TR142: Quantifying Price Flexibility In Material Procurement as a Real Option

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Abstract/Contents

Abstract: This paper extends theories in finance and economics to compare the cost of a long-term contract with a price cap to that of spot purchases in construction material procurement. In construction, material procurements are usually short-term, project-based, and have a price volatility of up to 30%. These characteristics and the competitive nature of the industry lower the profit margin of general contractors. We have observed that contractors purchase a stable amount of commodity materials such as concrete, structural steel, and lumber throughout the year. For contractors, the price cap reduces the price volatility of materials without their being obliged to a quantity; for suppliers, the contracts give them steady demand and a bigger market share. We evaluate this contract as a real option and solve for the contractors optimal ordering policy. The challenge is to model price processes when materials are not frequently traded. We model price processes by using as much market information as possible and then evaluate the idiosyncratic uncertainties in a risk-neutral setting. Our methodology does not require market completeness and incorporates some of the latest research in finance such as correlation pricing, option pricing, and zero level pricing, as well as Monte Carlo simulation.

Type of resource	text
Date created	October 2002

Subject	CIFE
Subject	Center for Integrated Facility Engineering
Subject	Stanford University
Subject	Finance
Subject	Material Procurement
Subject	Ordering Policy
Subject	Pricing
Subject	Real Option
Genre	Technical report

Location	https://purl.stanford.edu/dx368jn4882

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Preferred Citation: Ng, FrancisBjörnsson, Hans and Chiu, Samuel and . (2002). TR142: Quantifying Price Flexibility In Material Procurement as a Real Option. Stanford Digital Repository. Available at: http://purl.stanford.edu/dx368jn4882

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