Keywords

1 Introduction

Digitalization can be defined as the spread of digital technologies. Research opportunities in the fields of supply chain management and inventory management are greatly expanded by the digitalization of intra and inter-organizational processes [1]. Due to the globalization and cross-border penetration of the current industrial markets, the growth of the business world has resulted in increased market competition. To thrive and preserve a long-term competitive edge in this worldwide marketplace, companies must simultaneously recognize new digital technologies that can be leveraged to create fresh business concepts. The competitive nature of today’s market has compelled organizations to implement advanced manufacturing technologies such as rapid prototyping, 3D printing, and the Internet of Things (IoT) for information and analysis [2].

As an alternative to the conventional linear model, the circular economy (CE) is thought to be the most effective way to address the sustainability issues that contemporary society is confronting. CE develops social, economic, and environmental capital through three guiding principles: regenerating natural systems, minimizing waste and pollution, and maintaining product and material use. These principles are supported by the shift to renewable energy sources [3]. Policymaking and public awareness regarding the enhancement of circularity in the economic system are raised by the macro- and meso-level applications of CE. Business firms should proactively implement the circular system in their operations due to the potential synergy of economic, environmental, and social performance through CE, even though they are under increasing pressure from such top-down CE implementations worldwide [4]. From a technical cycle standpoint, the most effective way to achieve true restoration is through circular supply chain operations, such as waste management.

“Digitalization” is one of the most popular topics in the Supply Chain Management (SCM) research field because it has the strongest correlation with “circular economy” when these two terms are used together in the same article [5]. Due to the scarcity of human labor during the COVID-19 pandemic, digitalization has emerged as a necessary trend in circular supply chain management. As we enter the digital era and become a crucial economic pillar, the construction industry has also started to actively support digital transformation, viewing the digital supply chain as a breakthrough that will help to advance the transformation and supply chain upgradation of bilateral customers [6, 7]. Furthermore, digital platforms guarantee sincerity and offer safe verification of the flow of information and logistics within a supply chain network [8]. However, construction companies were not making the best use of their resources, and this could have contributed to a decline in productivity in addition to ineffective management, material management is one of the main concerns in this industry. Therefore, this study mainly aims to investigate the functions of inventory and supply chain tools that are currently used in the construction industry. The study’s other goals are to discuss potential technological solutions that guide the knowledge of both academic and industrial experts, store data securely, and facilitate information sharing among stakeholders.

2 Inventory and Supply Chain Management in the Construction Industry

In the construction industry, the term “inventory” refers to the supplies or parts that the contractors have on hand to ensure that the work goes smoothly [9]. Especially, materials tracking has drawn a lot of attention as inventory management has grown in significance. To ensure that construction projects can be completed following the availability of resources, it is crucial to be able to track each building material and its supply chain networks. For this reason, this section investigates the current inventory and supply chain management systematics in the construction field and presents the digital technology-integrated practices of these systems.

2.1 Characteristics of Inventory and Supply Chain Management Systems in the Construction Industry

The construction industry has witnessed the introduction of multiple inventory and supply chain management (SCM) programs since the late 1980s. For the supply chain to operate well, inventory management is one of the crucial components that call for cooperative effort from a variety of stakeholders [10,11,12]. Numerous studies have been conducted to examine the management of the construction supply chain (CSC) from various angles, including information flow, subcontractor management, intelligent agent-based coordination, value stream analysis, integration, decision support system and optimization tool, and simulation platform [10].

Authorities have implemented environmental restrictions to mitigate the adverse consequences of CSC activities, owing to the construction industry’s negative environmental impacts (CSC). The effects of construction operations on the environment and society are a major source of concern [12]. According to Vrijhoef and Koskela (2000), depending on whether the supply chain, the building site, or both are the main emphasis, there are four main functions that SCM plays in the construction industry. Potentially, the effects of supply chain activities on-site will take precedence. The intention is to shorten the time spent on site and lower costs. To prevent disruptions to the workflow, the main concern in this instance is to guarantee consistent labor and material flows to the site. By concentrating just on the connection between the website and direct providers, this can be accomplished. Second, to cut costs, particularly those associated with inventory, lead times, and logistics, the supply chain itself may be the main emphasis. Suppliers of components and materials may also take up this emphasis. Thirdly, shifting operations from the site to earlier phases of the supply chain can be the main emphasis. Once more, cutting down on the overall expenses and time is the aim. This emphasis could be started by contractors or suppliers. Fourthly, supply chain optimization, site production, and integrated management may be the main areas of emphasis. Site production is thus included in the SCM. This focus may be started by contractors, suppliers, or clients.

Relevant for this industry to become circular is the process of reuse of already used building material that comes from the end-of-life cycle of objects in use. In this context, the remodeling and demolition process (ÖNORM B 3151) is to be organized in a structured way. The waterfall model as of today contains 5 steps as follows:

  1. 1.

    Avoid waste material by maximizing the reuse of buildings or building elements.

  2. 2.

