ABM Estate Supply Chain Analysis

This case study analyzes the supply chain management of ABM Estate Investment and Finance, a construction company in New Delhi. The study identifies shortcomings in their current supply chain model, which includes land purchase, licensing, material estimation, and logistics. It explores the company's relationships with suppliers and customers, current supply chain practices, and the application of lean techniques. Primary research through a customer survey reveals high satisfaction but also areas for improvement. The study recommends enhancing communication, developing procedure standards, identifying multiple suppliers, adopting e-commerce, and improving brick quality. The conclusion emphasizes the importance of effective strategies, customer satisfaction, and timely problem resolution for the company's success.

Construction Supply Chain

Abstract
The research study is conducted by the construction company, namely, ABM Estate investment
and finance which is based in New Delhi. The aim of the research study to improve the current
supply chain and it is one of the most leading providers of condominiums and apartment since
1999. The primary research is conducted by using questionnaire tool in order to collection the
information for analysis. Though the supply chain management of the company satisfies a large
number of customers but still the supply chain is ineffective in delivering the project on time.
The current model of the company is simple, but it does not include innovative techniques in
order to add competitive advantage. The company must also start using e-commerce in order to
promote the brand in the eyes of the customers.

Table of Contents
Abstract............................................................................................................................................1
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
ABM Estate Investment & Finance Analysis..................................................................................3
Current model & strategies..............................................................................................................3
Relationship and management with suppliers.................................................................................5
Relationship and management with customers................................................................................6
Current supply chain practices.........................................................................................................6
Lean techniques...............................................................................................................................6
Primary research analysis................................................................................................................7
Customer relationship......................................................................................................................7
Recommendations............................................................................................................................8
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................8
References........................................................................................................................................9
Appendix........................................................................................................................................10

Introduction
In this present paper, we will discuss the supply chain management analysis of ABM Estate
Investment and Finance company which is a construction company that provides fresh built
condominiums and apartment in and around New Delhi. The paper analyzes the company by
comparing the supply chain with the literature review. The primary research is conducted
through interview technique in order to collect the customer review and level of satisfaction. The
company has it's headquartered in New Delhi, and the annual turnover is £7m. It is one of the
largest privately owned construction companies, and it was founded by Mr. Balbir Singh in
1999.
ABM Estate Investment & Finance Analysis
The ABE Estate Investment and Finance is a construction company, and the research objective is
to determine the shortcomings in the supply chain and make it lean which enables to reduce the
business costs, enhance the cash flow and minimize the lean time. The research methodology is
both qualitative and quantitative. The company has two customer targets business to business
and business to customers. The company has strong goodwill and reputation in the market
because of its high quality of five deliverable projects in the past fifteen years and over six
hundred fifty satisfied customers.
Current model & strategies
The current model of the company includes following steps in order to deliver the condominiums
and apartment to the customers successfully:

1. Purchase land
The first and foremost step is to purchase the land on which the construction has been
taking place. According to the G. Arslan et al., 2008 purchase of land is one of the critical
success factors, and other factors are interconnected with the purchasing decision of land
(Monczka et al., 2015) whereas in the supply chain of other construction companies
forecasting is done prior to the purchasing of land (Bowen et al., 2012).
2. Get building license
After the land is purchased, then the next step is to obtain the license in order to start the
construction process. Veshoskey, 1998 mentioned that the construction is started with the
completion of all legal formalities in order to conduct the legal construction. Pries and
Janszen, 1995 states that all the construction projects are inherently innovative.
3. Engineering estimates of material required
The material is gathered according to the nature of the construction project and Seaden
and Manseau, 2001 mentioned that the nature of all construction projects is different and
new approaches are interpreted as innovative behavior. The material is gathered with the
project plan development, and the material is collected within the specific period of time.
Wich, 2000 mentioned that the designing of the project facilitates innovation in the
project which adds competitive advantage to the project and increases the level of
customer satisfaction. Kangari and Miyatake, 1997 states that the collection of
information and strategic alliances are one of the factors which contribute towards the
innovation in projects.
4. Place preorders and contact the 3PL

