Oct/Nov 2006

Are you wondering if it's time to bite the bullet, and introduce electronic signature capture in your delivery operations? Sharon Clancy takes a look at the state of the art, and offers some practical pointers

It's not long since people taking delivery of goods would be asked simply to sign a paper receipt. Then the concept of electronic signature capture started to make itself felt, initially in the express parcels market. Now electronic proof-of-delivery systems are everywhere, and in many applications it would seem unusual not to use them.

So if you've been holding back from investing, is it time to think again? And if so, what are the main points to consider, and why should you go for it?

Well, the attractions speak for themselves. Thanks to GPRS-based real-time communications, there's immediate confirmation that a delivery has been made. Once that confirmation is received in the back office, the invoicing procedure can be automatically triggered. There is no delay in waiting for signed pieces of paper to arrive. Increasingly, the signatures form part of an integral part of the job despatch and scheduling software, and are critical for on-line track-and-trace of deliveries.

 

So you're going to go for it. Where do you start? First things first: if your operation requires digital proof of delivery, you need to begin by deciding how much data has to be transmitted wirelessly, and the best method to send it.

For real-time track-and-trace, inevitably the operation needs GPRS communications. However, for many companies, a daily download over broadband from the PDA to the office PC might be acceptable.

If data is needed in real time, consider an application that asks for a series of check boxes to be ticked. That's the basic advice of Chris Wright, managing director of Skillweb, a specialist in this market. "It minimises the size of the data packet," he says, " and that keeps costs down."

Proof-of-delivery applications usually require a signature, which in turn needs to be captured electronically. This can be done in two ways: either the receiver signs on the screen of a handheld device, in which case the signature capture is instantaneous, or the customer sign a paper delivery note, and driver to then scans the document into the device.

Scanning a paper document is useful where customers want a hard copy of the delivery. But you can still use sign-on-screen PODs in this situation; the solution is for the back office to fax or email a copy of the signature once it has been received. In some cases a mobile printer might be able to print off a document with the signature on it.

Hardware

Electronic PODs were pioneered by the courier and express parcels sector, which could see immediate benefits. Online job matching and scheduling specialists including DA Systems, the Courier Exchange and NetDespatch have already applied scheduling technology and wireless communications effectively to raise standards in the independent sector. The couriers' favourite device, the O2 XDA Personal Digital Assistant, has become ubiquitous - partly because it accommodates both voice and data communications.

Most consumer and business PDAs tend to have a glass screen. This makes it resistant to scratching from constant use with a stylus, but also at risk of cracking if dropped. The ruggedised handheld computers that have been adopted by parcels companies such as UPS for data and signature capture have plastic screens, which should be better at withstanding drops, but are less able to cope with scratching from a stylus - or worse, from a pen used as a stylus.

For sectors such as the courier market, historically a major drawback of ruggedised handhelds has been lack of voice capability, although that is changing as the manufacturers recognise emerging demand for combined units for off-site operations.

Typical of this new breed is Symbol's MC70 handheld computer, which the company calls an Enterprise Digital Assistant. Alongside GPRS technology, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, you can specify the Phone edition of Windows Mobile operating system. This adds a speakerphone, external headset jack, and a vibration alert for incoming calls.

The success of the XDAII in the courier market is proof that sleek looks does not necessarily mean unfit for purpose, and we are not aware of any reports of XDA screens failing at unacceptable levels when used for signature capture. Skillweb's 20/20EPOD signature capture software is designed to run on a PDA. "In four years we have not had an issue with screen failure," says Chris Wright.

The long-running debate about the merits of ruggedised computers and PDAs will no doubt continue unabated. Buyers have to balance the less robust but cheaper PDA against the higher capital cost of a ruggedised handheld. Ultimately, the decision probably depends on how intensive and mission-critical the operation is. As Psion Teklogix points out, screen robustness is directly linked to device life. "If the screen is continually failing, the unit's whole-life costs will increase."

Screens can have four or five wires sandwiched into them. How they are wired can have a real bearing on the longevity of the screen and its ability to cope with the pressure as the person writes a signature.

For example, some applications require the signature to be placed in a box. This may suit the data needs of the back office, but one drawback is that one specific area of the screen is being used more intensively than others.

Signature capture

Technologically speaking, there are various different ways of managing the actual process of capturing a signature electronically. Which one your system uses will depend on the application running on the handheld device. Some applications, for instance, capture the entire screen space as a bitmap. This approach is relatively easy to program, but can generate large files - potentially problematic if you then have to send the file over a wireless network, and bandwidth is likely to be limited.

