Descartes

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Logistics Solutions for Building Supplies & Construction Sites

Improve customer service and site deliveries

Better fleet utilisation

Optimise delivery schedules and routes of vehicles to improve efficiency.

Better customer experience

Automatically notify customers of delivery times and any changes to the ETA.

Improved sustainability and reduced costs

Reduce miles driven to minimise fuel usage and CO2 emissions.

Faster, time-to-invoice

Digital proof of delivery eliminates errors and time-consuming paperwork.

The construction and house building sector is a challenging market to serve with products and deliveries often needed the next day or at a specific date and time.

Economic challenges such as driver shortages, high-interest rates and rising costs have had a big impact on the construction sector.

To move projects along without adding new concerns or delays, building supplies and construction materials companies need to adapt with new solutions to provide cost-effective, on time and in full (OTIF) deliveries.

Contact an Industry Expert

Descartes is proud to be a member of the Builders Merchants Association which plays a crucial role in representing and protecting the interests of its members; builders merchants, plumbing, heating, roofing, decorative and timber merchants along with all of their suppliers.

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Trusted by

Richards Building Supply logistics solution

Overcome building supply logistics challenges

Reducing damage in transit

Large building supplies can be prone to damage in transit. All too frequently, improper handling, poor delivery procedures, and improper loading and unloading can cause serious damage leading to long (and expensive) delays. Optimised loading and delivery routing will ensure that your goods are more likely to be delivered on time and in full.

Optimise Fleet

Cash Flow

Digital Proof of delivery will reduce fraudulent claims of damage and reduce the time to process deliveries to reduce the time to invoice deliveries and time to payment.

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Driver shortages

It is a challenge to meet increased demand and delivery expectations with the well-publicised driver shortage. Overcome this challenge using routing and scheduling software to optimise your fleet deliveries. Existing Descartes customers have increased delivery capacity by 35% without adding vehicles or drivers.

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Visibility

Before the building supplies have even arrived, there may be issues on-site if the construction team is unaware of the forthcoming deliveries. Knowing the delivery window for building supplies is critical. You can give your customers insight into the delivery process for building supplies by choosing the right end-to-end visibility solutions.

Gain Foresight

Customer Service

Improve customer service with customer-enabled order tracking and automated delivery notifications. Throughout the order lifecycle, customers receive updates via email or SMS. These messages provide a link to a branded, online customer portal where clients may check the status of their orders and follow their driver's location on a map in real-time.

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Sustainability

Reducing miles driven and increasing delivery density for building supplies and materials with advanced route optimisation and delivery scheduling software will reduce costs and CO2 emissions. Better for the environment is also better for business.

Cut Your CO2

Delivery Routing & Scheduling Software for Builders Merchants

Logistics solutions for Building supplies and construction sites

We understand the complexity of making deliveries to construction sites, why let operational inefficiencies impact your business success?

Lay the perfect foundation for a positive delivery experience with Descartes’ software.

Not sure where to start? Contact one of our experts.

Logistics solutions for Building Product manufacturers, Merchants and DIY stores

Key Descartes solutions for an optimal logistics operation.

Vehicle loading
- If the Descartes mobile apps are utilised with a handheld mobile device then goods are scanned as they are loaded onto the vehicle, ensuring that the right goods and quantities are loaded and that nothing is left behind.
- The use of mobile devices saves the printing of load documents and tickets, not only avoiding mistakes but also the cost and time of printing them.
Construction site deliveries
- Various site parameters such as access and machinery for offloading can be taken into account by the system ensuring that the correct vehicles and manpower are utilised for deliveries, while also safeguarding that the vehicles are not over-promised, or customers let down. Tight delivery windows can be promised in the safe knowledge that they will be achieved.
Read more about Planning and Scheduling Delivery Routes
Proof of delivery
- Goods being delivered are scanned as they are taken off the vehicle ensuring that the right goods are supplied and that nothing is forgotten.
- Building sites are often chaotic with many people signing for and accepting deliveries regularly on behalf of other trades. Keeping track of goods delivered, who signed for them and the condition of them when delivered is an important aspect of deliveries for any building products company. Descartes’ Proof of Delivery app allows not only for signatures, but the photographs of recipients and locations plus the recording of any damage or shortage identified by the customer with a smartphone device.
- Acceptance of, or issues with, goods delivered and signatures can be instantly sent back to the office for invoices and queries to be dealt with.
Read more about Proof of Delivery
Order Tracking & Notifications
- Customers receive automated notifications at each stage of the delivery process, linking to a branded portal where they can track their progress of their delivery in real time.
- An add on module can also collect customer feedback as soon as the products are delivered.
Discover more about order tracking
Cloud based Software as a Service
- Descartes Automated Route and Scheduling Optimisation is a SaaS cloud-based solution, that enables the operation of the software from any location with an internet connection. This is useful for route planners who may have to work in different office locations or from home.

Building supply and construction case studies

“We were impressed by the investment and support that Descartes put into this product and the roadmap. This technology has allowed us to be agile, forward-thinking and work optimally with our fleet with benefits on costs, sales and satisfaction across the business and with our customers. ”

Edward Corbett - Head of Programme

Delivery capacity increased 25%

OTIF deliveries increased 15%

Fleet size 500+

“We’re delighted with the solution and the service we have received from Descartes. Ultimately, Descartes is helping us minimise our operational costs through its route planning and optimisation solution and is actively contributing to our corporate and social responsibility and sustainability efforts.”

Simon Macdonald, National Transport Manager

Avg distance driven/delivery reduced 2%

Manual processes Replaced

Nationwide stores 300+

“Descartes ePOD solution has unlocked considerable benefits for both our business and our customers. We have seen the number of requests for PoD decline dramatically and have received increasingly positive feedback from our customers.”

Peter Russell, IT Director, Carpet & Flooring

Customer POD requests reduced 80%

Successful 1st Time Deliveries Increased

Operations costs Reduced

“By optimising planning, scheduling and routing, we’ve lowered our distribution costs: we’re getting more capacity out of our fleet and have reduced the number of returned loads by ensuring the right product is loaded onto the right truck. ”

Mark Parsons - Managing Director

Reduced cost of distribution

Increased delivery capacity

Reduced number of returned loads

“We now have the tools to automate formerly manual processes, which increases our efficiency in vehicle routing, asset tracking, fleet maintenance, Department of Transportation (DOT) compliance and more”

Barry Crane, Director of Logistics at Wimsatt Building Materials

Efficiency Improved 20%

Customer Service Improved

Lower Operational Costs

“Our objective was two fold, to improve our customer service and to continue to drive our operational leverage...both of which we have seen significant improvements in. But one thing we have realised is technology isn't the answer to everything, that people and process play a big part of that.”

Joe Zanette - Solution Manager

Transport costs saved $3 million

Number of deliveries utilising POD 600,000

Richards Building Supplies building site

“With the Descartes solution, we now have real-time visibility into deliveries as they are made—and proof of delivery when customers receive their orders,”

Nicholas Chesna - Fleet Assistant Manager

On-time delivery has improved

Real time visibility of deliveries

Great delivery capacity