How to improve office efficiency in a logistics firm

Key takeaways

Logistics office efficiency depends on four admin flows: booking jobs, answering where is my delivery queries, processing proof of delivery and invoicing. Delays in proof of delivery hold up invoicing, which holds up cash. Daily processing of delivery paperwork, proactive tracking updates and invoicing straight from completed jobs are the biggest wins.

• 4 flows: bookings, tracking queries, proof of delivery and invoicing.
• Late proof of delivery delays invoices and cash.
• Proactive updates cut where is my delivery calls.
• Invoice from completed jobs daily, not weekly.

Where does a logistics office lose time?

A logistics office loses time keying bookings from emails, answering customers who ask where their delivery is, matching proofs of delivery to jobs and raising invoices in weekly batches. Planners and managers often do this between dealing with drivers and exceptions.

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How do you speed up proof of delivery and invoicing?

Capture proof of delivery electronically where possible, process paper or photo proofs daily and match them to jobs as they arrive. Raise invoices from completed, proven jobs the same or next day. Each day saved on proof of delivery is a day sooner the invoice can be paid.

• Capture proof of delivery electronically.
• Process proofs daily, not weekly.
• Match each proof to its job on arrival.
• Invoice proven jobs within a day.

• Document processing outsourcing: from paper pile to data
• Order-to-cash process: shorten the road from sale to cash

How do you cut tracking queries?

Cut tracking queries by telling customers before they ask: booking confirmations, collection and delivery updates and clear notice of delays. Answer the rest quickly from the tracking system. A support team can handle these queries and send proactive updates, so planners focus on drivers and problems.

• Customer service outsourcing for logistics firms
• Customer feedback loop: turn complaints into fewer contacts

What does the gain look like in numbers?

In an illustrative firm running 400 jobs a week, proofs of delivery are processed weekly and invoices go out about eight days after delivery. A managed team processing proofs daily and invoicing the next day brings cash in about a week sooner. Planners also stop answering most tracking calls. Example figures only.

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Which work should stay with planners?

Planning, driver communication, exceptions on the road and customer escalations should stay with your planners. Support works best on the structured admin around them: booking entry, document processing, routine queries and invoicing.

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• Escalation paths for outsourced teams: fast, not chaotic

When is outsourcing less useful?

It is less useful when bookings and queries are tightly bound to real-time decisions on the road, or when volumes are small enough for one administrator to handle comfortably. Fix your systems first if the main delay is manual data that could be captured digitally.

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What does this look like in practice?

A pattern we see: a haulier's invoices go out weekly because proofs of delivery arrive in a pile on Fridays. Processing proofs daily, as photos sent from drivers, lets invoices go out the next day and improves cash flow without any change to customers' payment terms.

• See client work
• BPO Solutions for UK businesses

Logistics office checklist

Check these in your office.

• Bookings arrive in one place.
• Customers get proactive updates.
• Proofs of delivery processed daily.
• Invoices raised within a day of proof.
• Planners free of routine queries.

• Outsourcing efficiency checklist: 20 checks

Next step

Tell us your weekly job volume and how proofs and invoices are handled. We will show you where admin is slowing cash and what a support team could take on.