    If there is no direct reuse possible, prepare usable building elements with cleaning and testing for their reuse and store them appropriately.

  3. 3.

    If the reuse is not possible, then the demolition elements and materials should be separated to their original destination material and brought into a recycling process such as glass -or wood recycling.

  4. 4.

    Only in the case of no appropriate recycling of the elements or material composites, a sustainable and economic destination can be the deposition at a site, where there is a requirement for landfill or the waste material has enough thermal quality to burn the material, with the demand, that this measure is without any negative impact to air quality and similar.

  5. 5.

    Only if there is no possibility for any of the previous mentioned steps, there is the last option of putting the waste material under fully controlled conditions into a depot of waste material in an assigned area.

3 Digital Technologies in Inventory and Supply Chain Management Systems

In the contemporary worldwide corporate climate, the integration of digital technologies into production has grown in significance. The application of developing digital technologies, such as the Internet of Things (IoT), big data analytics (BDA), and artificial intelligence (AI), in manufacturing companies’ supply chain management (SCM) and production processes has been investigated over the past ten years [14, 15]. These technologies are thought to be a promising way to enhance supply chain operations like logistics, planning, scheduling, and procurement [15, 16].

The term “supply chain” refers to the movement of financial resources, materials, and information [16]. Adoption of ICT has made it possible for supply chains to keep an eye on information flow and has made them more likely to gather and examine a wide range of data for effective management. By 2020, there will be 35 Zeta bytes of digital data, which is predicted to rise exponentially [16, 17]. Companies nowadays are realizing more and more the importance of data and sophisticated analytics technologies. Over the past ten years, there has been a significant surge in the utilization of diverse Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) for Supply Chain Management (SCM). Examples of these technologies include RFID, Internet of Things (IoT), and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP). Supply chains will evolve due to digitalization. The primary goal of the digital supply chain is to increase system awareness and intelligence so that it can adapt physical processes in the chain for best results [18]. Attaran (2020) present eight technologies which are mostly cited in the literature as shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 1.
figure 1

Commonly integrated digital technology enablers for supply chains (Cited from Attaran, 2020) [18].

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Inventory and supply chain digitalization can result in several advantages, such as improved asset utilization, higher uptime, lower inventory and warehousing costs, better supply chain decisions, increased transparency, fewer freight miles required for transportation, more flexible supply chain management, and more effective inbound supply chain. Improved supply chain management may also be implemented more easily with the use of sophisticated analytics and notification systems, which provide excellent accuracy and insightful data.

4 Digital Construction Inventory and Supply Chain Management Technologies

Upon closer examination, it is evident that a significant portion of waste generated in the construction industry stems from inadequate management of the material supply chain (e.g., delivery services, inventories, communications). Information technology (IT) is recommended in this context to improve logistics procedures and prevent delays. The literature has discussed several IT tools that can be utilized to enhance supply chain management and construction inventory integration. By IT, these apps have improved logistics performance by facilitating the mapping of time and cost resources, as well as transportation analysis and optimization models [19,20,21]. This section seeks to assess the most effective digital technologies utilized in supply chain management and inventory management systems for the construction industry for the reasons listed above.

4.1 Internet of Things (IoT)

The phrase “internet of things” (IoT) is a relatively new one in technology that refers to a state of connectedness between multiple objects at any one moment and place. The Internet of Things has already gained traction and is predicted to further digitalize inventory and supply chains. An Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystem makes information flow more smoothly, improving supply chain performance and giving operations advanced visibility. In an IoT-enabled environment, these technologies operate in four main phases: (1) data collecting, (2) data processing and transfer, (3) service, and (4) interface stages. They are supposed to show the data to the system’s final user [22]. Radio frequency identification (RFID), wireless sensing, electronic labeling (EPC), global positioning systems (GPS), and reader devices are some of the technologies that permit Internet of Things applications. Because of the complexity of building projects and the high failure rate, which limits application, it is challenging for the construction industry to accept and embrace new technologies. IoT has been applied in the construction industry despite all of these challenges, and one of the most popular uses is the monitoring and control of project executions in a variety of projects, including onshore and offshore facilities, bridges, trains, tunnels, and other types of projects [23]. Additionally, according to Ding et al. (2013) it has been used to track building performance during emergencies, real-time safety alerts, and risk assessments [24]. IoT applications in building, such as smart city, smart home, and smart transportation design, were studied by Chandanshive and Arbaz (2017) [25].

4.2 Blockchain

The primary goal of blockchain is to provide network security, transparency, and visibility by integrating technologies including data encryption, storage systems, consensus algorithms, and smart contracts. A chain of linked blocks, each with a unique ID, is what is known as a blockchain. The system is transparent and safe because it makes it easy to trace transaction histories between blocks, particularly when those transactions are authenticated and approved by network users [22]. Numerous experts have determined that smart contracts are among the most useful blockchain-based solutions in the construction industry. After successful development, this system can be applied across the whole construction project lifespan, not only the planning stage. Well-known fusion applications of emerging technologies, such as blockchain, include smart cities and logistics, and several attempts in the building and operation and maintenance (O&M) phase are evident. IoT has been actively used in pilot projects to efficiently gather and handle construction data, and several types of blockchain technology are anticipated to be integrated into the development and upkeep of smart cities [26].

