LONDON: The inaugural CIMCIG Chairman's Debate yesterday called for collaboration and integration throughout the supply chain.
Over fifty representatives of the construction industry attended the CIMCIG (Chartered Institute of Marketing Construction Industry Group) event, held at the Institute of Mechanical Engineers in London.
CIMCIG Chairman Ian Exall led the debate, which was focussed on making procurement cheaper, faster and better. The panel represented the supply chain, and included Government chief construction advisor Paul Morrell, Simon Storer of the Construction Products Association, Tony Giddings of the Argent Group and president of the Electrical Contractors Association, Diane Johnson.
Attendees also represented a cross-section of the construction industry, including buying groups, trade organisations, contractors, architects and suppliers.
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Mr Exall said: “Our members are uniquely experienced in transactions between companies and we hope to assist in developing more efficient and better procurement practices in our industry without risking the quality of the output.
“Marketing conditions over the last few years have really put those relationships under pressure. While in many ways construction is no different from other industries the scale and complexity of the average project is such that there must be opportunities to make a difference.
“In summary, everyone is calling for collaboration, we’ve been calling on it for a long time. We’ve had good examples of where it is working but we need to work harder and we need to do it ourselves. We’re not sure of the best way to take it forward and who will do it.
“There is a genuine desire to bring about change but one of the things that have come across is that maybe we are lacking in leadership. We are all agreed that we have a better chance of making the changes and reforming the industry if we work in partnership and we are clear that we don’t want government to do it for us.”
CIMCIG is currently organising further marketing events geared towards the construction industry, including a digital media conference.
