Vendor Analysis for Best Buy in Construction

It has been generally recognized that the construction industry needs to improve its efforts in managing the construction material. Studies have shown that the lack or mishandling of construction material can cause loss in productivity, resulting in money wasted. Such unnecessary expenses could be drastically reduced if more emphasis were given on properly managing the consumable and nonconsumable material from the design stage to its final use in the building process. A crucial step in any construction project is the acquisition of the needed material, both bulk and engineered. The quality of the delivered material, the timeliness of the shipments, etc., can far outweigh the importance of the purchasing price. Poor quality may require extensive rework, while late shipments may delay activities on the critical path. Thus, the selection of the proper vendor is very important for the overall performance on the construction site. This paper presents a vendor analysis system that is based on the best‐buy concept. It is demonstrated how the purchasing department's perception of a best buy differs from the priorities of a construction manager. A detailed comparison highlights these differences.