A study of the relationships between Ghanaian building contractors and material suppliers working In Kumasi Metropolis

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Date
2015-11-01
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Abstract
The building construction industry plays a critical role in the socio-economic development of every country. Generally, there is interdependence between the construction sector and the economic development. Despite this strategic importance, the building construction industry in general is characterized by high fragmentation, low productivity, high cost and time overruns and conflicts and disputes among clients, contractors, surveyors, designers and suppliers. Improving the industry’s supply relationship is therefore critical for the overall development of the industry as well as the country. The aim of the study was to explore the type of relationships that exist between building contractors and material suppliers in the construction industry in Ghana, with a case of the Kumasi Metropolis. The specific objectives included: to identify the best –practice contractor-supplier relationships and to identify the challenges that exist betweencontractors and material suppliers in the construction industry. The study adopted a case study approach. Data was mainly gathered through questionnaires administered to staffs of D1K1 firms in the industryand the data was analysed using statistical package for social scientist (SPSS) version 16 software and relative importance index (RII). The results of the study revealed that there should be proper strategies to establish long term relationship with their material suppliers in the building construction industry in Ghana since this has a lot of positive effect on both parties. The players in the industry rated such benefits to include mutual trust. Effective coordination between parties, frequent communication, Transparency and collaboration. However, the full benefits of effective relationship between material suppliers in the industry have not been recognized in the Ghanaian economy. The findings of the study showed that lack of trust poor communication, market charges, delays in responding to order and Non- conformance to specification, poor quality of supplies relationship among parties in the industry is a major problem. It was recommended that contractors should put in strategies to establish long term relationships with their suppliers since this has a lot of positive effects on both parties to serve as a foundation to build and manage the industry
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A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Building Technology in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Science in Construction Management,
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