Business-to-business collaboration in the construction
sector is being hampered by a lack of e-enablement which could see
SMEs in the sector being driven out of business, a government
report has warned.
The Department of Trade & Industry-sponsored report, which
is due to be published next week, calls on the public sector to
drive standards for supply chain collaboration which SMEs could
take up.
The report found that major contractors and building materials
suppliers have high levels of use of electronic collaboration tools
but that middle-sized firms risk becoming an inefficient part of
the supply chain and may lose business because they cannot
participate fully.
Peter Gaunt, a consultant with Strategem, which carried out the
research for the DTI, said that mid-sized construction businesses
would lose out on business unless they joined the internet age and
that the public sector, as a major customer of the sector, had a
responsibility to drive take-up.
"SMEs in construction that use e-mail or e-collaboration tools
can contribute to greater efficiency and get buildings built more
quickly. The alternative is that smaller companies risk losing
business," he said.
"Government is a prime enabler. It provides 42% of business for
the sector and can help drive forward take-up by establishing
standard ways of working electronically and best practices."
The research found that among the largest construction companies
e-mail use was 91% and 58% used electronic project collaboration
tools. Among construction sub-contractors e-mail use ran at 48% and
collaboration tool take-up was 12%.