4.3 Cloud Computing

The manner both hardware and software resources are managed and used is changing dramatically with the advent of cloud computing. Sharing of the non-physical and physical components of an information technology (IT) infrastructure is made possible by the advent of Service Oriented Architecture (SOA), the foundation of cloud computing technologies. The concept is to distribute the expense of computing by making the infrastructure of computers reusable. The original investment expenses and operating costs of computing infrastructure are considerably decreased by these capabilities [27]. The use of cloud computing in the construction industry is a relatively new field with a lot of potential. Cloud computing also provides construction industries with reasonably priced, high-performance servers equipped with potent CPUs, GPUs, and lightning-fast SSD drives. It also offers a safe place to store the construction data on a secured platform. Furthermore, data kept on-site needs physical access, but data stored in the cloud can be remotely stored and retrieved at any time or location. Finally, the construction industry can be more productive and well-organized thanks to the cloud, which offers a central repository for construction data for an end-to-end solution.

4.4 Cyber-Physical Systems (CPs)

Cyber-physical systems (CPS) are systems that operate based on the combination of physical and computational processes. It is implemented with internet-connected computer-based algorithms under observation. It acts as a bridge connecting the real and virtual worlds. The shared knowledge and information between the computational decision components of CPS and the physical process enables adaptation, intelligence, and responsiveness [28]. The construction industry is a prime candidate for a step change, according to Kamara et al. (2000), because of its persistent issues with inadequate client satisfaction, inconsistent quality, delivery dates, and costs, relatively low productivity compared to other industries, and inefficiencies stemming from antiquated procedures [29]. For the industry to satisfy the constantly expanding needs in a variety of areas, a change in operations and procedures is critical. In the construction business now, CPS is not a well-known occurrence. Recent research has highlighted the potential for integrating CPS into the building process, nevertheless.

4.5 Digital Twins

Digital twins (DT) are a prevalent Industry 4.0 manufacturing technology that is commonly defined as a virtual clone of a physical asset with real-time two-way communication for simulation and decision-aiding features for improved product and service. DT is a cost-effective method for resource tracking, scenario simulation, and solution creation. It is frequently regarded as a flexible and scalable solution [30]. In the building and construction industry, digital twins (DT) first offer opportunities to simulate and improve the design and production-related activities, like the visualization of blueprints, the production schedules for prefab units, and the optimization of materials logistics. This is achieved by improving an automatic data acquisition and variation system. Second, by creating as-built models for building projects and associated facilities, DT realizes automatic and intelligent processes during the O&M stages in the construction industry. Buildings, facilities, and interior structures can be monitored and evaluated, among other basic O&M functions, using real-time physical condition updates [31].

4.6 Artificial Intelligence (AI) Systems and Machine Learning (ML)

Supply chain operations can greatly benefit from the application of Artificial Intelligence (AI). When compared to traditional methods, AI solutions have shown a great deal of promise for boosting automation and digitalization and creating competitive advantages [32]. AI is used to solve a variety of business problems and support decision-making for real-world issues. These subfields include machine learning (ML), computer vision, robotics, natural language processing (NLP), classification algorithms, fuzzy logic, optimization, and automated scheduling and planning. The integration of AI-based approaches in the best-term of each stage of the product life cycle is clarified by an intriguing study on the application of AI, ML, and Deep Learning (DL) in the product lifecycle. This includes the stages of conceptualization, design, building, operation, and maintenance [33]. There has been a fair amount of study over the past few decades on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and its related domains to address issues in the construction industry. Based on the results of the research, an estimate of the benefits AI approaches can offer the CSC can be made. Machine Learning (ML) applications in site supervision, intelligent maintenance, automatic detection, health and safety monitoring, supply chain management, risk prediction, and logistics operations are a few of the more prominent ones [32].

5 Conclusion and Discussion

The utilization of digital technologies for inventory and supply chain management has been promoted as a means of enabling groundbreaking advancements in the construction industry, given the swift progress made in digitalization. As a result, a significant amount of research on supply chain management and digital inventory technology in the construction industry has been done over the past few decades, producing a large, dispersed, and varied body of knowledge. New and emerging technologies like blockchain, smart contracts, and the Internet of Things (IoT) are being investigated for possible use in construction inventory and supply chain management procedures through Industry 4.0, which focuses on digitalization and ubiquitous interactions. Nevertheless, a number of web-based technologies, including electronic procurement (e-procurement), e-commerce, and enterprise resource planning (ERP), were being adopted in this field, including material sourcing, supplier selection, tendering/bidding, and progress monitoring, prior to Industry 4.0 and its technologies. Therefore, this study aims to investigate web-based technologies in CSC management as a future research direction.