KANCHI SRI MAGALAKSHMI ARTS & SCIENCE COLLEGE FOR WOMEN,

ARPAKKAM
UNIVERSITY EXAMINATION APRIL-2022
NON MAJOR ELECTIVE - BASIC ELEMENTS OF LOGISTICS MANAGEMENT

I YEAR B.Sc COMPUTER SCIENCE AND BCA

DATE: 02/05/2022 CODE:AY51A

TIME:10.00 TO 1.00 TOTAL MARKS: 75

PART-A (10X2=20)

ANSWER ALL THE QUSTIONS:-

1. Define logistics
2. What are the types of transport?
3. Define stocking policies
4. Define economics of transportation
5. What is warehouse in logistics
6. What is packaging in logistics
7. What are the types of packaging in logistics
8. What is meant by Containerization
9. Define supply chain management.
10. What are the roles of supply chain management.

PART-B (5X5=25)

ANSWER ALL THE QUSTIONS:-

11. Explain logistics system fundamentals.

12. Explain the various types of transport system in logistics.
13. Explain stocking policies of logistics.
14. Explain inventory policy of logistics.
15. What is the concept of supply chain management?

PART-C (3X10=30)

ANSWER ALL THE QUSTIONS:-

16. Explain economic of transportation and stocking policies

17. Explain storage and handling capacities and warehousing.
18. Explain Intra and inter organization supply chain.
 PART-A

1. Define logistics

Logistics refers to the overall process of managing how resources are acquired, stored,
and transported to their final destination. Logistics management involves identifying prospective
distributors and suppliers and determining their effectiveness and accessibility. Logistics
managers are referred to as logisticians.

2. What are the types of transport?

These most common five modes of transport are: railways, roadways, airways, waterways
and pipelines.

3. Define stocking policies

A stocking strategy provides clear guidelines to all areas of the supply chain detailing the
number of stockholding locations, where they are located and the level of inventory held at each.
Increasing stock levels ensures good availability and happy customers, but holding inventory can
be costly.

4. Define economics of transportation

Sound transportation investments lower the costs of moving people and goods. This
increases economic productivity, which roughly can be measured as the output of goods and
services per dollar of private and public investment.

5. What is warehouse in logistics?

Warehousing is the process of storing physical inventory for sale or distribution.

Warehouses are used by all different types of businesses that need to temporarily store products
in bulk before either shipping them to other locations or individually to end consumers.

6. What is packaging in logistics?

Packaging is a coordinated system of preparing goods for safe, secure, efficient and
effective handling, transport, distribution, storage, retailing, consumption and recovery, reuse or
disposal combined with maximizing consumer value, sales and hence profit

7. What are the types of packaging in logistics?

Packaging is split into three types depending on the role and purpose: individual
packaging, inner packaging, and outer packaging.
 Individual Packaging.
 Inner Packaging.
 Outer Packaging.
8. What is meant by Containerization?
Containerization is the practice of carrying goods in containers of uniform shape and size
for shipping. Almost anything can be stored in a container, but they are particularly useful for the
transport of manufactured goods. It is a method of distribution of goods using containers.
9. Define supply chain management.
Supply chain management is the handling of the entire production flow of a good or service
to maximize quality, delivery, customer experience and profitability.
10. What are the roles of supply chain management?

 Purchasing. Purchasing is one of the first functions of supply chain management. ...
 Operations. The operation team engages in demand planning and forecasting. ...
 Logistics. ...
 Resource Management. ...
 Information Workflow. ...
 Order Fulfillment. ...
 Supply Demand Matching. ...
 Reducing Waste.
PART-B

