Its research found that manually processing POD documents takes an average of 1.7 hours per day and can cost businesses £50,000 per year.
More than four in 10 respondents to the survey reported that they had lost a POD document, leading to a costly dispute with a customer.
Some 62% of transport managers have been involved in a dispute with a customer over the condition of a delivery, with no way of determining who was at fault, while 65% said customers had issues reading drivers’ handwriting on POD documents.
More than half (55%) also said they had to admit to customers that they did not know when a delivery would be made, while 51% said that they had previously delayed processing paper-based delivery documents, leading to further problems.
Nadeem Raza, CEO at Microlise, said: “Keeping customers informed and happy is just one of the many aspects of the transport or logistics manager’s job.
“While there are variables that are beyond their control, we understand that customer sympathies can only go so far. POD is an essential element of the logistics process and these statistics should be a wake-up call to the industry.
“The more help that the transport or logistics manager can receive with recording POD, the better, for all concerned.”
