 23 (7) ◽  
pp. 2109-2127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katrina Lintukangas ◽  
Jukka Hallikas ◽  
Minna Koivisto-Pitkänen ◽  
Anni-Kaisa Kähkönen
Keyword(s):  
Regression Analysis ◽  
Supply Chain ◽  
Supply Chain Management ◽  
Focus Group ◽  
Supply Management ◽  
Organizational Level ◽  
Chain Management ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Management Capability

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to unite the fragmented discussion concerning organizational-level capability in terms of purchasing and supply chain management. The capability drivers are identified from the literature and then validated by purchasing professionals. The impacts of the identified capability drivers on supply management capability are empirically examined. To increase a firm’s supply management capability, it is essential to connect purchasing and supply chain management to the firm’s strategy, as well as to establish robust policies and procedures for the activities of supply function, and to promote supplier orientation and the value of supplier networks to the business. Design/methodology/approach Data and methodological triangulation are utilized in the form of focus group sessions and a large scale survey. A regression analysis of the data from 165 Finnish firms is performed to examine the influence of the drivers. Findings The drivers of supply management capability proposed in this study and ranked by the focus group were the strategic status of procurement, supplier orientation, and the formalization of organizational responsibilities and roles in the purchasing function. An examination of these components and their relation to capability by means of a regression analysis showed that they have positive effects and high explanatory power on supply management capability. Originality/value The paper summarizes capability studies in the field of purchasing and supply chain management from the last two decades and also fulfils the need for empirical studies concerning the concept of supply management capability. Moreover, it contributes to the theory development by confirming that supply management capability really is a strategic asset of a firm.

scholarly journals A Survey on Green Supply Chain Management (GSCM) Challenges in the Malaysian Construction Industry

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nur Syamimi Zulkefli ◽  
Fatimah Mahmud ◽  
Nurhaizan Mohd Zainudin
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Supply Chain Management ◽  
Construction Industry ◽  
Response Rate ◽  
Government Support ◽  
Green Supply Chain Management ◽  
Green Supply Chain ◽  
Chain Management ◽  
Construction Companies ◽  
Depth Study

In recent years, mounting environmental and sustainability concerns are driving the construction industry players to adopt green supply chain management (GSCM) in their organizations. GSCM is a converging sustainability approach that integrates environmental thinking and initiatives into the traditional supply chain management (SCM) practices. However, despite having various benefits, this approach has not been widely implemented. Therefore, this paper aims to reveal the challenges faced by Malaysian construction companies in implementing GSCM. A total of 160 questionnaires were distributed among contractors and consultants in Malaysian Construction Companies. Only 50 questionnaires completed by the respondents resulting in a response rate of 32%. The research found that leadership and commitment from top management as the main challenges among construction players in implementing GSCM, in addition to changing mindset and culture and government support and regulation. This finding will allow practitioners to acknowledge and prioritize the challenges embedded with GSCM implementation, thus come out with strategies to overcome the challenges. This research can be further enriched by including an in-depth study on the GSCM challenges through qualitative research.

scholarly journals Green supply chain management: an empirical investigation on the construction sector

2017 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 58-81 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sreejith Balasubramanian ◽  
Vinaya Shukla
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Supply Chain Management ◽  
Organizational Performance ◽  
Green Supply Chain Management ◽  
Green Supply Chain ◽  
Construction Sector ◽  
Assessment Framework ◽  
Chain Management ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Green Practices

Purpose Curtailing the adverse environmental impacts of the construction sector is one the major challenges of the twenty-first century. However, despite the significance of this problem, the limited efforts so far to tackle the negative impacts associated with this particular sector have been largely fragmented and disjointed. Given that the net green outcome of a construction project is the sum total of the efforts undertaken at the various supply chain stages (from the initial design to the end-of-life demolition) by different stakeholders, the green supply chain management (GSCM) approach is seen as a way forward toward streamlining the fragmented efforts at greening the sector. This forms the motivation of the present work, and this paper aims to develop, validate and apply a multi-dimensional GSCM framework for the construction sector. Design/methodology/approach A comprehensive GSCM assessment framework consisting of nine constructs (external and internal drivers; external and internal barriers; core and facilitating GSCM practices; economic, environmental and organizational performance implications) and their underlying factors was developed through an extensive literature review. Using data collected through a structured questionnaire, the framework was validated, and the relevance/appropriateness of each construct and its underlying factors, along with the hypothesized relationships between the constructs, were assessed separately for each supply chain stakeholder. Findings The findings confirm the validity and reliability of the constructs and their underlying factors as well as the assessment framework. In general, the implementation of green practices has had a positive impact on the environmental, economic and organizational performance for all stakeholders, while the extent of the green practices implemented depends on the relative strength of the drivers and barriers. Research limitations/implications This study fills a gap in the literature about applying/implementing GSCM in the construction sector. Practical implications The findings provide practitioners, policy makers and organizations associated with the UAE construction sector, as well as the construction sector in general, insight into all key aspects of GSCM. Originality/value A comprehensive survey-based assessment of GSCM for the construction sector has not been previously attempted and constitutes the novelty of this work.

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