Extended construction supply chain management: Relationships, rewards and risks

Over the past decade, the UK construction industry has sought to exploit the rewards of supply chain management practice. This paper explores construction industry capability to implement an extended construction supply chain culture. Where commercial solidarity prevails and integrated supply chains, including small and mediums sized enterprises (SME’s) vie for construction projects and economic advantage.
Despite recent advancements in construction supply chain management many barriers continue to inhibit the realisation of fully extended construction supply chains. Economic, social and cultural conventions require to be investigated to appreciate the complexity associated with the strategic alignment of extended supply chain stakeholders’ interests.
Drawing on a model of supply chain maturity, the practicalities of extended construction supply chain relationships, rewards and risks are reviewed. Given the current structure of the construction industry, it is proposed that the attainment of extended construction supply chain management practice will require key industry stakeholders to develop innovative collaborative policies that will be progressive, organisationally supportive and commercially attractive to SME’s.