Tarmac, the UK’s leading sustainable construction solutions and building materials company, is transforming its logistics operations through the adoption of Podfather’s advanced route planning and optimisation software. The nationwide rollout aims to improve operational efficiency, reduce environmental impact, and enhance customer service across its delivery network.
Managing more than 30,000 deliveries each week, from Inverness to Southampton,Tarmac uses the Podfather logistics platform to plan, route, and report on the transportation of aggregates, asphalt, and ready-mixed concrete. By digitising route planning, Tarmac is reducing unladen mileage, improving scheduling consistency, and freeing up customer service resources to better support clients.
Ben Garner, Logistics Director at Tarmac, explained: “Using Podfather, we can plan according to a set of rules, regardless of personal preferences or geographical priorities, which allows us to operate across borders, allocating routes fairly and consistently. This enables us to move from next-day planning to live, dynamic planning, giving our team the ability to respond quickly to customer needs and maintain strong relationships.”
Tarmac’s partnership with Podfather began in 2017, with the introduction of electronic Proof of Delivery (ePOD) and real-time vehicle tracking. At the time, this represented a significant step forward for the construction sector, where digital solutions of this kind were still emerging. The ePOD system digitally records delivery data, including date, time, and location-stamped photographs and signatures. This paperless process is estimated to save Tarmac around 750,000 sheets of paper every month, while providing instant access to delivery records to support customer queries and improve on-time, in-full (OTIF) performance.
Building on that success, Tarmac is now expanding the use of Podfather’s route optimisation technology to create a consistent, data-driven planning process nationwide. This digital construction innovation is helping the company streamline logistics, maximise cross-border efficiencies, and ensure fair workload allocation across its fleet and third-party hauliers.
Garner added: “This hasn’t necessarily been an easy process. We are working with experienced teams and evolving long-standing processes. However, we are already seeing measurable results. We can now demonstrate fair allocation to hauliers and have increased their productivity by improving the ratio of laden to unladen mileage by up to 10%, directly benefiting their operational performance.”
Tarmac’s investment in digital logistics technology reflects a broader industry shift toward smarter, data-led delivery management in the construction supply chain. Through Podfather, the company continues to advance its sustainability goals, enhance transparency, and deliver a more responsive customer experience, strengthening its position as a leader in digital transformation within the UK construction and materials sector.
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