Barriers to the Implementation of Supply Chain Management- Case of Small to Medium Sized Contractors in Turkey

Construction is a project based production which requires effective and efficient use of materials, machinery, technology and human resources. Supply Chain Management, as a contemporary management approach, has become an important element in the construction project management to improve the efficiency and productivity of construction projects. Despite of its many advantages for both contractors and suppliers, implementation which requires a systematic management approach and technological support may result in contractors lack of interest to the subject, especially for small to medium sized contractors working in developing countries like Turkey. Many organization, production or sector based problems may additionally affect the implementation. This research, thus, focuses on exploration of barriers to implementation of supply chain management by small to medium sized Turkish contractors who specialize in residential building construction. A questionnaire survey was conducted in order to collect related data. Twenty one barriers to the implementation of a successful supply chain management which were determined during literature review were listed in the questionnaire and respondents were asked to rank their significance by using Likert Scale of Five. In order to collect data, face to face interviews were undertaken with a total number of a hundred and four small to medium sized Turkish construction contractors who specialised in residential building construction. Collected data was statistically analyzed and the barriers were grouped under seven factors through Factor Analysis. These factors were named as, lack of trust to the suppliers, lack of information technology infrastructure and resistance of the suppliers to change, short-term and price-oriented approaches, lack of top management support, production being project-based and large in volume, widely spread contentious relationships in the industry and difficulties in accessing the resources. When these factors were analysed according to factor loadings, it was concluded that the main problems that were faced by small to medium sized contractors in Turkey were difficulties in accessing resources like information technology and consultants. Research findings additionally showed that trust on suppliers was very low and the demand from employers/clients was the main drive for the contractors.