Facilitating Inter-enterprise Information Exchange in One-of-a-kind Settings

The construction industry’s norm of operation is that of one-of-a-kind production and delivery of products (e.g. a building). The results (products and/or services) are typically delivered through complementary competence sharing between different project participants. Such operational modes naturally have implications on the way that product related information is shared and exchanged between the participating organisations. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructures and applications while seemingly available are still far from meeting the real needs of inter-enterprise information exchange, and, service integration and management in one-of-a-kind settings. This paper presents the research findings of two recently concluded international projects (GLOBEMEN, and OSMOS) that have explored the operational norm of one-of-a-kind settings (in one case at a generic cross-sectoral level, and in the other in the construction sector). ICT architectures, components and various interaction scenarios are furthermore identified. The results are discussed from the perspective of two case studies. Key lessons learned and barriers to take-up of ICT solutions are presented.