Logistics
Planning load-in when site access is shared
How to schedule deliveries onto an event site with one access road and several suppliers, and how to plan the load-out before the event starts.
On most event sites the access is the bottleneck. There’s one gate, one road or one loading bay, and every supplier wants to arrive first thing on build day. The marquee truck blocks the fencing delivery, the fencing crew stands around, and the branding goes up an hour late because the structure it hangs on isn’t finished.
Load-in planning means deciding, before anyone arrives, who comes in when, where they offload and how long they have.
1. Get the access rules in writing
Ask the venue or landowner, and whoever controls the road, for:
- the times the site can be accessed on each build day, and any quiet hours
- vehicle limits: maximum length, height or weight, low gates, soft ground, tight turns
- where vehicles may wait, and where they may not
- whether the access is shared with a working venue, residents or another event
- road closure times, if the event uses a public road
Don’t plan around what was allowed last year. Venues change their rules, and a road closure can move.
2. List every delivery
Before you schedule anything, write down every vehicle that needs to come in. For each one, note:
- the supplier and a contact number for the driver or their site lead
- the vehicle type
- what it’s carrying
- how long offloading usually takes
- whether it has to return during the event, or only at load-out
Suppliers who say “we’ll just pop in quickly” belong on the list too. Small vans cause as many blockages as trucks when they park in the wrong place.
3. Sequence by build order
Deliveries should arrive in the order things are built, not in the order suppliers ask for slots. A common order on an outdoor site:
- marking out, and anything that goes into or onto the ground
- structures such as marquees, stages and arches
- power distribution
- fencing and barriers
- flooring, furniture and branding
- sound, lighting and screens
- stock, catering and anything perishable
Two exceptions. Large vehicles usually go first, while the site is still open and they can turn. And anything that blocks the access road once it’s built, such as a fence line across the entrance, goes last.
4. Give each supplier a slot and an offload point
Send every supplier a time window and a specific place to offload. Leave gaps between slots so one late truck doesn’t push back the whole day. If two deliveries have to overlap, give them separate offload points.
A simple schedule is enough:
| Slot | Supplier | Vehicle | Offload point | Contact |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| [time] | [structures supplier] | [truck] | [point A] | [name, number] |
| [time] | [fencing supplier] | [truck] | [fence line] | [name, number] |
| [time] | [branding supplier] | [van] | [point B] | [name, number] |
Share it with every supplier and with the venue, and send updates to all of them at once.
5. Put someone on the gate
One person holds the schedule at the access point, with a radio or phone. They check each vehicle in, send it to the right offload point, and hold back anyone who’s early. They need the authority to say “wait there”. On a tight site, that job is worth more than one extra pair of hands on the build.
If there’s space nearby, set aside a holding area where early vehicles can wait off the access road.
6. Plan load-out as a separate schedule
Load-out isn’t load-in in reverse. Everyone wants to leave at once, crews are tired, and hired items have to go back to the right supplier in the right condition. Plan it before the event:
- the order in which suppliers collect, with slots, as for load-in
- which items stay on site overnight, and who is responsible for them
- the time the site has to be clear, and who does the final walk-round with the venue
What to send your logistics or set-up supplier
If someone else is running the build, give them the access rules, your supplier list with contacts, the site map and the times the site must be clear. The rest of a useful brief is covered in what to send an event company for an accurate quote.
Nahud handles event logistics, including delivery schedules and load-in and load-out, and event set-up and breakdown. To talk through a site, request a quote.