Digitalization paves the way for more reliable planning when implementing complex, large-scale projects and the accompanying logistics processes. That’s the finding of IT experts at AXIT, a Siemens company, who studied what it takes to streamline the coordination of supply processes in industrial and plant construction.

How can digital solutions be deployed to bring transparency and efficiency to the complex supply processes of large-scale projects? The authors of a new expert paper took on this very question, outlining the effects of digital information and supply processes in the construction and installation of complex industrial systems.

“Digitizing the information processes makes it easier to integrate all the relevant project partners and brings transparency to logistical supply processes,” according to Christian Wendt, who co-authored the AXIT study. This enables more reliable planning and faster coordination of large-scale projects – which sometimes attract considerable public attention. “Digitized information and logistical processes help keep construction projects on schedule and enable the more efficient use of resources.”

The authors demonstrate how cloud platforms provide the technological foundation for the digitized flow of information and the coordination of the project-related logistical processes. Such platforms bring all project partners into the logistical processes, transcending the boundaries of different countries, languages, and system environments. The involved parties can always see which transports are in progress at any given time and whether they’ll arrive on schedule. They also have constant access to technical drawings, customs information, and other important information. Solutions such as the AX4 logistics platform from AXIT can serve as control towers, giving supervisors a broad spectrum of reliable options for managing their projects.

The new AXIT expert paper outlines how suppliers, carriers, and construction companies can benefit from the digital supply chain in their project logistics and from the end-to-end visibility that this provides. The paper, entitled “The Role of IT in Successful Project Logistics,” can be downloaded free of charge here.