11. Explain logistics system fundamentals.

The term logistics is derived from the Greek term logos, which denotes ‘order’, and from
the French word loger, that implies art of war pertaining to movement and supply of armies;
being the branch of military science concerned with the movement, supply and maintenance of
troops. The origin of logistics is of a strictly military nature and this discipline gained
significance because of the importance of the study of the methodologies employed to guarantee
the appropriate supply of provisions, ammunition and fuel to the troops and, in general, to ensure
the army the facility of moving and fighting in the most difficult conditions.
In its all-inclusive sense, logistics covered those aspects of military operations that deal
with: a) Design, development, acquisition, storage, movement, distribution, maintenance,
evacuation, and disposition of materials; b) movement, evacuation, and hospitalization of
personnel; c) acquisition or construction, maintenance, operation, and disposition of facilities;
and d) acquisition or furnishing of services.
In business, logistics is the management of the flow of things between the point of origin
and the point of consumption to meet the requirements of customers or corporations. The
Babylonians were the first to create, around 2000 BC, a military corps specialized in the supply,
storage, transport, and distribution of equipment for soldiers. Development of Logistics The
industrial revolution caused a sea change in logistics as the advent of steam engine in 1765 made
possible the mass production of goods.
In 1801, there was a second important transformation in the form of assembly of products.
The major problem of mass distribution of products was overcome with the second industrial
revolution: with major innovations in transportation and communications. The beginning of the
nineteenth century witnessed some of the great revolutions in production, with F.W. Taylor
propagating meticulous division of work, and Ford creating the mobile production lines wherein
instead of workers moving, the product came to the worker for production. It was only after the
end of Second World War that logistics was extended beyond the military context to
manufacturing companies to determine all the activities aimed at ensuring effective purchase,
movement, and management of materials.
Logistics development over the period was evolving when, around 1980, new concepts of
logistics management assumed importance in the movement of materials involving every stage
of the process including: a) Materials management, the timely movement of raw materials, parts,
and supplies. b) Physical distribution, the movement of the firm’s finished products to the
customers.
The scenario by 2000, due to technological developments was of total integration. The
goal of logistics is to coordinate all efforts of the organization to maintain a cost-effective flow
of goods. In a globalised world, there are multinationals which offer their products in widely
distributed markets.
Innovation being the watchword, the customers earlier, was used to buying whatever was
available to them, but nowadays they want the right product, at the right time, at a reasonable
price, at the chosen location, and with the desired quality. This is being accomplished with
excellent operations and better logistics management.
The following factors could be considered to impact the development of logistics: a)
Advances in computer technology b) Quantitative techniques c) Development of the systems
approach d) Total cost analysis e) Recognition of important role of logistics
12. Explain the various types of transport system in logistics.

Different transportation options including are,

Road transportation

As one of the most common modes of transportation, shipping freight by road makes it easy to
move goods across various provinces and countries. While road freight offers several advantages
over other modes of transportation—affordability, scheduled deliveries, flexible service, freight
tracking, and local or over-border deliveries—truck transportation can be limited by size and
weight restrictions, as well as impacted by weather, road conditions, and traffic.

Marine transportation

Marine transportation is the ideal shipping solution for companies looking to move high-
volume or heavy cargo, such as minerals, metals, ores, steel, etc. Shipping by ocean is also the
most environmentally friendly and economical form of freight shipping and offers a higher
carrying capacity than other modes of transportation. This mode of transportation provides
extensive coverage around the world and allows shippers to have access to multiple carrier
options.

Air transportation

While air transportation is one of the most expensive modes of transportation due to the
requirement of speed and cost of fuel, shipping cargo by air is critical for markets and supply
chains that rely on expedited delivery services. Compared to other modes of freight shipping, air
transportation requires less documentation and handling of the cargo and offers an enhanced
level of security, as well as reliable arrival and departure times.

Rail transportation

Rail transportation is an environmentally friendly, fast, and cost-effective solution for

shipping large volumes of freight long distances, typically over 800km; however, it is important
to note that at the end of the rail transit, the cargo will often need to continue the rest of its
journey via road transportation. Shipping by rail is also one of the most efficient forms of land
transportation, as one train can haul the equivalent of over 400 trucks.

