Core Elements Underlying Supply Chain Management in the Construction Industry: A Systematic Literature Review

Abstract

The relevance of supply chain management (SCM) is being increasingly recognized in the construction industry. However, its implementation has been limited and is still challenging for researchers and practitioners. An adequate and systematic understanding of context-specific core concepts and practices are considered fundamental to foster its implementation. This paper aims to provide a holistic look into the existing research on elements underlying SCM in the construction industry. It adopts a systematic literature review method to examine almost two decades of publications and uses a comprehensive SCM framework to synthesize the findings. The results revealed a set of 19 core elements clustered in five subject areas (i.e., ‘strategic management’, ‘logistics’, ‘relationships’, ‘best practices’ and ‘organizational behavior’) that have a prominent role in construction SCM. Every core element was analyzed in detail and the results were discussed in the context of other evidence. This study produced the first comprehensive picture of the current state of knowledge, providing relevant contributions to enhance the understanding and implementation of SCM within the construction industry.

Exploring the influence of information and communication technology (ICT) on construction supply chain management: Empirical evidence from a construction project’s perspective

“…They also help to make more information available, which leads to more trust between suppliers. At temporary sites and temporary organisational configurations, construction supply chains involve a diverse range of stakeholders (Studer and De Brito Mello, 2021). A typical CSC is a long and complex network of numerous organisations (e.g., clients/owners, designers, general contractors, subcontractors, and suppliers) and relationships, linked by information, materials, services, and product flows, and financial flows (see Fig.…”

“…As a result, a time and space disparity exists between the site and the head office, often resulting in low productivity, delays, and other issues that can affect the entire project. The use of ICTs has spread rapidly in other developed countries (Achimugu et al, 2009;Elrefaey, Ahmed, Ahmad & El-Sayegh, 2022), but has been generally too slow in developing countries, resulting in a widening of the gap between the two divides in terms of ICT adoption (digital divide) (Studer and De Brito Mello, 2021). Construction is distinguished by a high degree of fragmentation, cost and schedule overruns, disputes and conflicts, and a low level of efficiency in comparison to other industries (Amade et al, 2019;Xue et al, 2007).…”

Evaluation of the drivers to the implementation of blockchain technology in the construction supply chain management in Nigeria

“…The construction industry is one of the few that has yet to fully automate its processes (Reddy and Tyagi, 2022). However, supply chain issues, such as a lack of trust and transparency, inefficient data transfer and communication and poor coordination among stakeholders are some of the significant contextual obstacles related to supply chain management, with corruption being one of the major challenges (Studer and De Brito, 2021; Okafor et al , 2022). Hence, these have had a negative effect on industry performance (Chen et al , 2018).…”

Sustainable Supply Chain Management in Construction: An Exploratory Review for Future Research

“…The relevance of supply chain management (SCM) is increasingly recognized in the construction industry. However, its implementation has been limited and remains a challenge for researchers and practitioners (Studer & De Brito Mello, 2021). Advancements within the construction industry are slowly acknowledged (Masood et al, 2022), although sustainability is commonly used.…”