Construction Supply Chain Management through a Lean Lens

This chapter explores how lean is different from mainstream thinking, and in what way is it different or similar to traditional thoughts in mainstream management. It examines the specific characterisation of supply chain management, which practices fall into supply chain management, and which are the theoretical approaches specific to supply chain management. How the conceptions of lean and mainstream management reflect in supply chain management, both practically and theoretically, is also discussed. The chapter also analyzes the way in which supply chain management, especially in its lean form, are contingent on the characteristics of the construction industry and firms operating within the industry. By putting the lean lens on supply chain management, the chapter defies mainstream explanations of construction supply chain management and triggers further explanation and exploration of lean applications to construction supply chain management that has been lacking in theory and not sufficiently applied in construction practice so far.