Stop The Real Costs of Paper Documentation

Thu, 26 Mar 2026 12:00:06 Z

Proof of condition — it’s been around for decades and serves to verify the integrity of everything from material goods to heavy equipment and myriad assets in between. A paper process from the beginning, it has been accompanied by photographs, rubber stamps, and signatures along the way.

Still, hard to believe that a quarter way through the 21st century, with ubiquitous mobile device options, so many of these processes continue to reside on clipboards. And this paperwork can take hours, days or more to move from point of documentation to a recipient who can act on information reported within.

Even in the best of cases, an inspection sheet walked from a loading dock to a warehouse managers office or a logistics dispatcher will take a few minutes – — minutes that could mean the subject of said documentation has changed custody or even left the facility for its next stop in the supply chain.

Discover the savings

With supply chain costs continuing to rise, where can operations teams find savings by moving away from these paper documents to digital forms?

Proof of Condition: Time and money are lost when damaged goods arrive at the loading dock and given that over 10% of all unit loads have some degree of damage when they arrive at the DC, those real costs add up fast. The inverse is equally true, so avoiding chargebacks by documenting product/pallets were delivered in good condition protects shipper integrity and mitigates risk of fraudulent returns at each step along the chain.

Pre-trip Inspections: Performing a pre-trip inspection is not only prudent, but often required. However, it’s only as good any actions taken from the inspection. If that paper inspection is only reviewed after the vehicle has left the yard, costly breakdowns or roadside inspections could shut down deliveries – — and therefore revenue.

Safety Inspections: These come in a variety of flavours – — from the forklift or pallet jack inspection at the start of a work shift, to documenting injury incidents or near-misses, these are essential to worker safety, and also may be required documentation that needs to be readily available for audit.

Digitally transform the experience (and savings!)

Above are just a few common areas where operations teams benefit from moving to digital forms. Some, and I point to the Proof of Condition documentation as the example, offer an immediate opportunity to measure the value in financial terms. Avoiding chargebacks is a clear way to help the bottom line.

In other cases, the savings are more cost-avoidance. When a pre-trip inspection identifies risk, and that risk is addressed before the vehicle leaves the dock, goods are delivered on time and fines (or worse) are avoided. The same can also be said about ensuring work equipment is in good operating condition before a worker is put in danger.

Take a look at this infographic (and share it with your team) for further proof of where digitising documentation offers savings. Then, explore a process consultation with your Ivanti Wavelink supply chain partner to get started with digital forms. Within the Velocity platform, workflows can include Velocity Forms as a required step of the process – — such as forcing completion of a proof of condition statement, including photos, as part of the incoming inspection process when goods roll off the truck onto the loading dock.

Closing the gap between documentation completion and document action is a key reason to trash paper and move to digital forms. Information is routed to the appropriate recipients for review in a timely, relevant and actionable manner – — essential to controlling costs in operations when every second counts.

Plug the gaps with fast onboarding of supply chain staff and processes

Mon, 10 Aug 2020 10:22:30 Z

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced a dramatic shift in the way all industries work, including warehouses within the supply chain. With each minute wasted equating to a loss of revenue that many companies simply can’t afford in the current climate, productivity must be optimised. On top of this, businesses are mitigating the possibilities of staff becoming unwell and having to find last minute replacements – while facing increased demand as online shopping continues to peak. Therefore, the need for fast onboarding of new or temporary warehouse workers and processes has never been greater. Training new starters can take hours or even days, which is no longer a viable option for many businesses.

The foundation of a warehouse environment is its handheld mobile devices, such as barcode scanners. When combined with visually intuitive mobile applications and an optimised order management system (OMS), these devices are employees’ bread and butter. When implemented effectively, these systems and technologies enable retailers to fulfil orders quickly and correctly, each and every time. For example, by utilising the interaction of connected mobile devices with an OMS, retailers can ensure that products are scanned and recorded at multiple touchpoints while in transit from the warehouse to the customer. By providing enhanced visibility, this enables retailers to spot and resolve any issues (such as a wrong item being shipped or a missed order) before it escalates. Most importantly, connecting all supply chain processes with an OMS equips retailers with reliable and up-to-date stock levels for their websites, and so stops customers purchasing items that aren’t available. However, these devices require a certain amount of training, that can prove a barrier to fast and simple onboarding.

Software success

Fortunately, logistics and supply chain companies can take steps to optimise their devices to maximise user experience and minimise training time. With Ivanti Velocity, businesses can migrate away from ruggedized Windows operating systems to a modern, touchscreen Android user experience. Not only will this move make existing workers more productive, but it will enhance onboarding as these devices better emulate the consumer mobile phones and tablets that new joiners will already be used to. Supply chain businesses can also use Ivanti Velocity to personalise the display of their handheld devices so pickers only have access to those buttons they need to do their jobs, removing options that aren’t applicable and minimising confusion. This also includes reformatting the device to accelerate task-screen navigation and enable the workforce to enter data more quickly and accurately, such as by automatically opening the numerical keyboard when it’s required to enter a password or quantity to avoid delays in picking.

Easier said than done

Businesses can further upgrade their productivity with voice-enabled picking technology, such as Ivanti Speakeasy. Voice picking technology can be a hugely valuable tool as pickers can work hands free, meaning they don’t need to constantly stop to consult their devices and errors are minimised – they are simply told how many of which items to pick, and alerted if they make an error. What’s more, there is no need to train Ivanti Speakeasy to recognise unique accents or dialects – users can simply pick up their existing device and get to work with minimal onboarding time. Dorman Products, a supplier of automotive replacement parts, was able to reduce training time from several hours to only 15 minutes with the introduction of Ivanti Speakeasy.

The supply chain industry is set to face a challenging time during the rest of this year and beyond. As consumer confidence increases and consumers return to work, they will have more disposable income and demand will increase. Supply chain businesses must therefore be prepared to onboard new employees quickly and efficiency, and have the tools in place for these employees to be as productive as possible from day one.