Online sales have boomed in the last couple of years and have been growing exponentially. This is a massive achievement for the eCommerce marketplace. However, the increase in the volume of orders is impacting the delivery services significantly. Issues of lost packages or delays in order delivery have doubled, resulting in trust issues between the business and the customers.
To eliminate such discrepancies businesses are now inclined towards Proof of Delivery or POD. Though top shipping carriers support POD, DHL’s global outreach & special shipping services make it a good option for domestic as well as international shipping. In this article, we will discuss POD and how it is beneficial for businesses & customers. Taking a step ahead, we will help you to understand DHL Electronic Proof of Delivery and the easiest way to achieve this in your WooCommerce or Shopify store.
What is Proof of Delivery?
Proof of delivery or POD is a method to acknowledge that the recipient received the parcel, sent by a sender. It is a delivery receipt signed by the receiver of the parcel. This special delivery service is provided by quite a number of shipping carriers like USPS, UPS, FedEx & DHL.
In many scenarios, people tend to confuse Proof of Delivery with Bill of Lading or BOL. Proof of Delivery is just a signed receipt from the receiver of the shipment. However, BOL is a legal document, particularly a contract between the shipper and the carrier.
What are the benefits of Proof of Delivery?
Though Proof of Delivery is just a small part of your entire shipping process, this service has the ability to retain customer satisfaction and save a lot of money. Let’s see what are the benefits you can get out of this:
- Provides better customer experience: Your business reputation stands on your customer satisfaction & even the smallest mistake can ruin that. It is possible that your package gets misplaced but is marked as delivered, or that the package is labeled as “delivered” before it is actually delivered. You’ll have better insight into your customers’ orders with the proof of delivery, resulting in a better customer experience. Not just that your customers will have peace of mind getting what they ordered when they expect it. The POD service is especially important while shipping legal documents or expensive items.
- Improves order accuracy and saves money: Proof of Delivery confirms that your customers items arrived at the designated location. As a result, you won’t have to spend money on frivolous refunds or replacement orders. Once service is completed, consumers can sign a POD stating that they received it, and employees can include a photo of the finished job. This will also save you the cost of having to redo work.
Types of Proof of Delivery
Proof of Delivery comes in two forms:
- Paper Proof of Delivery: A paper POD is a physical form that a consumer signs after receiving goods or services as verification that they have obtained their package/s.
- Electronic Proof of Delivery: When a product or service is provided via an electronic POD, customers provide an electronic signature. Alternatively, if the consumer is not at home or prefers a contactless engagement, the delivery driver will take a photo to demonstrate completion. Customers are presumably more familiar with electronic proof of delivery, which is utilized by postal services and couriers such as DHL these days.
What is DHL Proof of Delivery
DHL’s Electronic Proof of Delivery allows the customer to get delivery details and an image of the receiver’s signature that is captured digitally. This special service from DHL removes the need of calling customer service to get the details of the Proof of Delivery. The customers can view, download, print, or email proof of delivery documents usually within an hour of delivery.
DHL Proof of Delivery for WooCommerce
DHL’s Proof of Delivery service for WooCommerce can be accessed through the WooCommerce Shipping Service dashboard. As soon as the order has been imported into the account, select the order, change the order status to Initial, and under “Advance Section” click on “Add DHL Special Services”.
After selecting DHL special service, select the “Direct Signature” option from the options available as shown below:
Once done the Signature option will reflect in the Commercial Invoice. All you need to do is select the order/s and generate labels. Here is a sample attached for your reference:
WooCommerce Shipping Service easily integrates with DHL and allows you to make the most out of your DHL carrier account. You can use other DHL special services & completely automate your DHL shipping. It also calculates and displays live DHL shipping rates & prints shipping labels, helps you request DHL carrier pickups, print manifests, and tracks real-time orders.
DHL Proof of Delivery for Shopify
DHL’s Proof of Delivery service for Shopify can be accessed through the Multi Carrier Shipping Label app dashboard. As soon as the order has been imported into the account, select the order, change the order status to Initial, and under “Advance Section” click on “Add DHL Special Services”.
After selecting DHL special service, select the “Direct Signature” option from the options available as shown below:
Once done the Signature option will reflect in the Commercial Invoice. All you need to do is select the order/s and generate labels.
Multi Carrier Shipping Label app easily integrates with DHL and allows you to make the most out of your DHL carrier account. You can use other DHL special services & completely automate your DHL shipping. The app calculates and displays live DHL shipping rates & prints shipping labels, helps you to request DHL carrier pickups, print manifests, and tracks real-time orders.
Have queries or want to know more about DHL Direct Signature or other special services?
Contact our support team for further assistance.