13. Explain stocking policies of logistics.

Stocking strategy
A stocking strategy provides clear guidelines to all areas of the supply chain detailing the
number of stockholding locations, where they are located and the level of inventory held at each.
Increasing stock levels ensures good availability and happy customers, but holding inventory can
be costly. These two pressures oppose each other and it is a difficult balancing act. Working
capital, storage, handling and obsolescence costs quickly add up. Our analytical consultants have
experience of working within inventory management and can analyze your stockholding and
order data to:

 Develop a stockholding budget that meets your availability service level

 Define and agree a sustainable inventory policy for different product categories to meet
customer demand
 Evaluate inventory management performance and key factors leading to over- and
understocks
 Define inventory review processes that support joined-up thinking across the organization
  Review ABC categorization and volatility to assess viability for usage in storage
 Analyse the ‘Cost to Serve’ by product range or individual SKU level

Defining stocking policies can also be performed in conjunction with a strategic design of the
logistics network. The objective being to create a holistic supply chain network that can drive
down levels of inventory while maintaining availability by implementing rapid replenishment
systems from local stock points. This has implications for storage requirements, the size of stock
points, distribution systems and transport infrastructure whether on a national or global scale.

The benefits of working with BoxLogic on your stocking strategy are:

 Experts in network strategy with relevant background working in inventory management

and stock planning teams
 Highly analytical consultants can quickly draw out trends within data to expose
opportunities
 Significant experience across the supply chain so we understand the importance of how
each aspect links to the other
 Ability to design at national, continental or global level

14. Explain inventory policy of logistics.

Inventory policies
First, inventory policies are important to manage time, demand and uncertainties in a
supply chain. With a well-adjusted policy, companies can be more agile, efficient and profitable.
It’s hard to predict every little detail that can go wrong in the process, therefore, these set of rules
established by an inventory policy will, at the very least, help deal with those problems. Ideally,
it will not only do that but also minimize those mistakes.
Those policies must take care of three main levels of inventory decisions. Primarily, they must
deal with strategic decisions in the supply chain, like:
 What are the potential alternatives to inventory?
 How the product is designed?

For instance, it may make sense for a company investing in a faster transportation and therefore
not have a lot of inventory. In other cases, with products that take more time to transport, it’s
possible that the best solution is to have a bigger stock.

Kinds of items for inventory policies

It’s necessary to keep in mind how the product is designed to decide what kind of policy, the
supply chain and inventory will follow. Two important aspects are the shipping and storing .
Besides the strategic decisions in the supply chain level, there is the deployment questions,
which we can consider more tactical in nature. They must deal with key aspects such as:
 What items should be carried as inventory?
 In what form should they be maintained?
 How much should be held?
 Where they should be held?

Chris Caplice, supply chain management professor on MIT, says that the place where you
are going to store your product is especially important when you are launching a new product.
This happens because you should try to anticipate where the demand is going to materialize for
the specific product. The result of doing that anticipation is a more efficient process that usually
delivers items to customers in a faster way.

Finally, the chosen inventory policy should take care of the operational decisions related
to replenishment. Those are the decisions a company take every day.
Operational decisions try to determine a safe quantity of stock and better moments to replenish.
They deal with questions like:
 How often inventory status must be determined?
 When a replenishment decision be made?
 How large should replenishment be?

15. What is the concept of supply chain management.

Supply Chain Management (SCM)

Supply chain management is the management of the flow of goods and services and
includes all processes that transform raw materials into final products. It involves the active
streamlining of a business's supply-side activities to maximize customer value and gain a
competitive advantage in the marketplace.

Key takeaways

 Supply chain management (SCM) is the centralized management of the flow of goods
and services and includes all processes that transform raw materials into final products.
 By managing the supply chain, companies can cut excess costs and deliver products to
the consumer faster.
 Good supply chain management keeps companies out of the headlines and away from
expensive recalls and lawsuits.
 The five most critical elements of SCM are developing a strategy, sourcing raw
materials, production, distribution, and returns.
 A supply chain manager is tasked with controlling and reducing costs and avoiding
supply shortages.

