SUPPLY CHAIN REDESIGN IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

This paper addresses the construction industry and the manufacture of apartment buildings - an area that not yet has been treated thoroughly from a logistics/supply chain management perspective. The recent enlargement of the European Union (EU) has changed the competition, wherefore pursuing the best network of manufacturing, supply and distribution facilities relative the marketplace is therefore on top of many managers -most wanted- list in the construction industry. We provide a literature review and also case studies showing how one large Swedish construction company is redesigning its supply chain, and the corresponding processes, to stay competitive in an ever more price sensitive EU market. The results of our research emphasize that there is an upward shift of value-adding activities in the construction supply chain, combined with more standardised and modularised products, which drastically change the ways of providing products to the final customer.