DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION OF WAREHOUSE AND TRANSPORT OPERATIONS IN BUILDING MATERIALS

For a building materials company operating across multiple business units, plants and warehouses, logistics digital transformation is not simply about replacing spreadsheets with software. Warehousing, domestic transportation and international logistics each require different workflows and levels of control. Smartlog introduced Smartlog WMS, Smartlog TMS and Smartlog GTMS across different operational domains, creating a foundation for more structured warehouse execution, stronger transport governance and less fragmented logistics data.

ABOUT OUR CUSTOMER

Our customer is the Vietnamese operation of a French-origin building materials and construction solutions group with more than 360 years of history.

Founded in 1665, the Group now employs approximately 162,000 people and operates in 81 countries, designing, manufacturing and distributing materials, services and solutions for the construction industry.

In Vietnam, the company manufactures and distributes building materials across multiple business units and sites with different operational requirements.

This multi-site structure means logistics transformation cannot focus on a single warehouse or transportation flow. The business needs stronger standards while maintaining the flexibility required by individual sites.

OPERATING CONTEXT

Before the transformation, parts of the logistics operation still relied heavily on Excel, manual processes and fragmented data sources.

Within warehousing, the business needed to standardize inbound, outbound, inventory, stock counting, traceability and documentation, while supporting site-specific requirements.

International transportation involved multiple stages, including quotation, rate approval, planning, forwarder/carrier coordination, documentation, shipment tracking and cost management.

Without a more centralized management view, teams had to spend additional effort consolidating and reconciling information across different parties.

KEY CHALLENGES

Logistics data was fragmented across operational domains

Warehousing, domestic transportation and international logistics each had different operating structures. Information distributed across separate sources made consistent management visibility more difficult.

International transportation required complex multi-party coordination

From quotation and approval to forwarders, carriers, documentation and tracking, international shipments involved multiple coordination points. Spreadsheet-driven workflows increased the burden of monitoring status and exceptions.

Warehouse processes needed standardization without ignoring site differences

Individual locations could have different inventory-counting, traceability, documentation, dock or integration requirements. The system therefore needed to provide common standards while remaining adaptable to actual site operations.

SMARTLOG’S APPROACH

Smartlog structured the project around three solution layers aligned with different operational domains, rather than forcing the entire network into one universal workflow.

Smartlog WMS – Standardizing warehouse execution

Smartlog WMS supports inbound, outbound, inventory, stock counting, traceability and warehouse data management, while accommodating site-specific operational requirements.

This provides a more structured foundation for warehouse execution and control.

Smartlog TMS – Digitizing domestic transportation management

Smartlog TMS extends digital management into domestic transportation, adding a dedicated transport-management layer to the company's logistics environment.

The scope can be configured according to actual transport requirements instead of being treated as identical to warehouse or international logistics workflows.

Smartlog GTMS – Strengthening international transportation management

Smartlog GTMS (SGTM) is designed to centralize key international logistics objects such as quotations, orders, forwarders/carriers, documents, tracking and transportation costs.

This gives teams a stronger foundation for status monitoring and coordination across a complex multi-party process.

RESULTS

The project has established a clearer digital framework across warehousing, domestic transportation and international transportation, with solution scopes designed around different sites and operational domains.

Smartlog WMS provides a foundation for more structured inbound, outbound, inventory, counting and traceability processes.

Smartlog TMS adds a management layer for domestic transportation, while SGTM is designed to bring key international transport data and statuses into a more centralized environment.

Instead of managing each logistics flow entirely in isolation, the business is progressively building a more structured and controllable logistics operating model.

BUSINESS VALUE

For a multi-site building materials manufacturer, digital transformation does not necessarily mean forcing every operation into one identical process.

The greater value comes from standardizing what should be standardized, digitizing each operational domain appropriately and retaining flexibility where site differences matter.

Smartlog Ecosystem provide a foundation for stronger warehouse, domestic transportation and international logistics management as the network continues to scale.