How Replacing Delivery Paperwork with ePOD Software Could Benefit Your Entire Operation

Are your drivers still completing paper delivery notes, manually processed by office-based staff once returned to base? Do you have a rudimentary system that collects the minimum of information?

Switching to an electronic proof of delivery (ePOD) system, and thereby removing paper from your delivery processes, will improve workforce productivity, optimize operational efficiency and improve the customer experience.

An advanced ePOD (electronic proof of delivery) solution, consisting of a mobile application for your drivers and a central management portal for your office-based staff, offers a range of benefits across your entire operation, whether you are delivering goods or services.

Let’s take a look at how replacing delivery paperwork can benefit everyone involved in your operation:

Enhance the delivery experience for your customers

Replacing delivery paperwork with an ePOD application on a handheld device brings many benefits, but perhaps the most obvious one is that it helps drivers deliver a quicker, more professional on-site experience to your customers. In addition, central process configuration allows you to standardize driver tasks and ensure that each customer receives a consistent brand experience, whether they deal with your own employee or a third-party driver.

Collecting electronic evidence such as time- and location-stamped photos also helps reduce the likelihood of errors or customer disputes. If problems do occur, your office-based staff have access to real-time data from the field, instead of waiting for paperwork to be returned at the end of the driver’s shift. This means customer service staff can help resolve the issue while the driver is still on site, or contact the customer directly with all the necessary details and options at hand.

Simplify on-site processes for your drivers

For drivers completing large volumes of deliveries each day, keeping track of a whole heap of delivery paperwork can be a frustrating and challenging task. Replacing all this paperwork with a simple ePOD application installed on a handheld device reduces the risk of lost or damaged paperwork and makes on-site processes easier for your drivers.

Instead of completing long, handwritten forms for risk assessments or delivery issues, drivers can quickly take photos and enter electronic details. When issues do arise, the application guides drivers through your pre-determined, preferred processes automatically. That way, drivers do not need to remember detailed procedures or call the office for instructions.

Increase the efficiency of your office-based staff

With ePOD software, every detail that your drivers capture out on the road is transmitted back to the browser-based management portal in real-time. This means your operational staff do not have to wait for drivers to return with delivery paperwork before responding to issues. Neither do they need to spend time manually re-entering the proof of delivery data and form details into a computer system.

Removing manual data entry improves the day-to-day efficiency of your office-based staff and frees them up to focus on more valuable or more complex tasks. In addition, the data collected by your drivers can be fed into other business systems to speed up subsequent processes such as invoicing, stock management or customer service follow up.

Focus on what’s most important for your business

One of the most significant benefits of advanced ePOD software, such as fleXipod, is the ability to configure forms to support your business. If you want to emphasize improved customer service, you can create an electronic form to gather customer feedback at the end of every job. If, on the other hand, improved operational efficiency, tracking the use of assets, or minimizing driver down-time is top of mind, the ePOD system allows you to quickly and easily create operational forms that collect that information without adding a mountain of paperwork for your drivers.

No matter what industry you operate in, ePOD software can be used for much, much more than plain proof of delivery. It is a great way to record data that will support your operational goals without the inefficiency and potential for lost or delayed data gathering associated with paperwork. Whether that is risk assessment information, special customer needs or different types of service requests, using ePOD software can help you manage the process.

Improve reporting processes for management

With paper-based systems, data entry is time-consuming and inefficient, leading to a large amount of cumbersome paperwork and a lack of data visibility across your organization. That, in turn, can get in the way of identifying trends or the opportunity to make strategic improvements within your delivery operations. With advanced ePOD software, all the electronic data your drivers collect is automatically displayed in reporting dashboards that can be accessed by your other business systems, allowing you to monitor KPIs and analyze data trends.

Once you have identified an area for improvement, the configurability of advanced systems allows you to deploy changes to your electronic processes with immediate effect. Instead of needing to train all of your drivers and rely on them to remember the changes, the ePOD application will guide them step-by-step through the new process, ensuring consistent data feedback.

Whether your organization delivers goods or services, replacing paperwork with ePOD software helps you streamline operational processes, simplifying daily tasks for your staff and improving service for your customers. With a user-friendly mobile application and browser-based central management portal, implementing ePOD software is straightforward and can deliver measurable benefits from Day One.

For more information on how ePOD software can help your operation, get in touch with one of our experienced team today. Not ready to speak to the team yet? Read more about how UK company Product Care is improving its delivery operations by replacing delivery paperwork with the fleXipod system.