Everything you need to know about the digital delivery note

Document management is one of the activities within the logistics sector that requires a lot of circulation and agility in the preparation and presentation of paperwork. For this reason, as the demand in the transport of goods grows, it is already a necessity to digitize the processes and start applying the digital delivery note.

To better understand what a digital packing slip is, how it differs from a paper packing slip and what benefits it offers, read on to learn more.

What is a digital delivery note?

A delivery note is a document with detailed information about the products delivered that serves as documentary proof of delivery. It is the selling company that generates the document and keeps a copy for the customer or the receiving company to receive the original and check that everything is in order. 

What is the difference between a paper packing slip and a digital delivery note?

Traditionally, these documents were generated with office software, printed and delivered on paper to the customer, while the salesperson kept a copy.

In contrast, the digital delivery note is generated with various types of programs, for example, with a module within a logistics software. In addition to that they are signed with an electronic device such as a smartphone so that the delivery is confirmed and all data is well checked.

What are the advantages of the digital delivery note?

Faster and easier access to information

When important documents such as delivery notes are printed and photocopied, copies are often limited for the number of staff who have to file and manage them. This leads to the situation of spending a lot of time searching for the papers when they need to be rechecked.

With a digital delivery note, on the other hand, all authorized personnel will have access to all delivery notes from the devices they work with and will be able to monitor when deliveries are signed and confirmed. In addition, documents can be managed directly with specific software, such as a TMS.

Reduction of errors and avoidance of losses and damages

Paper documents are more prone to errors, since the process of generating them is more manual. Moreover, another major disadvantage of physical documents is that they can be lost or damaged, which causes a lot of problems in document management.

For this reason, with a module in the software that creates and sends digital delivery notes, it is more difficult to make mistakes because its management is more automated. In addition, there is no longer the fear of losing the delivery notes once they are inside the company's ERP.

Saving resources and time

It is estimated that an SME company spends around €1,500 to print around 10,000 documents on expenses such as paper, ink and printer. Although it depends on the company's equipment and the maintenance required, the costs are undoubtedly high, also with the amount of disposable paper generated.

By accessing the digital delivery note, these costs can be saved by dispensing with the use of paper for the document management of digital delivery notes. It also saves a lot of time for carriers and other personnel, who can focus on more important tasks.  

Improved inventory management and customer service

One of the advantages of the digital packing slip is that it keeps all documents digitized and unified in one place. In this way, it is easier to perform a correct inventory management, since you can automatically keep updated inventory records and activity with the integration to inventory and billing management systems.

Another benefit is that using a digital delivery note allows for a more detailed record of products by providing access to product details such as serial number or product lot. This makes it easier to manage warranties, returns and customer complaints.

Security

It is well known that digitizing certain processes and procedures also involves applying security and privacy protection to prevent such information from being easily leaked.

A digital delivery note will usually have support to ensure data security and privacy. Several examples are limiting its access by users and applying extra measures such as user authentication and data encryption.

Conclusion

As we have seen, the digital delivery note provides a number of advantages that can be summarized in four words: agility, accuracy, efficiency and security. Today, these features are essential for the management of these documents to meet the requirements of the supply chain.

At Hedyla we listen to what our customers request the most and continue to work on our logistics software to implement more tools that complement the core function to offer a complete solution.