by Andrew Hogg

If there is one thing we have learnt over the last few months, it is self reliance. Not just personally, but also a reliance on locally made products and services.

The ongoing impacts of COVID-19 on world wide logistics may be felt for months and even years to come. This is forcing clients, designers and contractors to seriously consider buying Australian made to ensure programme impacts are mitigated.

The focus on local suppliers and manufacturers to support a sustainable construction industry is creating a unique opportunity for the Australian supply chain to demonstrate (through innovative approaches) that it can provide high quality product at competitive pricing.

Indeed, the current environment provides our local supply chain with a real incentive to surprise the market with its innovation, ingenuity and comparable pricing thereby securing a long term pipe line of work.

On the sustainability side of things, a competitive and robust Australian supply chain, will mean Greenstar points for use of locally sourced products will be an
“easy-get”, rather than scrounging through product receipts to pull enough evidence together to hopefully meet the target.

So the challenge is there for the entire construction process – for clients to demand Australian Made; for designers to specify Australian Made; for contractors to source Australian Made and for the supply chain to provide high quality Australian Made products at competitive pricing.

This must be a pathway to a self perpetuating, job intensive recovery.

by Andrew Hogg
National Director Clients & Strategy,
Project Management
Savills Australia