Assessment of supply chain management in Nigerian construction industry for effective project delivery in Imo State, Nigeria

Abstract

This paper on assessment of supply Chain Management (SCM) in Effective Project Delivery in the Nigerian Construction Industry in Imo state focused on identifying the challenges of construction supply chain management (CSCM) for effective project delivery in Imo state and also to identify the CSCM practiced in curtailing challenges in the construction industry in Imo state. A survey questionnaire was distributed to ninety five (95) construction stakeholders in Imo state both in the private and public sector of the construction industry. Sixty (60) were successfully retrieved and analyzed using statistical package for social sciences. Average mean scores (AMS) and relative important index (RII) was used for analyzing the raw data obtained from the field. The findings reveal that inadequate investment in information technology (I.T), ineffective communication and diverse objective were ranked highest whereas unfair risk allocation and poor understanding of SCM were ranked lowest among the challenges facing the construction industry. More so, the relative important index ranges from 0.82 for trust-based relationship, information flow and strong financial flow respectively (being the first on the list) to 0.69 for Human Resource supply chain which is the least on the list involving common construction supply chain management practices in curtailing challenges in the construction industry. The study recommends that construction stakeholders should embrace CSCM which is a key focus area in the current scenario of global competitive market. Also, professional bodies such as COREN, NSE and others should endeavour to enlighten construction stakeholders more on the numerous benefits which accrue to effective application CSCM via workshops, seminar and conferences