Document Management
The challenges are fueling the trend toward further digitization in order to streamline processes and thus remain competitive. According to the Digital Office Index 2022 published by the digital association Bitkom, the transport and logistics industry has caught up significantly in recent years compared to other sectors. According to the index, 76 percent of logistics companies use at least one ECM solution in addition to ERP and CRM solutions. Satisfaction with the use of such solutions is high: three quarters of the companies see an improvement in the fulfillment of compliance guidelines and performance. 70 percent recognize improved process transparency and 68 percent an improvement in process automation. 66 percent confirm higher customer satisfaction.
Digital waybill
In actual day-to-day business, however, a gap becomes apparent - for example, with the digital waybill. The electronic consignment note has been available in Germany since April 2022. However, 59 percent of logistics companies see its introduction as a major challenge. 46 percent of the 400 logistics companies surveyed say that there is a lack of expertise in the industry for rapid introduction. 54 percent state that standards are still lacking for efficient use.
Since almost all processes involve the handling of documents, ECM or DMS assume a key role within digitization. Every transport of goods is associated with a number of documents. These include shipping, transport, customs and warehouse documents as well as sales order documents, packing slips, track-and-trace information and much more.
Large logistics companies transport several thousand shipments per day and process correspondingly high volumes of documents per day and month. Automated and intelligent digitization of documents and the corresponding triggering and processing of follow-up processes can make work much easier and at the same time significantly reduce administrative process costs per shipment.
Efficient processes are a supreme discipline in logistics. In many places, industry-specific software solutions already support optimization tasks in the areas of route planning, fleet management and shipment tracking. Due to growing cost and competitive pressure, logistics companies are using digitization to make processes even more cost-effective and efficient. Further digitization also enables the integration and partially automated control of subsequent processes. This applies not only to in-house processes in administration and accounting, but also to the integration of customers and partner companies.
"Companies are basically looking for a 'vessel' to hold all their document structures, whether it's a shipping file, customs clearance file, or fleet file. Upstream, the topic of intelligent or AI-based processing of the documents plays an important role - from scanning the documents to reading out the information and assigning and triggering follow-up processes, such as processes for claims, invoice verification, container management, etc. Only when this has been achieved can work be done on the integration of customers and partners into the digital processes or on the use of digital signature solutions," sums up Didier Hunn, expert for logistics solutions at the DMS specialist Kendox.
