Childerhouse et al. (2000) and London and Kenley (2000) debated more structural
concepts regarding SCM in construction. The authors investigated the links between
strategies and operations frameworks to manage supply chain in construction.
Childerhouse et al. (2000) discussed four different strategies for house building
supply chains. After that, such strategies were positioned in a matrix with three
dimensions, namely customer lead time requirements, degree of customization and
relative logistical costs. Thus, each strategy was allocated in accordance to the so- called dimensions, enabling a smoother decision making regarding SCM strategy
selection. London and Kenley (2000) proposed a method for analysing and describing
SCM in construction. Such method incorporated a horizontal and a vertical structure
to manage supply chain issues. Horizontally, the different tiers of suppliers were
grouped upstream and downstream as primary consultants, prime contractors,
subcontractors, sub consultants, and service/material suppliers. Vertically was
established the degree of competition among suppliers in the same tier. At this point,
the paper highlighted issues related to market competition and differentiation between
suppliers. Such issues might be analysed by performance measurement techniques in
order to select, certify, assess and provide feedback for suppliers.