How Supply Chain Management (SCM) Works

 Supply chain management (SCM) represents an effort by suppliers to develop and
implement supply chains that are as efficient and economical as possible. Supply chains cover
everything from production to product development to the information systems needed to direct
these undertakings.

Typically, SCM attempts to centrally control or link the production, shipment,

and distribution of a product. By managing the supply chain, companies can cut excess costs
and deliver products to the consumer faster. This is done by keeping tighter control of internal
inventories, internal production, distribution, sales, and the inventories of company vendors.

16. Explain economic of transportation and stocking policies.

Economic of transportation
In a macroeconomic sense, transportation activities form a portion of a nation’s total
economic product and play a role in building or strengthening a national or regional economy
and as an influence in the development of land and other resources. In a microeconomic sense,
transportation involves relations between firms and individual consumers. The demand for
and supply of transportation for both passengers and freight, transportation pricing, and the
reasons why the transportation system is both regulated and deregulated are among its concerns.
Finally, the government’s involvement in each mode of transportation differs. In some instances
private enterprise is used; in others, government provides the facilities and equipment, especially
if the rationale for government involvement is that a strong transportation system is necessary for
developing the nation’s economy or for its defense. Government’s involvement in transportation
has both a macro- and a microeconomic significance.

Stocking policies

A stocking strategy provides clear guidelines to all areas of the supply chain detailing the
number of stockholding locations, where they are located and the level of inventory held at each.
Increasing stock levels ensures good availability and happy customers, but holding inventory can
be costly. These two pressures oppose each other and it is a difficult balancing act. Working
capital, storage, handling and obsolescence costs quickly add up.

Our analytical consultants have experience of working within inventory management and can
analyse your stockholding and order data to:

 Develop a stockholding budget that meets your availability service level

 Define and agree a sustainable inventory policy for different product categories to meet
customer demand
 Evaluate inventory management performance and key factors leading to over- and under
stocks.
 Define inventory review processes that support joined-up thinking across the organization
  Review ABC categorization and volatility to assess viability for usage in storage
 Analyse the ‘Cost to Serve’ by product range or individual SKU level

Defining stocking policies can also be performed in conjunction with a strategic design of the
logistics network. The objective being to create a holistic supply chain network that can drive
down levels of inventory while maintaining availability by implementing rapid replenishment
systems from local stock points. This has implications for storage requirements, the size of stock
points, distribution systems and transport infrastructure whether on a national or global scale.

The benefits of working with BoxLogic on your stocking strategy are:

 Experts in network strategy with relevant background working in inventory management

and stock planning teams
 Highly analytical consultants can quickly draw out trends within data to expose
opportunities
 Significant experience across the supply chain so we understand the importance of how
each aspect links to the other
 Ability to design at national, continental or global level

17. Explain storage and handling capacities and warehousing.

Storage and Handling

Storage is the first and best means of defense in safely preserving archival holdings.
Choices made in storage type and methodology has the greatest influence on the long-term
preservation of records.
A primary preservation goal is to house all records appropriately based on their size,
format, and composition. Housing enclosures provide physical support and protection as well as
a buffer against adverse or fluctuating environmental conditions. Housings also provide a
mechanism for organizing and maintaining records in intellectual units that can be easily and
safely handled. Factors that are considered when designing housings include the optimum
method of accessing, storing, and using the records; stability of all component housing materials;
method of fabrication or assembly; and cost.
Storage capacity planning
Storage capacity planning is the practice of assessing current data storage needs and
forecasting future storage requirements. The goal is to purchase just enough disk space to meet
the needs of users and applications.
 Simply stated, storage capacity planning ensures that storage resources are available
when needed. When planning for storage capacity, administrators must look at how storage is
allocated across all elements of the storage infrastructure. This includes systems, files, databases
and other resources the organization uses.

