In everyday terms an electronic proof of delivery is the squiggle a customer makes on a handheld device to confirm they’ve received a delivery or service.
People often question how valuable it is, in comparison to a paper signature and if electronic proof of deliveries are legally binding. Here are the answer to these questions:
A few hundred years ago we would have used a quill, more recently a pen, and today – it’s either your finger or a little stylus.
But the end result is the same, regardless of the method, a signature serves as a method of authentication.
There is really no difference.
If you want to take a peek at the legal nitty gritty then there are two pieces of legislation to look at. The first is from the European Parliament and has the catchy title of: 1999/93/EC.
This sets out the requirements for a valid electronic signature as being:
This was introduced in 1999 and the following years the UK Government gave it their own legal pat on the head with a few added revisions as the Electronic Communications Act 2000 and 2002.
But you really don’t need to worry about the small print on this issue – the bottom line is that an electronic signature is legal and software such as MyMobileWorkers ticks all the boxes.
There are lots of ways it’s better than a scribble on a bit of paper. But the biggest are its efficiency and reliability.
What a system like MyMobileWorkers does is to the bind the signature in data form with the rest of the details for a particular order or customer/client. This is made instantly available to head office.
The digital nature of an electronic signature means that you also have a record of when and where is was signed.
Compare this to an old paper-based system, all those details need to be manually recorded by the mobile worker. The document has to be driven/sent back to head office and then deciphered.
So using an electronic signature is just much more efficient – and less hassle.
Image source: www.freeimages.com Even Earwicker