Characteristics of supply chain management in systems building and implications for small business

Supply Chain Management (SCM) is an important part of the production process in systems building. The loosely-coupled construction supply chains created by the involvement of many interdependent sub-contractors and suppliers destabilize the production process. Purchasing strategies, used by many construction companies, for controlling the supply chain may not be applicable to small and medium-sized (SME) systems building companies, because the relationship between the buyer and the suppliers is characterized by long-term supply chain relationships rather than short-term project incentives. In order to ensure the reliability of deliveries and product quality, supply strategy in the form of SCM is suggested. The position taken is that systems building SMEs could integrate their supply chain with their customers and suppliers, in order to reduce variation in deliveries. A re-analysis of multiple case study and previously published qualitative data has been performed with SCM characteristics as the unit of analysis. Implications are that systems building SMEs need to have a long-term integration perspective when using SCM. Furthermore, SMEs have limited capacity and capabilities so differences in the maturity of their ‘systems building thinking’ might hinder effective SCM. However, the results do not conclusively prove or disprove the idea that SCM can replace project-based purchasing as the supply strategy for systems building SMEs.Godkänd; 2013; Bibliografisk uppgift: The final publication is available at www.tapironline.no; 20130407 (jarkko)Lean Wood Engineering, TräI