Data capture specialist Integral Mobile Data recommends that signature capture applications should capture actual pen strokes rather than take a bitmap image of the whole screen. "This is necessary to reconstruct it as a contemporaneous signature," says John Foster, sales and marketing director.

An important consideration for some users is whether the electronic signature will be considered valid in legal terms - an issue covered by the electronic communications Act 2000. To comply, the application must time- and date-stamp the signature and protect it from interference at a later date.

Skillweb's Chris Wright: "Our application has a signature capture algorithm that converts the signature into a data stream, which is then decoded at the receiving end." This is essential for security and for efficient transfer of wireless data, he believes.

Destiny Wireless, of course, has a unique approach to digital signature capture - its data-capture pen, which uses Anoto technology to recognise the symbols and layout contained in special paper used for input forms. Now it is moving into location. "Digital signature capture is all very well, but more users are demanding proof that the driver or engineer was where he claimed on the time and date in question," says chief executive Edward Belgeonne.

The GPS version of Destiny's data-capture pen will record the latitude and longitude of the transaction, as well as the time and data stamp.

ends

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PANEL ITEM

One of the challenges faced by the courier business is that a lot of work tends to be passed between one contractor and another, and contractors are unlikely all to be equipped with the same data capture hardware or systems.

Now, however, job matching Web site operator MTvan.com has developed a simplified signature capture system specially for this market. All the driver needs is a mobile phone that offers Internet access and is able to take input from a stylus - features that are quickly becoming established in the mobile phone world. With this, signatures can be captured and transmitted.

Founder Tim Gilbert says previously many courier companies have been faced with double standards operationally. "A company's own fleet of drivers might have provided with dedicated signature-capture devices, but subcontractors including owner drivers were often unwilling to take on the same technology because of the inevitable financial outlay."

He adds: "The provision of device-independent real-time signatures will help eradicate the possibility of service level agreements failing through non-provision of real-time signatures."

The MTvan.com system allows third-party couriers to send digital signatures in real time to its Web site by means of multimedia messages. These can be viewed by consignors or forwarded on to them. Couriers place jobs on the MTvan.com site, allocating the job to their chosen courier. On delivery, the courier then logs on to MTvan.com via his or her own Internet-enabled mobile phone and opens up an ordinary web page with a "Please sign here" box for the recipient to sign.

The signature Web page works on an ordinary Windows Mobile Internet Explorer browser, which comes as standard on the phone. The courier company is then able to view the signature in real time on the Mtvan site, and to capture it into their own systems if required. The joining cost is £199 for a year's subscription and a free Web page.

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PANEL ITEM

Guernsey Post's electronic PODs streamline customer experience

Signature capture has been a key component of a proof of delivery system put in place in the Channel Islands by Guernsey Post, and the organisation says it has brought a range of benefits.

Not only has it saved time and improved efficiencies in parcel tracking; it has also allowed the organisation to deliver increasingly accurate receipt and delivery information to various business partners for which it provides services.

Following the roll-out of the 2020ePOD system from UK supplier Skillweb, delivery staff now use robust handheld terminals in place of the previous paper-based method of capturing signatures manual. However, delivery process remains unchanged, so there is said to have been no interruption to the customer experience.

On the plus side, delivery staff can now to scan items for reference numbers, and can ensure that electronic signatures are captured at point of delivery.

The delivery data is uploaded automatically at head office to provide proof of delivery details to third-party business partners. One of the benefits here is that the process eliminates the previous requirement for delivery data to be keyed in manually from paper-based delivery sheets. The new solution also reduces the risk of error, and ensures that parcels can be traced.

Skillweb worked with Guernsey Post to develop the its standard "off the shelf" product to meet the postal service's specific requirements. In particular, the system was customised to enable the organisation to track ad-hoc goods in and out. Typically a business customer might have a pre-arranged list of ordered items for delivery, which is uploaded complete to the handheld terminals.

Guernsey Post also uses data from the system to produce management reports.

According to Shaun Lihou, head of Guernsey Post Express: "The professionalism of our service is very important to us and our customers. We are confident that Skillweb's solution will provide us with the tools to manage our customers more effectively."

He adds that the organisation was impressed with the level of care and attention that Skillweb took in understanding its requirements.