Carpenters: organising timber orders and deliveries, 2026 guide

1. Order from a genuinely approved set of documents

Bring together the drawing, its date and revision, and the person who approved the document being used for the order. A photograph of a sketch or an old quote can help explain the project, but it is not necessarily a fabrication document. Identify unresolved questions: an altered stair opening, an interface with masonry, a special component or the choice of a connection. Keep an uncertain item pending, with a named person responsible and a deadline for an answer.

Create a supply record linked to that version of the project documents. When a change arrives, identify the affected lines before sending a new order. Do not alter a member’s dimensions to solve an availability problem: any substitution affecting the design needs checking by the competent professional. This guide covers purchasing and delivery organisation; it does not provide structural design or lifting methods. Keep confirmed information, proposals and matters awaiting approval clearly separate.

2. Build a material schedule the supplier can use

Give each component or family a readable reference, a full description, dimensions taken from the approved documents, quantity and destination within the project. Add the characteristics required by the design and the documents expected with the supply. Do not infer quality from appearance or an approximate product name. Units must be explicit and consistent across your list, the supplier’s quotation and the purchase order. Check the accessories associated with the batch too, so an available component is not unusable for lack of a related item.

Have another person check the schedule where your organisation allows it. This check covers references, duplicates, quantities and correspondence with drawings; it does not replace a separate technical study. Note special lengths or cutting requirements and ask how the supplier identifies delivered components. A line such as roof timber hides too much information. A detailed description helps explain price differences and check the delivery without reconstructing the entire enquiry.

3. Compare suppliers on the same basis

Send the same revision of the material schedule to each supplier you approach. Ask for a line-by-line answer identifying proposed references, possible substitutions and excluded items. Compare transport, unloading, packaging, split deliveries and packaging returns where these are offered. A lower price may cover a different scope. Do not confuse a product advertised as in stock with a quantity actually reserved for your project.

Ask for a confirmed lead time and its conditions, and date that information in your record. If the quotation depends on technical approval or a deposit, place that step in the sequence before promising a date to the customer. A substitution must be reviewed and accepted for the project before ordering. Keep the supplier’s response with your version of the schedule: price alone does not establish what was selected or the conditions under which delivery is expected.

4. Split deliveries according to actual progress

Arrange batches by work area or stage without separating components that need to be available together. For each batch, check that supports are ready, access is available, other trades are coordinated and the competent team is available. Set a target date and a confirmation date rather than making a fixed promise too early. The delivery calendar should remain linked to site progress and unresolved decisions, as well as the carrier’s availability.

Swedish Wood recommends matching deliveries to the pace of work and preparing storage in advance. Södra gives the same principle for its CLT elements to limit waiting on site before installation. These sources support batch planning; they do not establish a universal storage duration. If a delay occurs, contact the supplier about the actual options for holding, rescheduling or splitting the delivery. Do not assume that these options are free or immediately available.

Swedish Wood — Handling and storage

Södra — Instructions for handling CLT on the construction site

5. Prepare access and unloading with the people involved

Check the arrival route, meeting point, access dimensions and constraints, and the space required for the planned operation. Flag known obstacles and interfaces with traffic, neighbours and other businesses. Have the responsible people confirm the vehicle and unloading equipment. Administrative preparation should provide useful information to the professionals; it does not replace their safety assessment or their choice of equipment appropriate to the loads.

Name someone who will be present to receive the delivery, provide a business contact and agree how the arrival time will be confirmed. Identify the destinations of the batches beforehand to reduce subsequent moves. If an area is not ready or actual conditions differ from the information supplied, have the operation reassessed before proceeding. Do not ask the team to improvise handling to keep a time slot. Any local permissions and site rules must be addressed by the people responsible for them.

6. Arrange storage for the particular product delivered

Prepare the location before arrival: an identified area, suitable supports, protection from weather and dirt, access for inspection, and conditions meeting the manufacturer’s instructions. Keep batches identifiable and avoid trapping the components needed first behind other materials. Interior timber, structural timber and panels do not automatically need the same arrangements. Ask for the instructions for the exact product instead of copying a practice seen on another site.

Swedish Wood stresses protection against water, sunlight, dirt and ground moisture, with suitable air circulation. Södra’s cited guidance covers CLT storage and handling before installation; it does not cover the entire building’s protection during construction. Moisture values and national standards in those documents do not become universal thresholds. Have the project and supplier criteria checked. Intact packaging alone is not evidence that any storage conditions will be suitable.

Swedish Wood — Handling and storage

Södra — Instructions for handling CLT on the construction site

7. Receive, document and resolve discrepancies

On arrival, compare the order, delivery note and components actually present. Check references, accessible quantities, stated dimensions, characteristics and apparent condition according to the planned procedure. Swedish Wood recommends checks including packaging, quality, dimensions and moisture against the order. Photograph useful discrepancies, labels and the affected batch as a whole. A photograph without a reference or link to the paperwork may not identify which component has the problem.

If something is missing, damaged or uncertain, record the issue separately and contact the supplier under the agreed receiving arrangements. Do not treat a telephone promise of a replacement as a completed delivery. Record the reference, quantity, decision, responsible person and stated date. Claims procedures and deadlines depend on the applicable conditions; this guide does not replace them with a single legal deadline. Before use, competent people must resolve doubts that could affect the product’s suitability.

Swedish Wood — Handling and storage

8. Cost logistics time without counting it twice

Separate order preparation, receipt, checking, planned handling and any subsequent moves. Use your actual resources and service providers’ conditions when calculating costs. One hour involving two people means two person-hours, even though the calendar shows only one hour. Check what the supplier’s service already includes so the same unloading is not counted twice. Amounts and taxes depend on the country and your circumstances; no benchmark rate is inferred here.

After a delivery, compare the estimate with the time actually spent. If a batch had to be moved again, identify why: an occupied area, a changed installation sequence, missing information or another contractor’s delay. Use that feedback to improve the next order. Address changes to the customer’s service under your contract and applicable law, without automatically turning every supplier delay into an extra charge. Distinguish internal cost, an accepted change and the amount actually invoiced.

9. Reschedule and keep a useful project record

Before each batch, check weather, access, area readiness and the availability of everyone involved. If a condition changes, confirm the new slot with all affected parties and update one reference schedule. State what can still proceed, what awaits a decision and when the next check will take place. An announcement of a delay does not mean a new date has been accepted. The customer needs to understand the actual effect on the project, rather than receive a vague explanation about a material problem.

Keep drawings, schedules, supplier quotations, orders, delivery notes, photographs and resolved issues together. Name revisions clearly and store sensitive documents appropriately. Want to spend less time retyping observations for quotes and invoices? Discover Vocalys to prepare documents by voice from your smartphone, then check references, quantities and conditions before sharing. The software assists with drafting; competent people remain responsible for validating the technical suitability of supplies and the safety of operations.

Reusable job sheet

• Approved drawing and revision identified.
• Material schedule checked for references, units and characteristics.
• Supplier quotations compared for the same scope.
• Batches linked to areas that are actually ready.
• Access, equipment and receiving person confirmed.
• Storage prepared under the product instructions.
• Discrepancies documented and decisions tracked through resolution.
• Person-hours, changes and schedule updated.

Batch record: project and area; drawing and revision; references and quantities; supplier and order; proposed and confirmed dates; access and receipt; storage location; component checks; discrepancy and decision; responsible person; next review.

Controlled supply connects approved documents with the realities of the site. Order verified references, confirm batches at the right time and track every discrepancy until it is resolved.