Construction logistics software: plan and control deliveries on site

Projects rarely stall because of the building work itself. They stall because a truck is queuing at the gate, the crane is double-booked, materials are dropped in the wrong place, or nobody ordered the skip to be emptied. Construction logistics is about removing those stoppages, so the right materials arrive at the right place at the right time and the trades can get on with building.

This guide covers what construction logistics involves, how to set up a site logistics plan, how delivery booking works in practice and how transport data feeds climate reporting. It ends with a checklist and FAQ.

What is construction logistics?

Construction logistics is the planning, control and follow-up of everything that moves to, on and from a construction site: materials, plant, shared resources, waste, and the people and vehicles handling them. It covers both the flow on site and the supply chain behind it: suppliers, logistics terminals and hauliers.

Good construction logistics answers the same five questions for every delivery:

• What is coming, and how much?
• When does it arrive, and how long does unloading take?
• Where is it unloaded and stored, and which gate does the vehicle use?
• Who receives it, and which resources are needed (crane, hoist, forklift)?
• What happened: did it arrive as planned, or was there a deviation?

Why it decides time, cost and site safety

On a site with several contractors and limited space, every unplanned delivery affects someone else. Coordinating by phone and paper lists means slow communication and poor visibility, and that shows up as waiting time, material waste, damaged goods and interrupted work.

Well-run logistics gives you:

• An orderly site, a foundation for a good working environment and safe workplaces.
• Fewer obstacles in production, because materials and resources are there when the work starts.
• Less impact on the surroundings: less queuing and fewer trucks idling in the street.
• Data for follow-up, for production and for climate reporting.

The site logistics plan

The logistics plan describes how logistics will work through each stage of the project. Draw it up early and update it as the job moves from groundworks and frame to envelope and fit-out. At a minimum it should cover:

1. Roles: who is the logistics manager, who approves bookings and who receives deliveries.
2. Access and gates: routes in and out, opening hours, rules for reversing and turning.
3. Unloading zones and laydown areas: where each type of goods is unloaded and stored.
4. Shared resources: cranes, hoists and forklifts, and how they are booked.
5. Delivery rules: booking lead time, what a booking must include, and what happens to unbooked vehicles.
6. Waste: skip and container locations, segregation and collection.
7. Deviations and goods-in checks: how faults and damage are recorded and passed on.
8. Follow-up: which KPIs you track, such as planned versus unplanned deliveries.

The plan only works if everyone delivering to the site knows it, not just the main contractor.

The site layout plan

The site layout plan is the drawing of how the site is set out: welfare cabins, laydown, cranes and their reach, hoists, pedestrian and vehicle routes, gates, unloading areas and waste points. It's the map the logistics plan runs on. Make one per stage, draw unloading zones to the size of the vehicles that actually arrive, and keep pedestrians and vehicles apart wherever you can.

Delivery planning and delivery booking

The heart of construction logistics is a shared delivery schedule: a calendar where every delivery and resource booking is visible to everyone on the project. A delivery booking is when a contractor or supplier reserves a time and states the gate, the unloading zone, the resources needed and what is being delivered.

What works on site:

• One schedule, not several. A spreadsheet per contractor creates double bookings.
• Book resources with the delivery. A precast delivery without crane time booked is a queue waiting to happen.
• Realistic time windows that match real unloading times for each type of delivery.
• Notifications to the people involved, so the receiver knows the truck is on its way.
• Clear rules for unbooked deliveries, so contractors who booked aren't pushed aside.

Unloading zones, gates and checkpoints

Unloading zones decide how many deliveries the site can take per day. Name and colour-code each zone, link it to its gates and resources, and make sure every booking states a zone.

Gates are often a bigger bottleneck than expected. If someone has to walk down and open up for every vehicle, the day is full of interruptions. With automatic gates controlled by the booking, the driver can open the gate during the booked time.

Deviations and goods-in checks

Damaged goods, wrong quantities, late deliveries and unbooked vehicles will happen. What matters is whether they are recorded. Log the deviation at unloading with a photo from your phone, set type, priority and deadline, and send it to the responsible subcontractor or supplier. That gives you evidence for claims, for change and additional work, and for better planning.

Waste and containers

Waste is part of construction logistics, not a separate track. Containers take up space, emptying needs vehicles through the same gates, and poor segregation costs money. Plan container locations in the layout plan, keep track of which containers and waste types are on site, and book emptying and new containers in the same calendar as other deliveries.

Transport emissions and climate reporting (A4)

Transport of building products to site is module A4 in the EN 15978 life-cycle model, and it is increasingly part of mandatory climate reporting in the Nordics:

• Sweden: since 1 January 2022, new buildings require a climate declaration covering modules A1–A5, registered with Boverket.
• Denmark: BR18 requires a life-cycle climate calculation that includes A4, and since 1 July 2025 the construction process (A4–A5) has its own limit value.
• Norway: TEK17 § 17-1 requires a greenhouse gas account for apartment blocks and commercial buildings that includes modules A1–A4.

