The State of the Art of Materials Management Research in the Construction Industry

Abstract

Materials management is a vital element in managing projects as materials contribute more than 60% of the total project cost. It also plays a key role because the success of every construction project relies heavily on having materials on time and at a reasonable cost. Thus, it affects the overall project performance. Despite the importance of materials management for construction projects, construction contractors are still suffering from the loss of productivity, project delay and cost overruns due to the absence of proper implementation of materials management. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to review the state of the art of materials management research in the construction industry. A literature review from books, journal articles and conferences papers related to this topic was carried out. Findings show that previous research related to materials management studies were focused more on large construction contractors while small and medium contractors have received little attention. Hence, a study that focuses on the small and medium contractors is needed as this group undertakes more than 90% of the activities in the Malaysian construction industry.