Effective capacity planning lets data storage administrators buy only what they need
when they need it. As a result, they save money on storage resources that would otherwise go
unused and can better allocate their storage budgets.

How storage capacity planning works

The most popular way to determine storage requirements is to deploy storage capacity
planning tools. They analyze storage systems and generate reports on available data storage
capacity and performance.

Other ways to do capacity planning include the following two methods:

1. capturing storage data, posting it on spreadsheets and then performing analyses of previous
and current usage trends; and

2. Implementing a chargeback process that tracks storage use by groups or departments.

Both approaches are time-consuming, which is why automated storage capacity planning
applications have become popular.

Benefits of storage capacity planning

Effective capacity planning provides several benefits to businesses, such as the following:

 Planning. It lets data storage administrators plan and schedule disk purchases based on
projected needs.

 Availability. It ensures storage resources are available when they are needed.

 Cost. It lets organizations buy only the storage they need and take advantage of changes in
disk storage pricing.
 Timing. It can identify the best time to make changes in storage resources, using historical
data, current performance data and metrics that look at future requirements.

Warehousing
Warehousing is defined as a significant component of a basic logistic process, which
comprises actions in the area of supply management, or the organization of inlet and outlet, in
other words, inflows and outflows of goods in an organization.

Warehousing logistics is one of the directions of the general theory of logistics, which
solves the problems of organizing a warehouse, forming a system for receiving, accounting and
placing stocks in a warehouse.

The importance of warehousing in logistics

Warehousing is essential in supply chain management as goods are transported from the
maker to end recipient. The benefits of warehousing in logistics indicates that if a warehouse
operation is ineffective, the entire supply chain may be immobilized, for example, a lack of
goods, delays, or blockages. All logistical efforts performed within the scope of a warehouse
should avoid the warehouse from becoming a bottleneck of the supply chain.

The purpose of warehouses is to support manufacturing processes, which can be

accomplished by maintaining sufficient resources, materials, and packaging for production,
allowing for uninterrupted output. Permanent access to packages allows for the systematic
receipt of finished goods and delivery to the intended recipient. It’s worth noting that warehouses
support marketing processes by providing constant access to resources required for the
completion of a promotional action or the production of promotional sets.

The role of warehousing in a logistics system

 Transport: For the movement of goods from the supplier to the buyer, transportation is
the most fundamental and important component of logistics. This is the movement of the
product from one supplier to the buyer. In general, the buyer does not directly receive the
products from the supplier. They have to be transported from the point of production to
the final destination. Consolidating transportation allows businesses to reduce money on
logistics, which is especially essential for businesses that ship goods across short
distances.
 Carry out quality controls: The exact size, weight, number, and configuration of any of
the products stored in a central warehouse must be recorded accurately so that the correct
part can be delivered at the right place and time. Traditional quality control techniques
include verification checks, visual verification checks, and reading a code from the
product or container. Verification checks of the product or container, which is more
complex and expensive, are becoming more important. Inventory control: Inventory
 management is to keep enough inventories to meet customer requirements, and
simultaneously its carrying cost should be the lowest. This system is effective in the
management of inventory to meet the customer needs and also to handle its accounting
operations such as inventory valuation and inventory valuation.
 Product quality: When a product meets a customer’s expectations, it is said to be of high
quality. Customers frequently request distinctive commodities in differing quantities
when placing an order. While businesses produce their products in batches, frequently in
contracted facilities, they do so in batches. In this scenario, storage can help minimize the
time it takes for products to flow and ensure that the order is fulfilled efficiently.
 Customer service: Offering products in a given place and at a given time is a service that
logistics should handle. It’s also important in supply warehouses since it’s easier to plan a
manufacturing schedule (while still having enough supplies), which translates to
faster order fulfillment. It’s important to remember that client demand is unpredictable,
and suppliers can’t predict the costs of running out of stock.
 Protection from unexpected events: (suppliers running out of goods, transportation delays,
or a strike). Delays in the supply of raw materials might cause the production process to
halt, which is a bad thing for a business. In distribution warehouses, a condition of
unexpected events can also occur. Damaged items during transit may have an impact on
stock levels and order fulfillment effectiveness.
 Smoothen the goods flows which is of special importance in case of seasonal fluctuations.

