Building Materials Delivery: How to Overcome Last-Mile Challenges

• The problem: Building supplies are bulky, fragile, or both—think drywall, roofing materials, and windows. Damage during transit can lead to claims averaging $3,000 to $7,000 per incident. Without proof of construction material delivery or product condition, disputes are harder to resolve.
• The impact: Distributors lose money and credibility, while contractors face delays that jeopardize their timelines.

• The problem: A recent workforce study by Descartes found that 37% of supply chain and logistics leaders report high labor shortages, with transportation operations being the most impacted at 61%. The American Trucking Associations reinforce this concern, citing a historic driver shortage of over 80,000 drivers, which could skyrocket to 160,000 by 2030. Turnover exceeds 30% due to factors such as working conditions and other attractive opportunities in the industry.
• The impact: Fewer drivers mean less capacity for timely deliveries, increasing delays and operational costs. According to the study, 58% of respondents indicated that workforce shortages have negatively impacted customer service, further underscoring the challenge that logistics providers face.

• The problem: Last-minute orders, same-day pickups, and specific delivery windows often create planning chaos. Even with digital systems in place, basic routing technology fails to effectively handle these last-minute changes and exceptions. Distributors may still end up creating inefficient routes that result in unnecessary mileage, poor delivery sequences, or insufficient stop density. Coordinating with contractors’ job-site schedules adds another layer of complexity.
• The impact: Disorganized deliveries frustrate contractors, cause job-site downtime, inflate fuel costs, waste labor hours, and increase the waiting time for materials—delays of 30 minutes to two hours are common.

• The problem: Contractors often ask, "Where's my order?" With no real-time order tracking, they’re left in the dark. This results in frequent calls to dispatchers—from both contractors and the distributor’s own salespeople—further impacting operations.
• The impact: Poor visibility disrupts job-site coordination, leading to cascading delays.

• The problem: Delivering a mix of heavy, large items like lumber and smaller components like hardware makes efficient routing and vehicle capacity utilization a challenge.
• The impact: Poorly planned routes due to capacity constraints increase operating costs and reduce fleet utilization.

• The problem: Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) violations related to load securement and PPE can lead to hefty fines. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's (FMCSA) Large Truck Crash Causation Study found that cargo shifts contributed to 4% of serious large truck crashes, while improper cargo securement played a role in 3% of incidents.
• The impact: Non-compliance damages company reputations and exposes businesses to legal and financial risks.

• The Problem: Construction sites and delivery vehicles are prime targets for theft, with annual losses in North America estimated at $1 billion. Thieves often target parked trucks or unattended materials at job sites, exploiting the high resale value of building supplies like lumber.
• The Impact: Theft causes immediate financial loss and leads to cascading project delays. Missing materials force reorders, increasing costs for labor, fuel, and vehicle wear. Additionally, strained relationships with contractors and damaged reputations result from repeated issues.

Advanced routing, mobile, and telematics technology empowers distributors to overcome these challenges by improving efficiency, enhancing visibility, and optimizing resource use. Here are the most impactful solutions and how they make a difference:

Drivers can use mobile devices to capture photos, timestamps, and signatures, ensuring accurate, verifiable deliveries. Electronic proof of delivery (POD) not only prevents disputes but also prevents losses due to inaccurate claims of theft and speeds up return-to-road times for drivers, increasing fleet productivity. Other benefits include reduced paper and paper processing and fewer redeliveries. 

Effective route planning is essential in building materials distribution, where deliveries widely range in size. Optimized planning ensures deliveries align with job site schedules, minimize unnecessary miles, and maximize fleet efficiency.

• Job site deliveries: Many construction sites lack established addresses, requiring precise GPS-based routing to ensure drivers reach the right location.
• Priority scheduling: Anchor stops—such as early morning deliveries—can be planned first, with additional orders optimized around them.
• Capacity optimization: Varying load sizes create complex routing needs. Some trucks require multiple reloads for bulky materials, while others service high-density routes with smaller products. Route optimization balances workloads to prevent inefficiencies.
• Same-day orders & call-ins: Routing adjustments can accommodate last-minute orders without disrupting existing schedules.
• Depot & branch selection: The system selects the best fulfillment location based on inventory, distance, and customer delivery windows to reduce unnecessary miles.
• Exception handling: Tools allow planners to adjust for holidays, driver call-outs, or vehicle breakdowns without excessive manual intervention.

By leveraging automated sequencing and workload balancing, route planning software reduces labor, fuel, and maintenance costs while ensuring reliable, on-time deliveries.        

Delays and miscommunication can lead to costly project setbacks. Real-time tracking and customer engagement tools help mitigate these risks by keeping job site managers and crews informed.

• Track shipments in real-time and adjust schedules to optimize crew productivity.
• Reduce status calls by accessing accurate ETAs and automated notifications.
• Communicate special instructions to avoid missed deliveries.
• Self-manage orders, including confirming, rescheduling, or requesting additional materials without calling dispatch.
• Provide immediate feedback to improve service and minimize future issues.

By combining real-time tracking with interactive customer engagement, building supply distributors can improve on-site efficiency, reduce delays, and enhance the overall delivery experience.

Driver safety is a top priority in the building supply industry, where large vehicles, heavy loads, and busy job sites create additional risks. Many accidents stem from poor driving behaviors, which can be corrected with consistent training.

A structured fleet driver safety training program helps ensure drivers stay current with best practices, reducing the risk of accidents, cutting costs, and improving fleet productivity.

• Proactive training: Short, ongoing lessons that reinforce safe driving habits, compliance with industry regulations, and best practices for handling building materials.
• Incident-based training: When unsafe behaviors are detected—such as hard braking or distracted driving—drivers should receive targeted coaching to correct issues before they lead to accidents.
• Tracking and compliance: Monitoring training progress ensures that safety remains a priority and that drivers who need additional support receive it.

Many of Descartes’ building supply distribution customers have turned the construction  challenges they faced into opportunities and grown their businesses and bottom line through superior last-mile delivery performance.

Here are how some of them have benefited from leveraging advanced solutions and expert support.

US LBM Holdings, a leading U.S. distributor of specialty building materials across 250 locations, leveraged Descartes’ last-mile delivery solution to achieve:

"By working with Descartes, we have a solution that gives our highly mobile contractor customers accurate and extensive real-time visibility into the details and timing of their construction site deliveries. This mobile delivery management solution enables us to be more responsive and more efficient, and helps our customers be more productive."

Senthil Arumugam, Vice President of Logistics and Inventory Management, US LBM Holdings, LLC

Read the case study for the full results.

Richards Building Supply, a wholesale distributor of building materials in 12 states, used route planning and delivery software to help ensure consistent, on-time delivery to its growing customer base. Key results include:

"We are in a much stronger position to drive realistic and reliable delivery schedules, increase the number of deliveries we can make each day, and ensure delivery time windows are tightly coordinated with customer requirements."

Nicholas Chesna, Fleet Assistant Manager, RBS

Read the full case study for more insights.

The last mile doesn’t have to be a bottleneck for your building supply distribution business. By addressing these challenges with advanced technology, you can reduce costs, improve efficiency, and enhance the customer experience.

Ready to elevate your last-mile building materials delivery? Contact a solution expert to learn how our end-to-end fleet management software for construction distribution can help your business thrive in today’s competitive market.