E-procurement could slash building costs by 30% and allow building services firms to make huge savings, according to Bovis Land Lease chief executive Ross Taylor.
Speaking at the British Property Federation conference, Taylor predicts that on-line buying will make the current construction supply chain redundant. He predicts that companies taking advantage of new technology will emerge as leaders in the built environment sector in the next two years.
"Portals will get into the supply chain and strip out the middleman," predicts Taylor. "I hate to think how many places a lightbulb goes to between manufacturer and the building it goes into." Taylor attributed the current cost of putting up a building to 80% contracting, 20% building services and design. By amalgamating the operations of different people in the latter sector, this 20% could be cut by half, he said, with most of the savings to be found in the supply chain.
Source
Electrical and Mechanical Contractor
