When you ship with a courier company, there are certain services that you're always going to want to insist on. If your courier at present can't provide you with some of these, its probably time to start looking for a new courier. While that might sound a bit overdramatic, the truth is that some of these services can be very valuable to your business, and are worth going out of your way to get. The one thing that you're absolutely going to want your courier service to provide you with is real time proof of delivery.
You should always obtain a proof of delivery of some kind from your courier. If you absolutely cannot get this in real time, then that is acceptable if the courier has many other features which you appreciate. The reason that it is so important to obtain a P.O.D. though is because there are sometimes disputes about deliveries which arise with clients. If you have a documented proof of delivery it makes it much harder for them to have any successful arguments about the nature of the delivery itself.
Real time proof of deliveries can now be delivered to the clients of courier companies. This is accomplished through the wireless handheld devices which most courier drivers carry with them. They enter information into these units, and then after the delivery is successfully completed they can immediately transmit this to you via email.
One of the best features of these new units is that they have a feature known as electronic signature captures. As mentioned previously, often the primary reason of getting a proof of delivery is in case there is a dispute. The facts or the drivers assertion that a delivery was successfully made would not be worth much in proving a point during such a dispute. However, if there is a electronic signature captured that file becomes much more binding in proving that the delivery was made.
Keeping complete records is something that is very important whenever you're doing business. This extends to all of your company's shipping operations especially. Just as you would make sure that you would get a receipt for any business transaction that you complete, you should also make sure that you do business with a courier that can provide you with extra documentation like a proof of delivery. Real time P.O.D is best because you aren't left waiting for confirmation from your client of a successful delivery.