Exploring Challenges and Solutions in Supply Chain Management of Construction Companies

Abstract

This project examined the challenges and solutions in the supply chains of construction companies in the United Kingdom. With events such as the COVID-19 pandemic, many construction companies faced numerous operating challenges that affected their efficiency. Some significant issues included supply chain disruptions because of the border closures characterised by critical supply chain disruptions. In an accurately functioning design construction system, providing services must be characterised by accessibility, coordination, efficiency, comprehensiveness, quality, customer-centeredness, and accountability. Thus, this project sought to identify some of the challenges that trigger the inefficiency of construction company supply chains and how to solve them. The objectives included explaining the key construction company supply chain processes, identifying issues and challenges in the construction company supply chain processes, investigating how to optimise the supply chain, and identifying critical solutions for improving construction company supply chain performance. A mixed study design was used using an exploratory approach. Quantitative and qualitative data were used, where the analysis focused on twenty previous literatures, including expert opinion, five case studies, and five construction company reports. The quantitative data was used in analysing and explaining the qualitative data in succession. Purposive non-probability sampling was used to select the 30 sources. Thematic analysis was used to organise the articles in a way that helped identify key patterns aligning with the sample narrative. This study focused on five UK construction companies: Skanska UK, Mace, ISG, Willmott Dixon Interiors Limited, and Laing O'Rourke. An analysis of five case studies and five company reports helped identify some of the construction supply chain challenges. Five major themes were identified after a thematic analysis of twenty sources: supply chain complexity, internal HR supply chain management, sustainability, supply chain interruption, and external economic outlook. These themes were classified as the key construction supply chain challenges. For sustainability, the solutions included supply chain collaboration and integrated supply chain competing value, for external economic outlook solutions included supply chain integration and resilience and for supply chain interruption the solutions were supply chain resilience and integrated supply chain competing. For complexity, the solutions were increasing visibility and eliminating redundancies, while for internal HR supply chain management, the solutions were HR collaboration and increased supply chain networks. With these findings, it is accurate to argue that construction supply chains are complex and need to be managed from points of view that support the alignment of key operations.