Then after deciding the material, the order is finally placed to the third party logistics that
mainly specializes in the integration of warehouse, transportation, and operations
services. It can be scaled in a customized manner according to the needs and demands of
the market conditions. According to the council of logistics management, the logistics
plans, control and implement the logistics according to the needs and demands of the end
users. It helps to reduce the supply chain complexities and cost (Wisner et al., 2014)
whereas Jelodar et al., 2016 states that there is direct relationship between the cost and
quality.
5. Receive the first batch of core suppliers
After placing the order, the first batch of core suppliers is received, and according to the
plan which is designed by the project manager, the work is started. Whyte, 2003 states
that there are three traditional parameters which are main elements for the success of the
projects, namely, time, quality and cost (Bozarth et al., 2016). The timely start of the
construction is very necessary in order to finish the construction on time whereas the
García states that the time is one of the main element to build the brand image in the eyes
of the customer.
6. Complete structural construction
Then after the completion of work the project is completed. According to the Tatum,
1989 the completion of the project on time shows that the plan is successful which
directly impacts on the goodwill of the company. Ishii, 2014 states that the structure
completion on time helps to deliver the project on time.
7. Order finishing suppliers

After the completion of projects structural construction, the order finishes suppliers and
then the construction is ready for delivery. Porwal et al., 2013 states that the order
finishing leads to the delivery of products and services on time.
8. Customer delivery
After the completion of the project, the project is delivered to the respective clients.
General model of supply chain in construction

According to the general model of the supply chain the needs of the end users are identified
firstly in order to construct according to the needs and demands of the customers. The architect
and consultants designed the project plan according to the information gathered from the end
users. Then the constructor, suppliers and subcontractors, and indirect suppliers work
collectively in order to complete the construction on time (Christopher et al., 2016). According
to the Vrijhoef and Koskela, 1999 there are many problems which came in the construction
process such as lack of collaboration and coordination, poor quality of material, ineffective
methods to measure the performance of the project, lack of communication and others. The
current model of the company does not considers the innovation and research in order to distinct
the products from other consumers whereas Porwal, 2013 states innovation is the main element
which needs to be considered in the supply chain.
Relationship and management with suppliers
The company is focusing on building a strong relationship with the suppliers in order to run the
supply chain smoothly. The major suppliers of the company are located in Gujarat and
Rajasthan. Cusumano and takeishi, 1991 states that the relationship building is one of the most
important elements in order to add competitive advantage to the company. The suppliers had
price negotiation power which directly impacts on the overall cost of the project. The company
has do bulk purchasing from the major suppliers in order to get the economies of scale and Pries
and Janszen, 1995 states that the economies of scale are rarely being transferred. The company
has also developed friendly relationship with the local suppliers in New Delhi, but the company
has occasionally ordered from the local vendors because the prices are high due to small

businesses whereas the delivery cost is low. The bricks are sources from the local suppliers due
to which the quality issues arises (Stadtler et al., 2015).
Relationship and management with customers
According to (Youn et al., 2013), the relationship building plays a significant role in order to
sustain in the market. The company has also developed a good relationship with the customers in
order to maximize the level of satisfaction. The customers of the company are local customers
from New Delhi and some interstates investment buyers. The company provides loan
sponsorship to its customers through bank tie-ups. The company also provides two years
warranties. The company maintains the separate department for the management of grievance in
order to satisfy the needs and demands of the customers which directly impacts on the goodwill
and brand awareness among the customers. The company also provides free leisure and religious
services to its customers.
Current supply chain practices
According to the Jain et al., 2009 the supply chain practices play a significant role which
provides a competitive advantage by managing the operations of the company in an efficient and
effective manner. The current supply chain practices of the company include utilization of
increased visualization, implementation of continuous feedback loop, outsourcing logistics and
long term relationship with the long as well as small-scale vendors (Lin et al., 2013). The
visualization includes low investment, simplified information, and transparency in work.
Continues feedback loop includes the awareness regarding the customer satisfaction. The 3PL
includes the cost savings on large investment and delivery plans. The company is taking

