Digital Collaboration and Supply Chain Resilience in Prefabricated Construction: A System Dynamics Case Study

Abstract

Prefabricated construction changes not the need for construction work, but the place and timing of much of that work. A considerable number of operations once completed on site are now organised through factory production. Taking the CSCEC Technology Shenzhen Changzhen Public Housing Project as the case, this paper studies the relationship among digital collaboration, supply chain resilience, and delivery stability in prefabricated building projects. Case evidence and system dynamics are used together. BIM application, smart construction platforms, component traceability, intelligent factories, and smart construction sites are first treated as observable practices in the project. They are then transformed into variables such as Digital Collaboration Level, Supply Chain Visibility, Cross-Stakeholder Collaborative Response Capability, Assembly Backlog, Cumulative Delay, and Supply Chain Resilience. Based on these variables, the paper develops causal loop diagrams and a stock-and-flow diagram. The results show that digital collaboration does not work as a simple, independent factor that raises delivery performance immediately. Its influence is first reflected in the information structure of the supply chain. When component status is easier to identify, stakeholders can respond more quickly, backlog can be controlled more effectively, and delay recovery can be shortened. In this way, digital collaboration contributes to stronger supply chain resilience and more stable project delivery. The paper explains this dynamic mechanism in the context of a large prefabricated housing project and provides a reference for collaborative supply chain management.