Internet-enabled coordination mechanisms in construction supply chain management

The growing globalization of markets and the concentration of companies on their core competencies result in increasing coordination in supply chain management (SCM). No industry is left untouched. The construction industry in general is characterized with high fragmentation, low productivity, cost and time overruns, and conflicts and disputes compared with other manufacturing industries. This urgently requires coordinating construction supply chain (CSC) to improve construction performance in construction supply chain management (CSCM). Internet fosters the integration of CBP and provides an efficient platform for the CSC coordination. In this paper, the concepts of CSC and CSCM are presented, along with the eight construction business processes (CBP) in CSC. Furthermore, the impacts of Internet on CSCM are analyzed briefly. An internet-based framework for CSC coordination is described, which emphasizes on two internet-enabled coordination mechanisms: market mechanism and coordination flows, to promote the coordination in CSC.