Can You Benefit from a Proof of Delivery System in Your Industry?

Every fleet owner knows the importance of electronic proof of delivery (ePOD) systems. ePOD software ensures that your drivers, your service team and your customers know exactly when and where goods and services have been delivered.

Simple systems can capture signatures; but more advanced systems will allow your team to take notes, add photographs, fill out customized forms and communicate with the home office, all within the application. All industries that deliver can benefit from an electronic proof of delivery system.

In the past, delivery service teams would get a physical signature from the customer on a paper form and bring it back to the office at the end of the day. The office team would then spend hours inputting that information into the main tracking and reporting system. Now, advanced proof of delivery systems allow your field teams to instantly record customer signatures electronically while capturing photo evidence that the goods or services were delivered.

The operational benefits of electronic proof of delivery systems help alleviate the most common problems associated with deliveries and field service. Not only do they eliminate claims that a package was delivered to an incorrect address, but they advance your customer service levels and streamline your delivery operational processes.

For example, if there is an issue at an address—let’s say you deliver and install furniture—the service team can be instantly notified, allowing them to quickly contact the customer to solve the problem. In this case, the team unpacked the delivery load at the customer’s house and noticed that one of the pieces was damaged. They sent a note back to the service team from the ePOD app on their phone. The service team contacted the customer and arranged a time to get a replacement item sent to them, even before a compliant was filed.

What could have been a service and logistical nightmare gets resolved in minutes. The goal of your company is to provide the best customer service you can while optimizing the resources and time it takes to do so—ePOD helps you achieve that.

And it’s not just limited to packages and goods—if you provide any service, a proof of delivery system is just as helpful. For example, if your company provides landscaping services, your team can take pictures of the lawn upon completion, eliminating unnecessary (and unwanted) paperwork.

Read on to find out how electronic proof of delivery systems help you maintain the delicate balance between customer service excellence and fleet efficiency.

Third Party Logistics

As a third-party logistics provider, you know that you need to offer exceptional service to stand out from the crowd. Wincanton, the U.K.s largest logistics company, uses Aptean Electronic Proof of Delivery system to actively communicate with the office team throughout the day. The tool allows them the flexibility to make changes to their doorstep processes and improvements to their service. In addition, their drivers can capture comprehensive delivery details, like photographs, documents, notes and even time stamps. Moreover, Wincanton can customize specific forms and functionality for each individual client’s requirements—ensuring their offering stands out among the competition.

Food Distributors

Grocery and food delivery is very different from other types of deliveries. Not only are many items perishable, but drivers need to check that temperature-sensitive items remain in the safe zone.

Aptean ePOD gives food distributors the ability to configure processes before drivers ever leave the depot. For instance, you could set up checklists or workflows that your drivers must complete before they put the key in the ignition. You can ask them specific questions tailored to individual products, such as recording a reading for temperature-sensitive dairy products, in which they must follow specific steps and protocols if the reading does not fall within a pre-configured range.

The system also gives every customer the visibility they need into their incoming orders. If the local pizzeria knows that they can depend on you delivering their produce to them fresh every morning at off-peak hours, they will be more likely to stick with your delivery operation rather than defect to your competitor.

Manufacturers

For manufacturers, the challenge is often full tracking for larger customer deliveries. Brampton Brick, a Canadian company that is a world leader in brick and concrete stone manufacturing, had difficulties getting details about large deliveries, particularly at sites where there were multiple entrances and drop-off points.

To resolve this, Brampton Brick’s drivers used the functionality in Aptean ePOD to get images and input exact location data. The service team could then contact the customer with a verifiable paper trail and give them a PDF of the delivery report.

Sophisticated proof of delivery systems will provide your company with order status visibility across any size fleet, which enhances the customer experience through better communication and streamlined delivery processes.

Pharmaceuticals and Home Care

Pharmaceutical and home care companies also have unique delivery challenges and strict regulations that they must follow especially in the delivery of blood or transplants. Your team must maintain visibility of items throughout the delivery or collection process to ensure the integrity of the product. In the office, your service team needs full visibility of products and they need to be confident that all drivers are following consistent processes to maintain product quality or comply with federal and state transport regulations.

Often, your drivers must ask for photo identification; and in the case of medical equipment, they might need to educate the patient or caregiver on its use. In this case, having checklists and workflows set up in the proof of delivery system is crucial.

Not only can the customer state that their delivery and installation was completed to their satisfaction, but the driver can follow digital workflows to save on subsequent audits, accounting and reporting. In addition, medical equipment often is time-sensitive. For example, if you have patients that need oxygen tanks delivered every week, they depend on your team to deliver on time, as expected and required.

ePOD software will give your customers the visibility they expect in their delivery. One of the UK largest pharmaceutical companies adopted Aptean ePOD and increased delivery efficiency by 20%.

Everyone Benefits from Proof of Delivery

Advanced electronic proof of delivery applications can support the needs of any organization. With Aptean's system being user-friendly and compatible with any Android device, your drivers, whether they are subcontractors or long-time employees, can collect the data you need for your delivery tracking operations without advanced training or knowledge of your protocols.

By giving you greater control and efficiency improvements, implementing an advanced electronic proof of delivery system can help you achieve measurable benefits on day one—no matter the size of your fleet. All types of companies can enjoy the benefits of reduced paperwork, faster processes, elevated customer service and better visibility into your orders and delivery processes.

With electronic proof of delivery systems—since your entire team has the same detailed information available to them in real-time—your delivery and service teams can deal with delays, dissatisfactions and other problems quickly, and your customers receive timely information about the status of their deliveries. All of which gives you the competitive edge you need to stand apart from your competition.

An electronic proof of delivery system could boost the day-to-day performance of your operation. So, what are you waiting for?

Discover how Aptean electronic proof of delivery system could drive benefits for your business. Talk with one of our logistics experts and find out how, now.