18. Explain Intra and inter organization supply chain.

Inter-organizational relations in BIM-enabled SC partnerships

The two cases displayed similarities as to partnering drivers and facilitators and
dissimilarities as to partnering implementation. For both cases, sharing past history was an
internal ‘cultural’ driver to deepen their inter-firm relations (see narratives on trust and
commitment, contract). Moreover, both cases illustrated that adopting BIM was an external
(environmental) factor, as clients contractually required it (case A) or top management adopted it
due to market demands (case B). The latter corroborates evidence from literature that BIM
becomes a partner selection criterion (Mahamadu, Mahdjoubi, & Booth, 2014). Thus, the
decision-making on adopting BIM and SC partnering were compatible across the cases.

Despite the afore-mentioned similarities, the cases presented two contrasting types of
BIM-enabled SC partnerships. Their contrasting features could be labelled dichotomies, as they
present dilemmas with clear advantages and disadvantages for managers to choose between
(McGrath, 1981; Smith & Lewis, 2011). The cases differentiated regarding Lambert et al.’s
(1996) components, such as planning and communication (Table 3). For case A, planning was
more associated to joint operating controls as opposed to case B, where planning was discussed
through the lens of project and SC scope. This dichotomy relates to discussions over operational
(case A) versus strategic (case B) perspectives of SCM (Green, Fernie, & Weller, 2005) and to
what extent the SC visions penetrate into the work floor (Tan, Kannan, & Handfield, 1998).

The fact that case A partnership was less strategic is supported by the quotation that
adopting BIM was less risky than SC partnering (contractor-design coordinator), which suggests
that engaging in SC partnering entailed higher uncertainty to them than financially investing in
 BIM. Accordingly, case A viewed planning as result of joint operations (operational SCM) and
the narratives focused on improving efficiency, which is the perspective of SCM that ‘dominates
the literature’ (Green et al., 2005). Adversely, in case B, planning was strongly related
to scope (strategic SCM) and conceptually linked to commercial decisions and ‘dynamics of
competitive positioning’ (Green et al., 2005). Hence, case A was essentially operational, whereas
case B strategic SC partnership. Further research could investigate causalities between these
types of SC partnering to identify whether they express maturity, and which particulars of BIM
implementation could serve as maturity determinants.

Another dichotomy between the cases pertains to communications. In case

A, communications were seen as a consequence of trust as opposed to the co-occurrence in case
B between joint operating controls and communications (see Table
3 and communications narratives). This dichotomy resonates with Bresnen and Marshall (2000, p.
232) that:

there is a division between those who see partnering as an informal and organic
development and those who regard it as something more formal that can be actively engineered
as outlined in narratives from case B (informal) and case A (formal) respectively. For Green et al.
(2005), trust was considered a prerequisite of mutually interdependent relationships (see case A
quotations), while the SC partners of case B had previously worked proactively to build trust,
and retain communication channels that could support BIM implementation beyond
organizational boundaries (case B). The cross, case analysis revealed dichotomies that could
apply to other BIM-enabled inter-organizational settings, with or without contractually binding
agreements. From the cross, case comparison, the following dichotomies around inter-
organizational relations unfolded (answer to RQ1):

