Industry — Logistics & delivery
ERP and software for logistics and delivery
The dispatch board, the driver’s phone and the accounts office on one system — so a delivery, its proof and its cash are the same record rather than three.
The problem
What delivery operations tell us
“Proof of delivery comes back with the paperwork.”
Disputes are settled a week later from a paper slip, by which time the customer has already deducted the amount.
“We cannot answer “where is my order”.”
Status lives with the driver, so the office answers customer calls by calling the driver.
“Cash reconciles at the end of the week.”
Collections are counted against memory and paper, and shortfalls surface long after anyone can explain them.
The system
What the system covers
| Area | What it does | Who uses it |
|---|---|---|
| Dispatch planning | Orders grouped into runs by route, vehicle and capacity | Dispatch |
| Driver application | The day’s stops on Android or iOS, working offline between syncs | Drivers |
| Proof of delivery | Signature, photo and timestamp attached to the delivery note | Drivers |
| Exception handling | Short deliveries, refusals and returns captured with a reason code | Operations |
| Cash settlement | Collections recorded per stop and settled against the driver daily | Finance |
| Customer visibility | Status and delivery window shared by link or message | Customer service |
Why the field and the office belong on one system
Every delivery business eventually builds a second system by accident: a WhatsApp group, a shared sheet, a daily call. It exists because the real system does not reach the people doing the work, and it is where the operation’s actual state lives.
Putting the run on the driver’s phone removes the need for it. The office sees a delivery the moment it happens, a short delivery is recorded with a reason at the door, and the customer call is answered from the screen rather than by ringing the van.
Because it writes into the same ERP that raised the invoice, settlement is a comparison rather than a reconstruction: what was collected, what was invoiced and what was banked are three views of one record.
FAQ
Questions we are asked before signing
Does the driver app work without a network?
Yes. The run is downloaded at the start of the day and deliveries are captured locally, syncing when a connection returns. On most rural routes this is a requirement rather than a nicety.
Can customers track their delivery?
Yes, through a link showing status and the expected window. Full live vehicle tracking needs a telematics device, which we integrate with where you already have one.
How are returns and short deliveries handled?
The driver records them at the stop with a reason code, which creates the credit or return document in the ERP immediately. The dispute conversation then starts from a timestamped record rather than two recollections.
Can we use it with vans selling directly on the route?
Yes. Van sales are supported by modelling each vehicle as a warehouse, so loading, sales, returns and settlement all reconcile against the stock that went out that morning.
Services
How we help logistics & delivery businesses
Walk us through your operation.
A 30-minute call, no slide deck. You describe the process; we tell you honestly whether ERPNext is the right answer.