Delivering Proof of Delivery Technology to the Driver’s Smartphone

A barking dog at the door is just one of the things that raise last mile delivery drivers’ anxiety levels.

Waiting on the doorstep, parcel in hand, they are also thinking about the speed of handover. So they can stick to their schedule.

They might be checking the label for any age restriction – if there’s alcohol inside, ID will be needed. And when no one is home, they’ll be considering their options to best protect the goods and their company’s reputation.

Here we’ll outline why last mile companies should be thinking about:

• Removing the need to carry clunky devices.
• Delivering the technology that drivers want.
• Turning smart devices into all-purpose operations tools with state-of-the-art ID scanning.

Why is proof of delivery so important?

Parcel theft is growing.

A report produced by research group YouGov found global parcel theft rose by 2% between May 2021 and April 2022 over the previous year. This amounted to more than a billion packages lost or stolen at a cost of $37.9 billion during that period alone.

This means proof of delivery (PoD) is increasingly important to safeguard the goods arriving daily at homes, offices, and designated pick-up and drop-off (PUDO) points.

Consumers are ordering online but are reluctant to accept higher prices. So there’s mounting pressure on companies and their carriers to find a cost-effective solution.

What is considered proof of ID for a delivery?

Many deliveries require a signature. And to comply with UK and US regulations, any age-restricted goods are likely to need valid ID checks based on a wide variety of ID cards, driver’s licenses, passports, and visa certificates.

Is a photo proof of delivery in logistics?

In most cases, simply taking a photo is not considered proof of delivery. The delivery driver needs to capture and check specific information and provide a reliable audit trail.

Who makes the delivery decisions?

Ultimately, companies are responsible for making the right delivery decisions. To effectively deliver on e-commerce growth strategies and to differentiate from the competition through excellent customer service, companies must equip their delivery drivers with the right tools.

The best solution is a single smart device that can quickly, accurately and at a safe distance capture and analyze sensitive customer data to make delivery decisions for the driver.

No more clunky single-use devices for delivery confirmation

In the past, drivers were issued with clunky data-capture devices running customized proof of delivery software. These dedicated devices are now unpopular, especially as two or more may be needed, and drivers find they have to put them down between each scan.

Instead, today’s drivers prefer to use their own smartphone (or one issued by their company), equipped with a powerful proof of delivery application (app) that provides actionable insights and automates end-to-end processes.

The right proof of delivery technology makes it simple. Both traditional employees and drivers drawn from the gig economy need very little training. Plus smartphones are easy to handle and apps are intuitive.

What ID scanning technology must be able to do

Scandit Smart Data Capture combines barcode scanning and optical character recognition (OCR) to read numerous ID cards, passports, visa certificates, and driver’s licenses.

By combining barcode scanning and text recognition technology, our ID scanning solution supports a wide range of ID documents, including:

• US, Canadian, and EU Drivers Licenses – We can scan the pdf 417 on the back or the text on the front. We also offer a comprehensive and fully maintained parser for the pdf 417. Our US Driving License scanning is considered best-in-class.
• Passports – Here we can scan the Machine Readable Zone (MRZ) on any passport (the block of numbers and text below the image). This also works on ID cards in most countries.
• EU and UK Drivers Licenses –  Our SDK can read the text on the front of the driver’s license. In the EU example, this can capture address, age, and name.
• ePassports/eMRTD – with RFID chips. ePassports are ICAO-standardized Passports with an RFID chip embedded.

All data is encrypted, and the processing is on the device. So you also provide a secure service for your customers.

Which other tasks can be automated?

Technology like MatrixScan Count lets delivery drivers use their smartphones to quickly scan multiple codes and entire pallets, shelves and shipments in one sequence. This greatly simplifies and automates tasks like van loading and PUDO workflows. And Scandit technology integrates with any mobile or web-based app to make each driver’s life easier.

How to deliver what drivers want?

This is what drivers want. With the right proof of delivery technology, they won’t have to stop and manually enter a multi-digit code – a process that was frustrating, time consuming and prone to human error. They don’t have to touch ID cards nor struggle to read small-print birth dates and calculate the recipient’s age. And they can more easily fill up their vans and accelerate their schedules.

Technology like this gives superpowers to delivery drivers – unmatched speed, accuracy and intelligence – while also reducing anxiety levels! Proof of delivery technology also gives superpowers to companies struggling to attract, motivate and retain workers at a time of widespread driver shortages.

Find out more

Interested to know how Scandit Smart Data Capture technology can help your business in the last mile? Contact us and one of our team will be glad to get back to you.