 Operational (case A) or strategic (case B) planning

 Formal (case A) or informal (case B) communications

 Prerequisite (case A) or pre-existing (case B) trust

Whilst construction is generally deemed slow in technology absorption (Davies &

Harty, 2013), there are encouraging notes that firms actively engage in BIM. Drawing upon the
framework of Lambert et al. (1996), the partnerships focused on time investment for joint BIM
learning during the project, rather than investment in tangible assets, such as acquiring
technology or hiring specialized personnel. Such proactive behavior towards developing their
partners could not only facilitate relationship management, but also encourage innovation (Cox
& Ireland, 2002). Regarding the timing of BIM adoption, no disruption effects were observed in
the older partnership (case B), because BIM implementation used pre-existing communication
channels, while the ‘newer’ case A had to implement both digital and relational changes
simultaneously.

Taylor and Levitt (2007) stated that networks with strong relational stability and permeable
boundaries would perform better when faced with misaligned innovations. Likewise, case B SC
partnership, which is a stable network, could perform better regarding BIM adoption, which is at
the moment a misaligned innovation.

Intra-organizational conditions of BIM-enabled SC partnerships

The contractors provided CDE for online information exchange, ‘IT prepared space’ for
co-locations and design coordination, occasional BIM training to their partners (case A), and also
featured dedicated BIM departments, an observation in keeping with the work of Ahn et al.
(2015). However, although the contractors held most long-term partnerships (Table 2), they were
not necessarily the ‘centre’ of BIM-based collaboration. The contractors – through their
commercial decisions – influenced their partners’ BIM adoption and investment, an evidence
against Porwal and Hewage (2013) who claimed that BIM maturity and adoption mainly depend
on clients. Ackoff (1970) and Mintzberg, Lambe, Brian Quinn, and Ghoshal (1996) divided
corporate planning into strategic, tactical, and operational levels and addressed the danger of
detaching top management from tactical decisions and work floor operations (Mintzberg et
al., 1996). The contractors presented such detachment; as despite displaying ‘top management
support’ (Mentzer et al., 2001) for SC partnering and BIM, there was apparently an incongruence
in understanding and planning BIM-based projects between senior and middle management (see
contractors’ narratives).

In both cases, architects and structural engineers were either desired (case A) or already
keen (case B) to engage in informal communications with multiple tiers (Table 4). However, the
two architectural firms had different mentalities, probably given their contractual position in the
partnerships (Table 2), as case A architect was tendered, whereas case B architect was long-term
partner. Informal and across all tiers communication could, accordingly, facilitate both
implementation and alignment of BIM with SC partnering. Interestingly, both the architect and
structural engineer from case B considered collaboration part of their role, which implies a
cultural shift towards a more proactive and collaborative AEC. There were usually two BIM-
related roles: a project leader/engineer, who might or might not be familiar with BIM and a BIM
modeller/engineer (Table 1).

Again, in smaller firms these functions were merged (case A). The MEP engineers,
whose design coordination with BIM has been researched in multiple studies, given their tasks’
complexity (Dossick & Neff, 2010; Wang & Leite, 2014), usually had three intra-firm functions:
tender manager, project engineer, and BIM modeller (Table 1). Additionally, the cases presented
both unintegrated (case A) and integrated (case B) MEP-services firms, which could be evidence
of a shift in increasing integration in AEC, by forming multidisciplinary firms (Dulaimi et
al., 2002). Such integrated professional services subsequently absorb inter-organizational
tensions intra-organizationally.

The suppliers and subcontractors saw their involvement in BIM-enabled SC partnerships

as an opportunity to engage earlier in design coordination (see suppliers’ narratives), which
accordingly supports integration (Dulaimi et al., 2002). The suppliers and subcontractors had
similar BIM-related functional divisions to the engineers and contractors respectively. BIM
implementation across the partnership induced transformations into firms’ strategic IT
investment, as some adopted BIM intra-organizationally (case A), whereas others outsourced
BIM implementation in BIM-drafting companies (case B, subcontractor). Outsourcing BIM
could potentially activate further inter-organizational challenges, as it transfers intra-firm
communications externally.