Integration mechanisms for material suppliers in the construction supply chain: A systematic literature review

The construction industry has long been criticized for its fragmented, inefficient, and uncoordinated supply chain. Thus, construction companies are actively looking for new strategies to overcome these issues and to improve their productivity. Supply chain integration is one strategy and many articles have addressed the mechanisms to help integrate the construction supply chain. However, little interest has been paid to material supplier integration despite their important role and their vast experience in the market. Hence, this study aims to identify the mechanisms that could contribute to facilitate material supplier integration in the construction supply chain. A systematic literature review was conducted to uncover the studies on this topic. A total of 310 articles were reviewed and analyzed to first reveal six integration mechanism categories: supplier qualification, supplier development program, contractual and relational policies, information sharing and integration systems, joint team working and problem solving, as well as supplier integration evaluation. Secondly, this study proposes a roadmap to illustrate when these mechanisms should be implemented in a construction project, according to both the project phases and the project delivery system. Finally, research gaps in the field are identified as well as future research directions that could be further explored by researchers and professionals.