Integration and Development Model for Supplier Relationship Management in Construction

Abstract

The construction industry faces the challenge of selecting and developing partners for its projects. Although partner selection models and criteria have been extensively studied, the construction industry does not yet have optimized tools for selecting partners. Partner development is becoming increasingly important in the context of Lean Construction, which encompasses both Takt Planning and Takt Control (TPTC) and Last Planner System (LPS) approaches. To solve this challenge, a comprehensive literature review identified methods for partner selection in both the stationary and construction industries. The selection of the partners to be developed was presented using a best-practice example from the automotive industry. With the help of expert workshops, a model tailored to the selection of partners to be developed in the construction industry was developed and necessary criteria identified. The resulting conceptual model was tested through case studies and found to be effective. The selected criteria can be flexibly varied and adapted to the corporate strategy. The model was successfully applied to different partners of a general contractor with the help of case studies. The model is currently being tested in practice at a general contractor in an extended project scenario.