SUPPLIER SELECTION PROCESS IN THE CONSTRUCTION MATERIAL PURCHASING FUNCTION

Construction materials occupy a significant part of the construction’s value contributing nearly 50%. Thus when selecting construction materials, it is very important that correct decisions should be made. Literature evidences show that the main issue with building materials purchasing comes with supplier selection, and depend on careful examination of supplier economics among other criteria. Supplier selection is the purchasing function that forms the foundation for the success or failure of projects. Therefore supplier selection criteria should be well defined. Supplier selection is a multi-criteria decision making problem which includes both qualitative and quantitative considerations. This paper presents a review of supplier selection processes and decision making methods reported in academic and other literature related to the construction industry.