Delivery drivers don’t just drive – the job would be a whole lot easier if that was the extent of their responsibilities. Instead, they are tasked with delivering excellent customer service under ever increasing time pressures as well as being accountable for a range of operational and compliance data collection while they are out on the road. Keeping this part of the job streamlined, easy and even pleasant to perform goes a long way toward making life easier for the drivers.
Providing a happy working experience can help attract and retain workers – no small consideration when the shortage of drivers and skills is growing. Further, a happy driver, who feels comfortable with the processes they need to complete is more likely to offer a relaxed, friendly and professional service to your customers.
For your mobile workforce, an electronic proof of delivery system offers significant advantages over a traditional, paper-based one. An advanced ePOD system, such as Paragon’s fleXipod, replaces paperwork with a user-friendly mobile application, and business-specific form functionality that allows you to tailor data capture tasks to suit your business protocols. As a result, field processes are streamlined from the moment your driver leaves the depot through the on-site customer encounter, until the end of their shift.
Here are five ways an electronic proof of delivery app can make daily tasks easier for your drivers.
Implemented on any Android device, the fleXipod app guides drivers through a sequence of intuitive, user-friendly screens. The system is easy to learn and simple to use, making daily tasks easier for all of your drivers, including sub-contractors. Even better, it’s all electronic, removing the frustrations and delays caused by completing paper-based delivery forms.
However standardized your procedures, there’s always the possibility of non-standard delivery outcomes. You can configure the fleXipod system to direct drivers’ actions in any of the scenarios your staff encounter, for example in the case of an item being damaged or finding a delivery site inaccessible. Instead of calling in to the office to receive instructions, drivers are guided through pre-defined workflows, step by step. That means workers don’t need to remember procedures they will only use infrequently. It also helps them to appear professional in front of your customers at all times.
When they’re stuck with paper forms, delivery drivers tend to be restricted in the quantity and type of data they can collect in the course of a delivery or any other tasks performed in the field, such as equipment maintenance or removing packaging from customer premises or on-site risk assessments. With an electronic proof of delivery system, drivers can capture notes, signatures, photos, quantitative reading (such as temperature) and any other information that is important or useful to your business. The ease of gathering and transmitting this data makes the on-site encounter both quicker and easier for drivers. For example, with a proof of delivery app, he or she can take photos of product damage instead of trying to write out a lengthy description on a paper delivery note.
The fleXipod proof of delivery app is designed to work with the Android operating system, making it compatible with a wide variety of mobile device options. This means you can provide your drivers with familiar, simple-to-use smartphones or devices with additional functionality that make performing their daily duties easier, such as built-in barcode scanners or SatNav systems.
Even the best planned routes get disrupted out in the field, and there’s an urgent need to be able to respond to changes as they occur. With fleXipod, you can allow drivers to alter their delivery schedules to respond to unforeseen circumstances on the day, amending the time of their break(s) or skipping a job to avoid dead time in the schedule. While doing so, drivers can capture all the relevant details for reviewing and justifying the changes to customer services or to the customer. For example, they can photograph the front door when a customer is not on site, to prove they were there. If appropriate, they can be directed to return later in the day to complete the delivery, avoiding the need for a future redelivery.
So, what are you waiting for? Implementing a proof of delivery app removes the hassle of delivery paperwork for your drivers, simplifies their daily tasks and helps them deliver better customer service. All without requiring large amounts of training or disruption to your operation / amendments to your current processes. Add to this, the range of other benefits that proof of delivery software offers for your office-based staff, management team and customers, then surely the choice is simple?
To find out more about how the fleXipod electronic proof of delivery system can simplify daily tasks for your drivers contact our team today.
