33rd Annual Conference of the International Group for Lean Construction (IGLC 33) - Osaka and Kyoto, Japan - 2025

https://doi.org/10.24928/2025/0214

Towards a Supply Chain Integration Theory in Offsite Construction: Insights From Industry Practices

Bochen Zhang1, Guillermo Prado2, Leonardo Rischmoller3 & Martin Fischer4

1PhD Candidate, Dept. of CEE, Stanford University, [email protected], orcid.org/0000-0001-7212-5150
2M. S. Graduate, Dept. of CEE, UC Berkeley, [email protected], orcid.org/0000-0002-5325-1132
3Business Analyst, DPR Construction, [email protected], orcid.org/0000-0001-6317-2692
4Kumagai Professor of Engineering and Director of Center for Integrated Facility Engineering (CIFE), Stanford University, [email protected], orcid.org/0000-0002-5071-017X

Abstract

The construction industry has long grappled with managing the supply chain, particularly in offsite projects. The supply chain management (SCM) concept flourished in manufacturing and plays an important role in increasing transparency and alignment of the supply chain. In the construction industry, not only building parts and materials manufactured in factories offsite but the aggregation of these parts and materials into building components assembled in offsite facilities (i.e., offsite construction of prefabricated and modular elements) adds complexity to the application of SCM. This paper, which is theoretical in nature, reports on the observation of two supply chain integration approaches implemented by two California construction companies using foundational perspectives of SCM. The results include a summary of the observed advantages and disadvantages using the following six perspectives: (1) target project type, (2) contract type, (3) business strategy, (4) production management methods, (5) supply chain management practices, and (6) organizational culture. An outline of what might become a supply chain integration and management theory to guide construction companies in developing appropriate strategies to realize the potential of offsite construction projects is presented. The proposed theory outline will need to be tested through future experimentation.

Keywords

supply chain management, modular and off-site construction, lean theory, case study analysis.

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Reference in APA 7th edition format:

Zhang, B., Prado, G., Rischmoller, L. & Fischer, M.. (2025). Towards a Supply Chain Integration Theory in Offsite Construction: Insights From Industry Practices. In Seppänen, O., Koskela, L., & Murata , K. (Eds.), Proceedings of the 33rd Annual Conference of the International Group for Lean Construction (IGLC 33) (pp. 645–656). https://doi.org/10.24928/2025/0214

Shortened reference for use in IGLC papers:

Zhang, B., Prado, G., Rischmoller, L. & Fischer, M.. (2025). Towards a Supply Chain Integration Theory in Offsite Construction: Insights From Industry Practices. IGLC33. https://doi.org/10.24928/2025/0214

 

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