Digital library of construction informatics and information technology in civil engineering and construction
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Paper: w78-2001-62
| Paper title: | E-commerce and value chain management – the prospects and challenges for the South African construction industry |
| Authors: | Chege L W |
| Summary: | The utilization of e-commerce in business has been the subject of widespread and continued debate in recent years. The growth of e-commerce has been phenomena1 and it is radically transforming the way companies are doing business in all sectors, and the construction industry is no exception. Value chain management is an important concept in construction as it encompasses the activities that involve the transformation of inputs into outputs and the management of projects from development to final commissioning in order to maximize the value of a project. This paper will look at the potential applications of e-commerce in the South African construction industry with particular emphasis on their impact on value chain management. The potential applications to be reviewed are the development of electronic tendering procedures; electronic systems for the exchange of information on an ongoing project; and the electronic buying and selling of goods and services for utilization in the construction process. These e-commerce applications will invariably play an important role in enhancing the management of the value chain through improvements in the overall process from the initial tendering stage. Although e-commerce offers tremendous opportunities to the South African construction industry, these opportunities are not without challenges. This paper will also seek to address these challenges which include the issue of how to create an enabling environment to allow Small Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) to reap the potential benefits that e-commerce has to offer; and the issue of protection of privacy, confidentiality and anonymity of users of e-commerce systems. |
| Type: | |
| Year of publication: | 2001 |
| Series: | w78:2001 |
| ISSN: | 2706-6568 |
| Download paper: | /pdfs/w78-2001-62.content.pdf |
| Citation: | Chege L W (2001). E-commerce and value chain management – the prospects and challenges for the South African construction industry. Coetzee G, Boshoff F (ed.); IT in construction in Africa 2001; Mpumalunga, 30 May - 1 June, South Africa; ISBN 0-7988-5531-2 (ISSN: 2706-6568), http://itc.scix.net/paper/w78-2001-62 |
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