continuous feedback from the suppliers in order to maintain the healthy relationship with the
suppliers (Zhu et al., 2013). The standardization of product and policies are included in the
contract in order to reduce the complexity in the supply chain management whereas the
innovation practices must be considered by the company (Porwal et al., 2012).
Lean techniques
It is defined as the technique which is used by the construction company in order to minimize the
cost and time of construction project with the adoption of lean manufacturing principles in the
process of construction. Abedelhamid, 2007 states that the lean construction is concerned with
the continuous improvement in all the dimensions of the construction process such ass activation,
salvaging, maintenance, design, recycling, and construction.
The lead times is defined as the time between the completion and initiation of construction. It
includes the procurement, manufacturing, and delivery of the project. The procurement time is a
variable which can be changed according to the needs of the project. The customer order cycle
includes manufacturing and delivery time which needs to be completed on time in order to
deliver the project to the end users. The lead time in manufacturing and delivery is less than two
years so the company must develop the strategic plan according to the time required to complete

the project. The delivery of the project is based on the planning and Dulaimi et al., 2003
emphasized on the proper planning in order to successfully deliver the project on time. The
project must meet the expectations of the consumers by innovation in the construction and Eaton,
2001 supports the innovation in construction through innovation in various types of strategies,
and it further identifies the five types of typologies which are determined in the pattern of the
organization. The procurement time is variable because the different material requires varied
time in delivery and the material includes steel, floor tiles, bricks, wood, miscellaneous suppliers
and transportation mode (Lin et al., 2016). The current lead time is very long which impacts on
the project delivery so the company must apply the lean techniques in order to provide quick
possession.
Primary research analysis
The primary research is conducted on the hundred consumers and questionnaire is used to
conduct the survey. From the survey, it is found that the 83% customers are very satisfied with
the product and services provided by the company. 10% of the customers are said that the
products and services can be improved. Only 7% of the customers are not satisfied with the
current services.
Customer relationship
Kishor (2015) said that customer relationship is required to obtain resources, funding, and
company-wide support from the public. It can be said that the company has a good relationship
with its customers because it continuously ties with its customers by using different feedback
loops. The efficiency of the company can understand by measuring the different reviews of its

customers (Ishii, 2014). Due to such efficiency, the company can easily get the necessary support
from public. Trainor, 2014 states that customer relationship revolves around the technology of
customer-centric. With the help of this technology, the organizations can successfully collect
necessary information about their pertinent customers (Yu, 2012). He said that utilization of
customer-centric technology enables the organization to develop healthy relations with their
customers. In reality, the ABM Company follows such type of technology to improve their
relations with its customers (Tan, 2015). Due to the usage of such technology, it delivers better
construction facilities on a timely basis to its customers. 83% customers of the organization
satisfied with the facilities and products offered by the company and 10% said that the company
could make itself better by developing more effective strategies or 7% customers said that they
are unhappy with the facilities provided by the company. After reviewing all the customer
responses, it can be said that the company is performing well by using its different innovative
and creative strategies.
On the other hand, Hollensen (2015) said that customer relationship could improve by
automating different aspects of the business. With the help of such automating aspects the
organizations able to manage or improve their sales force, customer services, marketing
automation or management order. ABM also utilizes different automatic aspects to maintain and
improve its customer offerings. It mainly focuses on the different requirements of its customers
and the employees. This helped the organization in developing right skills in its employees with
which they can satisfy the customers of the organization in a significant manner. Khodakarami,
2014 state that the relationship between customer and company mainly depends on functioning
and activities of both. So, the perfect interaction between the companies and customers should be
there. He said that one-way interaction between the organizations and customers should be