Toward a Supply Chain Collaboration in the e-Business Era for the Construction Industry

Traditional business partnerships are changing in response to technology advancements and business innovations. Many companies have already reengineered their internal processes, and now the focus has shifted to their trading partners. With network connectivity, supply chain integration is the core strategic competence that enables many companies to act as one. A supply chain represents the cross-functional integration of activities that cross the borders of individual companies. This feature is very important in the constructions industry, because many firms must collaborate intensively throughout a project life cycle. The issues involved in selecting e-supply chain partners extend beyond choosing a trading partner or a contractor and must include configuring the business-tobusiness collaboration among the partners. In the future, supply chains, rather than enterprises (architect, engineer, construction contractor, manufacturer, and supplier), will compete with each other. There will be no isolated islands of automation, and the future of business applications will support collaborative commerce (C-Commerce). The ccommerce supply chain scheme enables a dynamic ?virtual construction team? to fulfill many mission-critical business processes throughout a project life cycle, and it will undoubtedly be the best business solution for the new millennium.