The Problems in Supply Management of Construction Materials - Current Status
Uber and DoorDash have proven the broad appeal of On-Demand Delivery services with taxis and food, where the buyer and payor are the same person. Construction material purchasing, however, is different because the crew decides what to buy and the quantity, the Financial Stakeholder/ GC must trust their selections and just pay.
This separation creates a gap in trust, caused by the poor communication between the on-site deciders and the remote payors. By not managing this gap, it adds to project cost, wasted time in both checkout and return lines, increases in uncontrolled spending, lost worktime due to multiple store trips a day.
Typically, the crew manages to a surprise by sending a Runner on an emergency trip to the nearest store to find the necessary materials and returns as fast as possible, to keep the job moving that day. And hoping the Runner purchased the right fitting items, so they don't have to make a repeat trip and further delay today's tasks.