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.

En cambio, con un albarán digital, todo el personal autorizado tendrá acceso a todos los albaranes desde los dispositivos que trabajen y podrán monitorizar cuándo son firmadas y confirmadas las entregas. Además de que los documentos se pueden gestionar directamente con un software específico, como con un 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.

Meritxell Vázquez

SEO & Inbound Marketing
Video Game Design and Production graduate currently training in Digital Marketing with a focus on SEO and Inbound Marketing.

Creating articles of value and supporting communication to the technology sector.

hedyla.com

However, there are a number of questions that customers interested in Hedyla software often ask about lesser-known integrated modules that complement more complete solutions such as a TMS or route optimizer. What in particular do these modules consist of and how are they helpful?

If you want to learn more about the logistics software modules less known by the market, read on.

Digital Twin

As its name suggests, the Digital Twin is a physical representation of any object or process to be replicated. In this case, it is used to create simulations of delivery routes, either in route optimizer or in the TMS.

In order to create the digital twin, it is necessary to collect data from the company's historical routes. It is useful to contrast them with the optimized routes based on the applied operational and business constraints. In this way, you can see the changes that will be applied to the new delivery routes and the time and resources that will be required to implement them.

The scenario simulator is also used for consulting projects for scenario analysis. In this way, changes in the supply chain and production lines can be better evaluated, such as analyzing the location of new logistics centers, among others. Its main function is to make better decisions based on productivity, efficiency and costs.

Digital Delivery Note

This is undoubtedly one of the most popular and frequently asked questions about logistics modules. The management of delivery notes and invoices is essential to correctly manage deliveries to customers as a supplier or distributor. In general, sectors such as the transport sector generate many delivery notes in physical format that end up being complicated to manage correctly and efficiently, so it is very important its digital transformation.

A digital delivery note is managed in the same way as a physical delivery note but with significant advantages. First of all, its digital management can be integrated with invoices, which is essential in the case of non-valued delivery notes. Another of the most important advantages is that it increases its reliability, since it reduces the margin of error thanks to its integration with databases. Digital signatures often avoid discrepancies and prevent document forgery. Apart from these benefits, the digitization of these documents reduces the costs of printing on paper and increases productivity due to its more automated management and the possibility of generating digital delivery note templates easily.

While the TMS can manage the digital documentation of various roles such as the documentation of each vehicle, many customers and stakeholders request the integration of managing digital delivery notes, as their management can be integrated with that of invoices. We are currently initiating this integration with the previous steps.

Documentary management

With the increasing number of sales and online orders, the volume of these orders has increased, making it impossible to manage so many physical documents. Thus, digital document management is one of the best tools for the current industry landscape and one of the most frequently asked questions about logistics modules by customers.

The document management module makes it possible to keep all documents centralized, from waybills or CMRs to all the necessary files for carriers, vehicles, orders and trips. Also, in the case of eCMR, since it is still in the development phase, it can be physically managed through digital document repositories.

At Hedyla we listen to the suggestions and clarify the most frequent doubts given by our customers, so we are up to date in the development of modules and solutions that provide a great help for the logistic processes of any vertical.

Meritxell Vázquez

SEO & Inbound Marketing
Video Game Design and Production graduate currently training in Digital Marketing with a focus on SEO and Inbound Marketing.

Creating articles of value and supporting communication to the technology sector.

hedyla.com