Measuring the value of information sharing for improving decision making in construction supply chain

Information sharing (VIS) in construction supply chain (CSC) decision making is a valuable for improving decision performance of the general contractors in CSC management. A model of measuring VIS in CSC is established by adapting the methodology of analyzing information value in traditional supply chain and considering the practice of CSC operation. The model is employed to measure the impacts of supply quantity information of materials supplier on general contractor's service level and inventory cost. A numerical example is presented to investigate the value of information sharing in a rebar supply chain. The results show that sharing information can improve general contractor's service level and reduce total inventory costs. The results indicate that there are increasing negative effects on general contractor's service level and total inventory costs with the increase of supplier's lead time and the decrease of supplier's service level.