E-Proof of Delivery: Why It’s Essential for Milk Vendors
Proof of delivery is the documentation that validates that the customers have received the products. Earlier, it was achieved by taking customers’ signatures on a physical paper. However, many milk vendors have started adopting electronic proof of delivery (e-POD) systems to streamline the delivery process.
The e-proof of delivery removes the need for paperwork, preventing errors and customer satisfaction scores.
Table Of Contents
What is e-proof of delivery?
E-proof of delivery or e-POD, is a digital way of validating the receiving of products. This is done through OTP, pictures, or signatures. Delivery pictures are considered while making contactless deliveries. Electronic delivery proofs streamline paperwork and improve operational efficiency and customer experience.
Digital proof of delivery is achieved by implementing e-proof of delivery software into the business. Many milk delivery scheduling software solutions, like TrakOp, offer integrated e-proof delivery systems to optimize the entire business process.
A perfect order is crucial for any delivery business as it is a major measuring parameter for customer satisfaction. It refers to delivering the product without errors, which includes delivering the right product at the right address at the right time, in the right condition, in the right package, and the right quantity with the right documentation and invoice to the customer. The e-POD provides real-time status of the perfect order, improving productivity and customer satisfaction and reducing risks.
Ways to collect proof of delivery
There are two major ways in which the proof of delivery is obtained. These ways include:
Manual proof of delivery
In this case, the proof of delivery is obtained through the customer’s signature on the paper. It is a physical document, a paper receipt signed by the customer, confirming that the order was delivered at the right time, address, and condition.
Digital or electronic proof of delivery
Manual proof of delivery is time-consuming and many milk businesses have shifted to obtaining digital proof of delivery. A digital proof of delivery is collected through a mobile app. The delivery driver can:
- Click real-time pictures of the product on the doorstep.
- Digital signatures
- Verify through a one-time password (OTP) received on the customer’s registered mobile number.
Why do milk business vendors need an e-proof of delivery?
Proof of delivery is crucial as it marks an agreement with the customers that ensures that the product was delivered at the right address, time, and condition. It can be a paper-based POD or an e-POD. You must know whether you need to switch to electronic proof of delivery. If you are experiencing the following issues, it is time to think of investing in e-POD.
Spending excessive time on manual entry
Are you spending hours manually entering your data into the system? Manual data entries can be time-consuming and prone to errors. A single mistake in the data can lead to discrepancies in billing, resulting in customer disputes.
Delayed billing cycle
Paper-based proof of delivery is prone to manual errors, impacting the billing cycle. Errors in proof of delivery documents can lead to billing discrepancies resulting in reworks. This can delay the billing process and payments, increasing bad debts.
Increasing customer disputes
Lack of proper or flawed delivery documentation can create discrepancies that lead to customer disagreements. Increasing customer disputes can lead to higher customer churn rates and harm the business’s ROI.
Lack of visibility
It is important to monitor delivery efficiency and productivity to address issues quickly without hampering the issue’s relevancy and improve customer issue-resolving efficiency and experience.
How does an electronic proof of delivery system work?
The driver gets all the delivery details on the milk delivery app for drivers, including delivery addresses and customer and order details. Once the driver reaches the customer’s location, the proof of delivery process starts.
Digital signatures
Once the order is handed over to the customer, the driver can ask him to sign the application digitally.
Collecting payment
The drivers collect and record payments. They verify the payments with the customers using an OTP sent to the customer’s registered mobile number.
e-POD
Capture pictures of delivered products placed on the customer’s doorsteps (contactless delivery) or handed over to the customer.
Additional notes
Also, collect e-signatures for verification from the customers with geotagging.
Mark deliveries
The drivers can mark the order deliveries as delivered, canceled, or rescheduled.
Ways to implement e-proof of delivery
There are two ways of implementing a digital proof of delivery system into the business. Either can use a standalone ePOD device or software or integrate consolidated delivery software, like TrakOp.
Using a standalone ePOD device or software
It is a device or software that works independently and is not integrated with centralized or larger systems like warehouse management software. Integrating such devices or software comes with extra costs.
Using integrated delivery scheduling software
TrakOp, an integrated subscription-based delivery scheduling software, provides one-stop solutions for subscription-based milk delivery businesses. This system has six modules – order management, payment management, inventory management, delivery management, customer management, and generating reports and analytics.
With TrakOp you can automate and optimize your operations to improve efficiency and customer satisfaction. The driver can use the delivery driver app to obtain electronic proof of delivery and automatically update the delivery business database.
Obtain paperless POD with TrakOp – Milk Delivery Software
TrakOp is a delivery scheduling software that enables you to manage your milk delivery schedules for one-time and subscription orders. Obtaining electronic proof of delivery is one of the major features TrakOp offers. Effective and efficient ePOD can help you streamline the delivery to the payment process. The benefits of implementing ePOD are:
Reduced manual efforts
Once the data is collected for proof of delivery, it is automatically updated on your business database, removing the need for manual data entry. This provides real-time data, improving driver efficiency and customer satisfaction. This fastens the delivery to the payment process, allowing customers to make timely payments and avoid bad debts.
Additional features of TrakOp’s ePOD
TrakOp offers complementary features to streamline the delivery process and improve customer experience. Some of these features are:
- TrakOp enables drivers to make contactless deliveries and click and use real-time pictures as proof of delivery.
- If the customer cannot collect the order, the drivers can hand the order to the neighbors. The driver app enables drivers to collect the receiver’s details.
- Drivers can mark the deliveries as delivered, canceled, or rescheduled. The system also allows drivers to fill in the reason for rescheduling or cancelation.
Conclusion
Electronic or e-proof of delivery is a crucial business process to ensure the customers are satisfied and will pay on time. Implementing TrakOp can help you improve delivery efficiency, productivity, and customer satisfaction. Book a demo to see how TrakOp can help you improve overall business operational efficiency.
Hope You Enjoyed the Read!
He loves to explore. His passion for helping delivery industries in all aspects flows through in the vision he has. In addition to providing smart solution to make delivery process flawless, Ravi also likes to write sometimes to make it easier for people from business industry looking for digital solutions.