E-commerce in construction: barriers and enablers

  • Authors:

  • K. Ruikar;C. J. Anumba;P. M. Carrillo;G. Stevenson

  • Affiliations:

  • Centre for Innovative Construction Engineering, Department of Civil and Building Engineering, Loughborough University, United Kingdom;Centre for Innovative Construction Engineering, Department of Civil and Building Engineering, Loughborough University, United Kingdom;Centre for Innovative Construction Engineering, Department of Civil and Building Engineering, Loughborough University, United Kingdom;The Building Information Warehouse, Nottingham Science and Technology Park, Nottingham, United Kingdom

  • Venue:
  • ICAAISE '01 Proceedings of the eighth international conference on The application of artificial intelligence to civil and structural engineering computing
  • Year:
  • 2001

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Abstract

The Internet has revolutionised the way in which information is stored, exchanged and viewed. It has opened new avenues for businesses, which were only a decade ago almost inconceivable. With the help of the Internet, traditional technologies like Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) and new, emerging technologies like eXtensible Markup Language (XML), it is now possible to reach a much wider, if not a global, audience within a very short span of time at a fraction of the amount it would have cost previously.Thus, the Internet has made the world a much smaller place. Businesses have recognized the possibilities such a revolution has opened up and have plunged into the global race to take advantage of the opportunities offered by the new ICT (Information and Communications Technology). This sudden recognition of the need to adopt new measures has some immediate consequences. There arises a need for businesses to shift from their traditional, tried and tested methods and in some cases, to radically alter these methods to embrace new technology. Such changes can prompt businesses to improve the traditional business processes, innovate their products and services, and develop strategies that are flexible to incorporate new technologies as and when they emerge. The boom in electronic ways of conducting business, or e-commerce, as is commonly referred to, has had knock-on effects on virtually every business sector. The construction industry is no exception.Initially the paper briefly reviews the technologies and business drivers, which have contributed to the evolution of e-commerce, namely EDI and Value Added Networks (VAN). It further outlines, the categories into which e-commerce is divided and briefly discusses e-commerce applications outside construction. It then discusses the current trends of e-commerce in the construction industry along with identifying the barriers and enablers that influence e-commerce adoption. The potential benefits of e-commerce to the construction sector are also discussed.