This week I am focussing on the benefits that can be derived from having an automated Proof Of Delivery process.

Doing so will lower your costs, increase efficiency, and improve customer service.

Is this your business?

Still, relying on paper documents coming back to your depot to validate delivery of your goods?
Orders taken at your customers’ premises are they being fed back to the customer service team as fast as you’d like?

Does this represent your proof of delivery process?

Automating the Proof of Delivery process removes the risks associated with manual paper handling of delivery notes through to the invoicing.

•  Manual processing is expensive, tedious, and slow, and of course susceptible to human error.
• Staff costs are increased as the time spent resolving customer queries reduces the team’s time spent servicing your customers.
• P.O.D.’s are easily lost leading to a delay in payment or claims against you for lost goods and the potential loss of a valued customer.
• There is no functionality in place to provide live financial management reporting.

What happens when you automate the Proof of Delivery Process?

Proof of Delivery Solutions and Systems scalable, modular, and affordable.

Any automation should in theory improve the speed of a business process. Automating your proof of delivery removes the following manual tasks:-

1. By removing the printing and scanning of the delivery notes
2. Manually capturing data from the document and keying into the finance system for invoicing
3. Physical distribution of documentation across the organisation
4. Storage, archiving and retrieval costs are reduced
5. Query management and resolution substantially reduced

What are the benefits of automating the Proof Of Delivery Process?

1. Improved efficiency and compliance
2. Improved customer service with the team focused on the customers rather than “fire-fighting” queries
3. Provides full tracking and auditing at each stage
4. Consistent cash flow as the time taken to capture and integrate data into the finance system is reduced minimising customer queries and time wasted on disputes.
5. Cost savings by reducing expenditure on staff needed to manually process delivery notes. Staff no longer have to be engaged in repetitive tasks and can be re-deployed into other areas of the business
6. Confirmation that the products have been delivered assists with any disputes or queries that might arise
7. Job sheet files are centralised and structured and are easily retrievable from any computer on the network
8. Management reporting provides an accurate measurement of the automated POD process within the organisation

Case Study

4 full-time administration staff @ £15,000 per annum were spending 100% of their time keying data from delivery notes into the finance system this equated to £60,000 total cost to the business per annum.

20 depot staff totaling £15,000 per annum spent 5% of their time every day either scanning, faxing, or posting delivery notes to head office for input into the finance system which was costing the business £15,000 per annum.

The Financial Controller @ £55,000 per annum was spending 25% of his time collating data for management reporting and accounts at a total cost of £13,750 per annum.

Automation reduced the staffing level to one person overseeing the process and delivered a total saving of £88,750 per annum for the business.

How does it work?

By capturing and allocating the data contained within the delivery notes that arrive from the depots and drivers. Data uploading is automatic and is deposited in the relevant business system. The documents are then digitised for storage and can then be retrieved if required at a later date.

The integrity of the data that is added to the system is validated and identifies any exceptions this then provides detailed reporting for KPI’s and SLA’s.

Ultimately automation reduces the time to manually keying data from proof of delivery notes, reduces customer queries and disputes, and gives your organisation a tangible and measurable ROI.

Document Management Solutions.

For more information on how to improve your Proof of Delivery process drop your details in the form below and one of our advisors will call you for an informal chat.

[gravityform id=”4″ name=”Arrange a call back!”]

For all our news and updates you’ll find us on Twitter, Facebook and Linkedin.

The post Automated Proof of Delivery – Systems Software appeared first on Digital Print Management.

How British Companies survive and make it to the holy land metaphorically speaking remains to be determined but there are still a number of cost saving initiatives companies should consider as a means of saving money and reducing debtor days.

Outsourcing your cash collection process can add a vital component to a company’s armoury particularly where the SME is concerned.

How can this work for an organisation struggling to manage and chase their debtors?

Case Study

DCA provide credit management and debt recovery services for many companies that outsource their debt collection requirements.

The service includes outward bound and inward bound calls from a call centre acting on behalf of its clients supported by the printing, mailing and electronic delivery of personalised collection letters to debtors.

The DCA’s growth has resulted in a rapid expansion of their operations to provide services to Companies across the UK, ROI and Europe. The task of producing personalised letters for the companies they represent became too time consuming, cost prohibitive and less efficient in-house.

Efficiency was critical to the speed at which they collect outstanding debt and to maintain the printing of letters in-house would have involved capital purchases of larger printers, employee time and additional I.T resources.

The service the DCA required was a daily production, personalisation, fulfilment and mailing of anywhere between 500 to 12,000 letters.

Working closely with the DCA, Digital Print Management provided three solutions that embraced both printed and electronic letters to be personalised and mailed.

The Print and Mail Solution

Data is sent daily and contains identifiers to determine which files are required to be printed and mailed out and those that are to be electronically emailed. Flags within their data identifies the letter templates to be used, stationery types, envelopes and inserts that are required.

The DCA’s requirements include the use of five different base stock types – letterheads, bank giro credits and envelopes, BRE’s (Business Reply Envelopes) and up to 100 different letter content templates.

Printing is undertaken using high speed laser printers and identification of multiple page documents is done via the use of OMR marks that are printed enabling inserting machines to ensure the correct documents are presented in the right order within the envelopes.

The Electronic Solution

Electronic credit and collections provides an efficient and cost effective alternative to the more traditional collection processes involved in collecting delinquent payments.

Collections are challenging for AR departments and when debts move into the collection process incur additional expenses such as print, postage, payment negotiation and higher interest fees due to days sales outstanding. (DSO)

Electronic notices emailed into customer inboxes reach customers quickly enabling them to pay by clicking on a link that takes them to a payment page without the need to visit a web site.

The benefits of electronic delivery include:-

• Costs are reduced because it is an efficient way of reaching delinquent customers
• Shortens the payment cycle by reducing the number of customers falling into the credit and collection cycle by sending automatic reminders
• Improved cash flow

Using Digital Print Management’s Print-2-Mail desktop service fulfils this need as data files containing collection letters for the various companies they manage are uploaded daily, printed and despatched, saving postage, processing and mailing costs. In turn they are then able to pass on these savings to their clients. 

The unique business relationship that exists between the DCA and Digital Print Management means that the only in-house requirement is to ensure that data is generated daily and in a timely manner to ensure there are no delays.

There has been significant savings on postage, stationery, staff resources and no further capital investment on additional equipment.

Staff who were previously involved in the debt collection process have now been re-deployed into the business to focus on core competencies allowing Digital Print Management to handle the task of distribution of their debt collection letters.

 If you want to find out how you can transform your debt collection mailings but not sure where to start then leave your details here and one of advisors will call you back.

[gravityform id=”1″ name=”Arrange a call back!”]

Don’t forget to sign up for news, reviews and follow us on twitter, like us on facebook and connect with us on Linkedin!

The post How to save time and money outsourcing your debt collection letters appeared first on Digital Print Management.