How can the supplier selection process help players in the Luxembourg's construction sector to implement sustainability along their supply chains ?

Details

Supervisors

Blome, Constantin

Faculty

Louvain School of Management

Degree label

Master [120] en sciences de gestion, à finalité spécialisée

Abstract

Sustainability within supply chains is an issue that construction sector companies have been facing for several years. This sector, which is one of the most polluting, has had to thoroughly rethink itself to integrate sustainability into its activities. Therefore, in this report, we will look at how the supplier selection process can help industry players make their upstream supply chain segments more sustainable. Specifically, we will study four construction companies in Luxembourg and explore the criteria they primarily seek in a supplier. These four companies range from leading general construction companies to smaller, more specialized firms. Through this case analysis, we found that quality, flexibility, and cost criteria were predominant in the selection process, regardless of the company. We also found that the implementation of sustainable criteria relied solely on the company's culture and vision, as well as incentives from stakeholders. Secondly, we found that, depending on the company's activity, different selection methods were used. This paper also highlighted the fact that companies with more general and diversified construction activities use descriptive methods to compare, rank, and evaluate their suppliers based on the same criteria. Finally, this thesis concludes with recommendations that will allow companies to make their supply chain more sustainable, by having better control and monitoring of their suppliers through a selection process based on sustainability criteria that are weighted to provide an objective ranking.