This is where construction logistics becomes a data source: every booked delivery already holds the supplier, the address and what was delivered. Read more in Swedish climate declaration module A4 and CO2 data on the construction site.

Digital delivery notes under BEAst Supply via Peppol (T120) are increasingly requested in Sweden. Support for them in LogiPlan is in development. See Digital delivery notes in Swedish construction.

How construction logistics software helps

All of this can be done with binders, phone calls and spreadsheets, but it gets hard as soon as more than a couple of contractors share the same gates and cranes. LogiPlan® is a construction logistics platform developed by builders for builders that brings it into one place:

• Delivery scheduling: deliveries and resource use in an interactive calendar or daily list, with delivery, resource and waste bookings and notifications. Cranes and forklifts can't be booked for two activities at once.
• Construction area management: several co-located projects, colour-coded unloading zones, resources, gates, checkpoints, logistics terminals, site plans and site documentation.
• Gate control: automatic gates can be connected and opened by LogiPlan, and you control gate permissions and opening times.
• Deviation management: deviation type, priority, deadlines, change and additional work, and sending deviations by email. Record them with your smartphone.
• Waste management: track every container on site and send container and emptying orders to integrated waste suppliers.
• Statistics and environmental data: planned and unplanned deliveries, deliveries with deviations, and CO2 and CO2e emissions. LogiPlan calculates climate impact for part A4 of the Swedish climate declaration, from searchable supplier addresses with fully automatic distance calculation.
• LogiPlan Terminal®: warehouse, orders, pick lists and delivery plans for logistics terminals, synced with the site.

LogiPlan runs in the browser, for example on a big screen for planning, and in the mobile app on site. LogiPlan is used in Sweden, Denmark and Norway.

"LogiPlan® is developed by builders for builders and one can see that in the features that it provides. The customer is invited to participate and impact the development of the product and the ideas that we have had were implemented fast. As an example, a driver can open gates for a delivery if allowed under her delivery slot time which will save a lot of time because we don't need to run to the gates to open them." – Michael Frisk Guldplatz, Project Katarinahuset, Stockholm

"With LogiPlan® we observe that our contractors learn from each other. When they see that another contractor books a certain time because it's favourable and faster, then they do the same." – Karl-Johan Roihjert, Production Manager, Project Life City, Stockholm

See how it works in practice in our case studies, including Atrium Ljungberg's Sickla project and Linxon, live on site the Monday after a first meeting on Friday.

See it on a project like yours. We'll walk you through the delivery calendar, gate control and CO2 data based on your project. Book a demo

Checklist: construction logistics from start-up to handover

Before start on site

• Appoint a logistics manager and decide who approves bookings.
• Produce a site layout plan per stage and a logistics plan shared with every party.
• Define unloading zones, gates, checkpoints and shared resources.
• Set booking rules: lead time, time windows and unbooked deliveries.
• Plan container locations, waste segregation and collection.
• Decide how transport data will be collected for climate reporting.

During construction

• Book every delivery and resource in the same calendar.
• Every booking states gate, unloading zone and resources.
• Record deviations with photos at goods-in and send them to the responsible party.
• Update the layout plan when the stage changes.
• Review planned versus unplanned deliveries weekly.

At completion

• Compile transport data and CO2 records for climate reporting.
• Review deviations and statistics and carry the lessons to the next project.

Construction logistics FAQ

What is construction logistics software? Software that plans and coordinates deliveries, shared resources, gates, unloading zones and waste on a construction site in one shared system, so contractors, subcontractors and suppliers work from the same schedule instead of phone calls and spreadsheets.

What should a construction site logistics plan include? Roles, access routes and gates, unloading zones and laydown areas, shared resources such as cranes and hoists, delivery booking rules, waste handling, deviation and goods-in routines, and how logistics is followed up.

How does delivery booking on a construction site work? Contractors and suppliers book a time in a shared delivery calendar and state the gate, unloading zone, resources and what is being delivered. The logistics manager sees every booking, double bookings are avoided, and the receiver is notified.

Can drivers open the site gates themselves? Yes. With LogiPlan, automatic gates can be connected and opened by the system. You control permissions and times, and the driver can open the gate during the booked time.

What is module A4 in climate reporting? A4 is transport of building products from the factory to the construction site in the EN 15978 life-cycle model. It is part of Sweden's climate declaration, Denmark's BR18 climate calculation and Norway's TEK17 greenhouse gas account.

Which countries is LogiPlan used in? LogiPlan is used in Sweden, Denmark and Norway, on the web and in the iOS and Android app.

Ready to get your site logistics under control? LogiPlan is developed by builders for builders. Book a demo or email info@logiplan.se. Book a demo