The headline “Prescott targets suppliers in drive to cut housing costs” (10 June, page 24) is unfortunate, and at odds with the article itself.

As Michael Ankers from the Construction Products Association points out, the real enemy is waste, often hidden, in the construction supply chain. Just imagine the costs currently incurred due to materials shortages and delays. Add to this stock losses and damages to goods stored on site, plus delivery, ordering and purchasing administration costs, and the size of the problem caused by an inefficient supply chain becomes apparent.

Supplier partnering can substantially reduce the prospect of cost overruns. Indeed, I suggest it is essential if the fabled £60,000 house is to be delivered in numbers on the ground, rather than in theory.

Postscript

Matt Nichols, business development director, Wolseley UK

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