From Order to Delivery

Rising material and freight costs are putting pressure on the construction industry: Whether it’s timber construction, precast concrete elements, steel construction, facade elements, or modular room units, every additional empty trip, every unused loading space, and every last-minute rescheduling drives up transportation costs per component even further. Especially with long, bulky, or heavy components (e.g., lumber, glued-laminated timber, CLT elements, precast concrete parts, steel beams, facade panels, prefabricated modules, or building services components), the loading and securing strategy, including center of gravity, axle loads, stackability, protective edges, interlayers, lashing points, and unloading sequence, are the key factors that directly determine how many trucks you actually need. If you load “by feel,” you end up paying twice: for empty space in the cargo area and for additional trips, which carry significant weight given current freight and material prices.

In this episode, we’ll show you how to fine-tune the right parameters, from order placement to delivery, to reduce transportation costs despite rising prices, whether you’re dealing with wood components, precast concrete elements, steel structures, or other bulky building materials: First, the load (3D cargo space planning) is planned realistically and in compliance with regulations so that every truck is utilized to its maximum capacity. Building on this, robust routes are created that take into account the unloading sequence, time windows, and driving distances, thereby avoiding unnecessary kilometers. AI supports you as a co-pilot: It identifies cost drivers early on and provides you with comparable planning options in a matter of seconds, regardless of which construction segment the components come from.

Your 3 Key Takeaways

✅ Identify and eliminate cost drivers: You’ll see where unnecessary costs arise along the chain from order to delivery, such as empty space in the cargo area or last-minute additional trips, and how an AI tool can safely and cost-effectively schedule the transport of long, bulky, or heavy components (wood, concrete, steel, or prefabricated modules) in a matter of seconds.

✅ 3D loading reduces freight costs: You’ll learn how maximizing cargo space utilization reduces the number of shipments required, making you less vulnerable to rising freight rates, from factory loading to delivery directly to the construction site, regardless of the construction sub-segment.

✅ AI as a planning co-pilot: Calculate variants faster and reduce costs. You’ll see how AI-supported optimization generates cost-effective planning scenarios in short runs and prioritizes critical risks (e.g., damage/focus areas, implausible capacity utilization, problematic stop combinations), across timber construction, precast concrete, steel construction, and other construction segments.

Duration: 30 Minutes

Host: Stefan Kremsner