An innovative supply chain strategy for customized housing

There has recently been considerable interest in construction research in paradigms developed for the manufacturing sector. Using lean thinking and agile production as examples of innovative organizational and business process design, this paper explores their commonalities and differences. In this way, it is possible to judge which paradigm is the most appropriate for given market conditions. By presenting action research outputs from a project on the UK house-building industry, the paper indicates the potential application of both lean and agile construction from a supply chain perspective. The paper concludes that house-building supply chains have to be engineered according to whether the market objectives are low cost, flexibility or a combination of the two.