An AHP Framework for Evaluating Construction Supply Chain Relationships

Managing business relationships between customers and suppliers at different ties is the essential element of supply chain management in construction. The Construction Supply Chain (CSC) relationships among the parties should be continuously evaluated and improved to enhance the effectiveness of supply chain management. Hence, a model or an evaluation framework of the CSC relationships should be built to measure and assess the relationships among the parties. However, existing models and frameworks had some obvious deficiencies, for example, the weights of criteria for evaluating the CSC relationships have not been determined yet. The AHP method has been adopted in this study to build up a framework for evaluating the CSC relationships. Based on a comprehensive literature review, survey questionnaires, factor analysis method, and AHP method, an evaluation framework was formed, which includes the detailed weights of three main criteria and twelve sub- criteria, five levels of assessment, and nature of measurement. The criteria in this framework provide a rich and structured understanding of what occurs in CSC relationships among the parties. The framework may help the parties to measure and improve their current relationships with others in the supply chain.