Critical Success Factors for Adoption of Supply Chain Management in Tanzanian Construction Projects

Abstract

Supply chain management (SCM) has been effective in several industries, such as the manufacturing industry and agriculture. SCM is the active management of supply chain activities to maximize customer value and achieve a sustainable competitive advantage. Therefore, the adoption of SCM by construction businesses can help reduce delays, thereby improving their competitive advantage. The purpose of this study is to discover which critical success factors (CSFs) determine the successful adoption of SCM by construction projects, with the aim of filling the knowledge gap in the context of a developing country using a questionnaire. To achieve this, respondents were purposely selected from construction firms registered in Class 1 and 2 by the Contractors Registration Board of Tanzania. Out of 100 questionnaires distributed, 60 were returned filled in fairly well for analysis. The data was analysed using two features of IBM SPSS version 20, which are descriptive statistics-frequencies and Compare MeansOne Sample T- Test. The findings reveal that the CSFs for adopting SCM bý construction projects were providing logistics at a lower cost and on-time delivery to clients, and having a centrally coordinated logistics function and top management’s commitment and support. The findings mean that clients, contractors, sub-contractors, consultants and suppliers/manufacturers will need to rethink what CSFs determine the performance of construction projects using SCM, as knowing which ones are critical would lead to improved project delivery. This study contributes to the body of knowledge by providing insights into the CSFs that can be adopted by firms so as to successfully implement SCM in construction projects for sustainable construction businesses in Tanzania, which has not been explored.