Started in 2006, the 21 000-square-meter, eight-story office building project is run (like all Skanska projects) as an independent activity. Building time is estimated at 25 months, there are at present 100 construction workers on site and project cost is calculated at SEK 364 million (EUR 36 million).

“Within the approved framework, we are free to make all purchasing decisions, as we are ultimately responsible for completing the project on time and on budget,” says Martin Landerby.

Skanska always constructs office buildings on order, and the end customer may later decide to upgrade different materials or fittings during the build. “This means that we sometimes have to buy from a specific supplier chosen by our customer, but that’s one of the few exceptions to the rule,” he explains.

Out on this front line of the construction industry, procurement transformation has been accepted without too many complaints. The big change for the two-man management team has been the introduction of

e-procurement, the marked increase in frame agreements and learning how to buy from abroad. “Sourcing from another country can be a challenge, for instance, as it takes more time compared to sourcing locally.

But we’ve found some good suppliers in Poland and Germany for materials such as reinforcing bars and metal ceilings. We couldn’t have done this by ourselves,” says Anders Leander.

 

Initial resistance

According to Landerby, there was a certain amount of resistance to the introduction of the e-procurement system, but the system has improved a lot during the last four years.

“If there still is any resistance to using purchasing systems today, it comes from an older generation with little experience of computers. But it’s not a big issue,” he says.

Leander and his staff welcome new procurement systems, as they can be adapted to specific needs, which is impossible with older construction industry software. “We want more and better frame agreements, especially with our foreign suppliers. It would save us time and bring down costs even more,” he says.

Also on the wish list is improved logistics. “There will be considerable savings of both resources and time when we integrate logistics with all our suppliers. The logistics system we have today is good, but certain details could be improved. For instance, trucks still sometimes arrive at the wrong delivery address or are not properly equipped to offload building materials,” Leander says.

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