Keeping Deliveries On Track Across Multiple Sites

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• Keeping Deliveries On Track Across Multiple Sites

20 October 2026

Keeping deliveries on track across multiple sites means working around different access restrictions, staffing levels and storage limits. A delivery that runs smoothly at one building may disrupt operations at another, especially when traffic, weather or carrier delays interfere.

You can reduce avoidable delays by setting clear delivery procedures and adapting them to each site’s needs. Sheer Logistics tells us how to put that into practice.

Standardise Delivery Requirements for All Sites

Drivers arriving at the wrong entrance or without booking references leave teams chasing suppliers, checking orders and arranging access while goods wait outside. Consistent rules for booking, receiving and checking deliveries help improve supply chain performance by giving suppliers and site teams clear procedures to follow and reducing avoidable delays.

Facilities managers can standardise delivery requirements by ensuring suppliers and hauliers have clear delivery instructions for each site. The instructions should explain how to book a delivery, what information suppliers must provide, who can accept goods, and how staff should record shortages or damage. They should also clarify when suppliers must report delays and who they should contact.

Next, document each location's specific requirements alongside those instructions. You should consider delivery hours, vehicle restrictions, unloading arrangements, security procedures, and a named contact. An office with a shared loading bay will have different access arrangements from a business park with a dedicated goods entrance. Make those differences clear before dispatch.

Whenever access arrangements or receiving hours change, update the instructions and notify everyone affected. Ensure suppliers pass the latest version to their hauliers, especially replacement drivers.

Plan Deliveries Around Site Operations

Facilities managers should plan deliveries around each site's operational needs to keep it running. Cleaning supplies should arrive before the existing stock runs out. The replacement parts should reach the building before the maintenance work commences.

Consult reception, security, maintenance teams, and building occupiers to determine the most suitable delivery windows. Account for peak arrival times, contractor visits, waste collections, and any work that restricts access. Scheduling deliveries during the morning rush can leave drivers competing with staff and visitors for limited space.

Keep everyone informed with a shared calendar that records expected arrivals, unloading times, and who will receive each order. Space out bookings so staff have time to inspect goods and clear the unloading area. Before confirming each slot, check that the required staff, storage space, and handling equipment are available.

Transport Plan for Each Site

Each site needs a transportation plan that reflects its access, capacity and delivery demands. Set the same service standards for every site, with flexibility in how each location applies them.

For example, a city-centre site with limited access may need smaller vehicles and fixed delivery slots. A larger industrial site with dedicated unloading space may accommodate full loads across longer receiving hours.

Facilities managers should work with procurement, logistics teams and suppliers to assess each site’s delivery volumes, storage space, unloading capacity and access restrictions.

Ask suppliers whether they can combine routine orders into fewer deliveries where storage allows. Larger buildings could also consider offsite consolidation. Sites with limited space may need smaller, more frequent shipments. Weigh any transport savings against the extra time and space needed to unload and store larger orders.

Before booking, agree on who will unload the goods and what equipment they will need. If the site has no forklift, confirm that the supplier can provide a suitable unloading option. Review these arrangements whenever the goods, carrier or vehicle type changes.

Review recurring delivery problems and address their causes. If large vehicles regularly struggle to access a site, switch to smaller vehicles and schedule more frequent deliveries as needed.

Plan for Delivery Disruptions

A severe weather forecast gives you time to check cleaning supplies, reschedule deliveries, or even transfer stock from a nearby site. Planning ahead for delivery disruptions helps you maintain essential services, prevent supply shortages and avoid costly emergency orders.

Each site should have a clear plan for handling delivery delays. Events such as road closures, severe weather, and vehicle breakdowns can disrupt schedules. Facilities managers should decide in advance who needs to know, who will reschedule deliveries and where to source essential supplies if delays persist.

Prioritise delays that could interrupt essential site operations. A late stationery order can usually wait. A delayed part needed for essential maintenance may require an alternative supplier or a transfer from another site. Facilities managers should decide who can approve these arrangements before an urgent need arises.

Identify supplies that would quickly affect operations if they ran out. Record how long the current stock will last and how quickly suppliers can replenish it. Where storage allows, consider a modest reserve based on usage and replacement lead times.

Test the plan with a realistic scenario, such as a supplier cancelling a delivery that morning. Can staff reach the right contacts and arrange an alternative? Use any gaps to update responsibilities, contact details, and backup arrangements before a real disruption occurs.

Check Met Office weather warnings and National Highways travel updates for potential disruption along your delivery routes. If delays look likely, agree on revised arrival times with suppliers and notify site teams so they can adjust their schedules.

Measuring Delivery Performance Across the Site Network

Track deliveries consistently across sites to spot recurring problems and see whether your changes are working. Choose performance measures that reflect operational priorities, such as how often deliveries arrive on time, miss their slots or need a second attempt. Also track unloading times and delivery-related complaints.

Consider each site’s access, staffing, operating hours and layout. If unloading regularly takes longer at one location, check for overlapping deliveries, unavailable receiving staff or difficult vehicle access.

Use delivery records to show suppliers and carriers when and where problems occur. Agree on a practical fix, assign someone to manage it and set a review date. Maintain common performance standards, but tailor improvements to each site.

One facility may need staggered delivery slots, while another may need more receiving staff during busy periods. Track the results to identify effective changes that other sites can adopt.

Picture: An image of a cityscape at night featuring traffic on motorways, overlaid with digital data interfaces.

Article written by Dave Mapps | Published 20 October 2026

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