The delivery sector currently struggles with dealing with large quantities of operational and administrative documents that slow down the entire logistics workflow, particularly when it comes to document management. This distribution process begins with the generation of a document and ends with its timely delivery to the intended recipient and must be registered from start to finish in the logistics company’s traceability systems. The concern about a slowdown in transportation processes has led many freight forwarding companies to consider the need for logistics document process to help them solve the problems caused by the high volume of documentation.
Undoubtedly, one of the industries most characterized by the generation of large amounts of documents is the logistics sector. For their business to run smoothly, transport and distribution companies need to generate thousands of documents daily. Delivery notes or invoices are some of the signed documents that absolutely must be reviewed,both when they leave the company’s warehouses or offices and when they are returned, in order to register the shipment of orders or to see if there are any complaints or orders pending delivery.
However, during the management process of shipments made by the delivery company, several problems related to the management of the documentation of the logistics process tend to pop up, from simple human errors that occur when manually recording the status of orders, to wasted time due to the lack of resources to facilitate the search for products and documentation.
Below are the main problems that arise from the lack of adequate document software capable of digitally managing the administrative processes of companies in the logistics sector.
Location of headquarters and various branch offices. Delivery agents travel long distances to the central offices to deposit and deliver the documentation signed by the recipients to the administration department.
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Generation of large quantities of documents. The logistics sector generates high volumes of delivery notes and invoices on a daily basis, making it difficult to manage the entire process and its documentation.
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Incorrectly registered product or delivery statuses. Delivery agents must manually register recipients’ data, increasing the possibility of a data retrieval error.
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Time lost in the invoicing process. Once the carrier deposits the invoices for the shipments, it takes a lot of time for the administration staff to file them with their respective delivery notes.
Each of these problems, among others, would be solved with the incorporation of a complete logistics document software solution in the headquarters and branch offices, as well as in the warehouses and operations plants. With the implementation of the right document management software, the logistics company will experience several changes in its processes from which it will benefit significantly:
Documents are generated in real time, so the company will be constantly updated on the delivery status of orders, the location of the carrier and the delivery note.
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The documents include barcodes, allowing the document to be scanned and digitally stored for optimal data management.
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The need to print physical copies of documents for internal use is eliminated, thus reducing paper waste, as well as the physical space for storing large quantities of paper.
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The delivery notes of each customer are automatically archived, linking each of them with its corresponding invoice.
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Invoice delivery changes from manual to digital, i.e. the carrier will no longer be responsible for providing the customer with the paper invoice, and instead the customer will receive an e-mail with the documentation.
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Drivers can manage all the documentation they need themselves, from printing to scanning, without the need for administrative staff.
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A logistics document system allows the storage of documents in a common repository, offering the possibility of retrieving old documents and modifying them.
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A logistics document solution includes the option to digitally sign notes and documents before adding them to the organization’s data management system.
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Delivery agents can report any incident that occurs during their trip through their own mobile devices.
Undoubtedly, any logistics and distribution company needs optimal management of all its documents, in order to maintain control of deliveries, in addition to improving the customer’s experience. Therefore, with the implementation of a document software aimed logistics and transportation companies, most of the manual processes will become automated and, therefore, time and costs will be reduced, resulting in generally higher productivity, as well as an increase in the overall efficiency of the organization.