Traceability in the construction supply chain

Nowadays, most products have long and complex journeys before they reach end consumers. As a result, customers tend to have poor awareness of where the products come from, and in what conditions they are sourced, produced and distributed. Traceability refers to the ability to trace the history, application or location of a product; it essentially involves knowing where products are coming from, knowing where they are going in their supply chains, and learning about the conditions across supply chains. Tracing products help to verify supply chain claims, such as the claims that products are manufactured without the use of modern slavery, claims about embodied carbon and life cycle energy use, claims related to the quality of products, and so on.

While traceability is established in some sectors, such as automotive, pharmaceutical and food, little is known about traceability in construction. Responding to this gap in knowledge, this research aims to investigate how traceability is understood and implemented by contractors and manufacturers, and to develop and validate a Traceability Framework for the construction sector. This study is the first of its kind focusing specifically on supply chain traceability in the construction sector with focus on sustainability issues.

In this study, thirty semi-structured interviews have been conducted with large contractors and manufacturers in the UK; the latter included manufacturers of steel, heavyside construction products (such as concrete, cement, aggregates, asphalt and natural stone), plasterboard and insulation products. The companies were asked about their motivations to trace products, practices related to traceability, challenges they face when tracing products and recommendations for facilitating traceability in the sector. To complement the interviews, the companies’ corporate reports were also reviewed to investigate how traceability is communicated at a corporate level.

This study showed the critical role of responsible sourcing and supply chain sustainability for driving traceability in the construction sector. However, limited resources for integrating traceability, poor supplier collaboration and information exchange stemming from the fragmented and complex nature of the construction sector hinder traceability; this is compounded by the absence of regulations governing traceability and low awareness of the benefits, scope and implementation of it. On the other hand, the development of digital technologies offers the potential for traceability to optimise product supply chain processes, improve product quality management and facilitate the circular use of products in the construction sector.

The main contributions of this study lie in the developed conceptual model of traceability and the Traceability framework. The conceptual model includes antecedents to traceability (activities and attributes) and its outcome (supply chain transparency), and explains the relationships between them from the perspective of transformations of data into information and knowledge. Such novel interpretation of traceability provides a definitional clarity of it as a theoretical construct, distinguishing it from the closely related concept of supply chain transparency.

Building upon this conceptual model and combined with empirical evidence, the Traceability Framework was derived to support the integration of traceability into organisational practices. The framework encompasses strategic processes, processes for managing information flows, and practices facilitating traceability offering a significant, original and novel approach for managing supply chain traceability in a business context. The framework was validated in two stages, firstly with the contractors and manufacturers who participated in the earlier interviews, and secondly with construction sector stakeholders. The framework was developed specifically for construction, but given its theoretical groundings, it could also have a wider application and value to other sectors and contexts. The developed Traceability Framework could serve as a valuable starting point for companies when developing their own company-specific traceability implementation strategy.