Your construction project will need a lot of materials, from different suppliers, at different prices, all arriving at different times – and what arrives at the site might still not be what you ordered.
Nightmare.
But if software can bring huge efficiencies to every other part of construction, why not also delivery tracking?
With the right software tools, you can easily monitor and track the delivery of materials to the site to ensure that your construction project runs smoothly.
In this blog post, we’ll highlight the main benefits of digitally tracking construction material deliveries to your construction sites, and how it can help you stay on top of your construction projects.
What Are Benefits of Tracking Construction Deliveries Digitally?
Digital delivery tracking helps to counter most of the typical logistical problems of managing construction deliveries to site.
How often have you had a delivery delayed at the last minute, holding up your entire project?
Or a delivery arrives, but in the wrong quality or quantity? If this isn’t caught until later in the project, it can really harm a project’s bottom line via delays, or even having to undo part of an installation.
Instead of bringing about a circular blame game late in the project, digital delivery tracking software can prevent these problems from happening in the first place.
Digital delivery tracking allows construction businesses to see that materials arrived on time, to the correct site, and in the right quality and quantity.
Software like this is especially powerful when tracking large, complex orders.
This software works best when it’s used by both the supplier and the construction company, because it allows everyone to see the delivery status in real-time.
This helps to streamline the process, from the procurement process, to delivering them on site, to preventing disputes later in the project.
It also provides construction teams with a more accurate view of their project timelines, so they can anticipate delays and find solutions quickly. It allows for more realistic timelines and delivery schedules, and flags any potential delays due to supply chain issues.
Finally, online delivery tracking offers greater transparency and accountability in the supply chain, reducing the risk of miscommunications or incorrect invoices – which means no surprises when it comes to calculating the profit on your construction project.
How Digital Delivery Tracking Streamlines Construction Material Deliveries for Site Managers
Streamlining management of construction material deliveries can help reduce costs and improve efficiency on the job site. And the best way to streamline deliveries is with a digital delivery tracking software.
It provides managers with all the data and information they need to run their site well, such as how much material was delivered, who delivered it, and when.
This real-time data makes it easy for any site manager to visualise the delivery process, and then make optimisations to reduce delivery time and costs.
Knowing exactly when a particular material will arrive, allows construction site managers to plan labour hours accordingly, and even to juggle multiple projects and sites.
Digital delivery tracking also gives site managers internal transparency on-site, because the exact quantity and quality of any construction material is logged the moment it arrives – and is immediately flagged if it’s not what you ordered.
This goes a long way to reducing costly errors, and arguments with staff or suppliers down the line, because it prevents your workers from accepting an incorrect delivery.
Benefits of Automated Delivery Notifications
Automated notifications are real-time updates to site managers, and to the material suppliers, that a delivery of construction material has been successful, has been delayed, or was incorrect and has been returned to the supplier.
But how does this help you?
Automated notifications are real-time updates to site managers, and to the material suppliers, that a delivery of construction material has been successful, has been delayed, or was incorrect and has been returned to the supplier.
But how does this help you?
How Construction Delivery Notifications Save Time
First, automated alerts about construction deliveries mean that no time on your project is lost or wasted – much better than not realising until weeks later that something has gone wrong.
These notifications are especially useful when a delivery is suddenly expected to be delayed.
Early warning of a delay allows the construction company to switch up their subcontractor hours, so you’re not wasting money having workers hanging around on site with nothing to install.
It also allows the construction company to redeploy labour to other live project sites, where their time might be better spent.
How Construction Delivery Notifications Save Money
Second, digital construction delivery notifications protect both the buyer and the seller from unnecessarily losing profits.
How? By catching problems early.
Did your supplier deliver doors to your site in the correct amount, but they’re the wrong type of door?
Or they delivered the correct materials, but to the wrong site?
With digital construction delivery notifications, you and your supplier will be notified as soon as the error is caught, so no time is wasted in correcting the error and getting the correct materials to your project.
Instead of those doors sitting on your site for a week, the supplier can get them to a different customer immediately.
If your materials have gone to the incorrect site, with an immediate notification your supplier can send them straight to the correct site, without having to go back to the warehouse and out again – that’s faster.
First, automated alerts about construction deliveries mean that no time on your project is lost or wasted – much better than not realising until weeks later that something has gone wrong.
These notifications are especially useful when a delivery is suddenly expected to be delayed.
Early warning of a delay allows the construction company to switch up their subcontractor hours, so you’re not wasting money having workers hanging around on site with nothing to install.
It also allows the construction company to redeploy labour to other live project sites, where their time might be better spent.
What Technology Is Used To Track Construction Deliveries Digitally?
There was a time that any kind of digital construction delivery tracking software would have been out of reach for all but the largest construction companies. But today, even individual contractors can access the efficiency brought about by digital tracking just by using their phones.
10 years ago, any construction company that wanted to increase their project profitability by introducing real-time delivery tracking would have been looking at a steep bill.
Custom software. Bespoke hardware to scan and track barcodes. And everytime there’s a software update, you can bet there’s a charge.
All this to solve just this one problem.
With such a high implementation cost, it’s no surprise that most construction companies didn’t pick up on this potential edge over the competition.
Today, every worker on your site has a phone with an app store. This means that delivery tracking software doesn’t need expensive customer hardware anymore – just log into the app on your phone, and you’re ready to start tracking deliveries.
When the deliveries arrive on site, any designated worker can fire open the app on their phone, see what’s expected to be delivered, see if it matches what they’re looking at, and – if all present and correct – check the item as delivered. Or, if it’s a more expensive app, scan the delivery’s barcode.
On delivery, the software can automatically create an invoice, which speeds up payment.
All of this information is recorded by the software for both the supplier and the purchaser to see and use. This allows both parties to use that data to inform their future projects plans, and make the delivery process more efficient next time.
Final Word
In conclusion, digital tracking of construction materials can be an invaluable tool for any construction project or company.
It can help keep you on top of your project by providing accurate and timely information on the delivery of materials.
Not only will it save you time, but it will also help you make sure that your project is running as smoothly as possible.
Plus, the convenience of digital tracking eliminates the need for manual tracking methods, freeing up staff members to focus on other tasks.
Using digital tracking to monitor and track construction materials is a great way to ensure that your project is finished on time and within budget.
