Many transportation companies and other businesses that perform pickup, delivery or other services at customer sites have an excellent opportunity to improve cash flow -- without having to add customers or sell more to existing ones. Shortening the collection cycle is a proven and powerful way to improve the balance sheet, and now it is becoming convenient and cost effective for trucking companies to do so with a simple, technology-enabled change to driver operations.
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Transportation Operations:
Clear Cash Flow Roadblocks
with Enhanced Mobile
Document ImagingMany transportation companies and other businesses that Benefits of Mobile Document Imagingperform pickup, delivery or other services at customer sites Improved cash flow is the clearest, strongest and easiest to attain have an excellent opportunity to improve cash flow -- without benefit when introducing true document imaging into driver having to add customers or sell more to existing ones. Shortening operations. With mobile computing, wireless communication the collection cycle is a proven and powerful way to improve and enhanced mobile document imaging, billing can begin when the balance sheet, and now it is becoming convenient and the work is done, not when a driver gets back to the office or a cost effective for trucking companies to do so with a simple, drop-off center. Other benefits to enhanced imaging and real-technology-enabled change to driver operations. Mobile computers time processing include improved customer service, better invoice with enhanced accuracy, time savings for drivers and back-office staff, and lower mobile document overall billing costs. In addition, the hard costs associated with Key Definitions imaging are easier stopping a truck at a drop off point or terminal for the sole purpose to use than digital of dropping off paperwork. The stop made at the drop-off facility Document imaging and enhanced mobile cameras. In just is a stop that adds costs to operations and replaces a revenue-document imaging refer to systems seconds drivers producing stop that could have been made at a customer facility. that capture documents and save can create legible, Adding a load per day per truck would add up to nice improvements them in formats that can be processed secure electronic in cash flow, productivity and asset utilization.automatically. images of bills of lading, manifests, SpeedDocument photography refers to invoices and other The cash flow improvement opportunity exists for virtually any systems that capture a raw image of documentation. carrier, but varies depending on operations. Typically, the earliest the document, which can be viewed and Unlike digital paperwork is received at the end of the day after the shipment stored, but data on the document image camera-based has been completed, but several days may pass if the truck is must be entered and processed manually. systems, the on an overnight run. Once received, paperwork isn't instantly Legacy imagers in the field today perform images captured entered into the billing system, but instead goes into an in-box document photography. with enhanced for processing, where it may sit for hours or days before clerical imagers are workers manually scan documents and index the images. At a Document imagers can be used as compatible with minimum, the invoice is issued one day after delivery, though lags cameras, but cameras can't provide true common electronic of three days to a week or more are very common. Much longer document imaging. file formats so they delays are possible if paperwork or information is missing, which can automatically can go undetected for weeks.be managed by document management systems, indexed and processed by Contrast this process to invoicing initiated by document capture accounting, payroll, vehicle maintenance, driver management and in the field by drivers who carry hand-held computers. When the other software applications. The image files are also small enough pickup or delivery is complete, drivers have customers sign on to transmit wirelessly from the field, which means invoices can be the mobile computer touchscreen, and the digitized signature is presented for processing immediately after service is performed. stored with the time-stamped transaction record. Location stamps (a.k.a. geostamps) can also be applied. Drivers then use the imager Besides compressing the payment cycle, electronic document integrated in the handheld to scan any bar codes on the shipment capture and processing lowers operating expenses, because labels and documents. The driver also creates a secure, processable electronic forms are less expensive to process than paper ones. electronic document image simply by pointing the imager at the 1For example, recent research found that best-in-class firms are document -- with no need to manually feed the paperwork in... [download for more]
