4 Ways to Acknowledge Digital Receipts Without a Signature

Parcel services are setting the example: For private parcel delivery, some service providers are dispensing with a recipient's signature for hygiene reasons, usually done via a finger on the delivery agent's touchscreen device.

Today, numerous breweries, mineral springs, and specialized beverage wholesalers deliver their orders to customers in the catering trade, beverage retail, or to companies and private individuals using mobile solutions for digital delivery notes. Delivery is classically acknowledged with the customer's signature. Contactless alternatives are also possible.

We illustrate four such ways for such a contactless acknowledgment option here using the example of the OntegoGL app:

• 1. Use of a special touchscreen stylus
• 2. Signature on paper receipt
• 3. Signature on blank paper
• 4. Justified refusal of signature

Customers of specialized beverage wholesalers, breweries, or mineral water manufacturers can provide their employees with input pens (styluses) for use on smartphone touchscreens. Such touchscreen pens continue to allow for a signature on the delivery note or an invoice—without the employee having to physically touch the beverage driver's mobile device with their finger.

The reality in beverage delivery currently usually looks like this: in addition to data capture on the smartphone or handheld, a mobile receipt printer is also used.

OntegoGL can be configured so that a receipt printout is possible even without the recipient's signature, and the signature on the paper receipt only takes place after a receipt has been printed.

Sensitive customers can use their own pen for this—or are given, for example, a new, previously unused ballpoint pen by the driver (promotional gift). The delivery driver then captures a photo of the receipt incl. signature. This photo is transferred to the merchandise management system together with the document data after the tour ends.

A comparatively new way to acknowledge receipt of a delivery is the recipient's signature on the delivery itself or on a blank piece of paper on which, for example, only the document number and delivery date are noted. As in (2), the beverage supplier takes a photo of this, which is saved as a note to the receipt and thus documents the acknowledgment.

It is possible to configure OntegoGL so that the recipient refuses their signature—ideally stating predefined reasons. Or, in such a case, the driver signs in the signature field of the smartphone app instead of the customer, e.g., with "on behalf of xxx".

In addition to selecting the reason for refusal, the recipient's name can nevertheless be recorded by default to ensure complete transparency of the delivery.

These brief examples show how the increased requirements for hygiene and health protection can be implemented in beverage delivery. Ultimately, practice will show which approaches are accepted by (end) customers.

The practice of beverage delivery requires new solutions to meet customer demands—in this case, the completion of a customer stop. In addition to acknowledging a delivery via signature, delivery apps also enable contactless acknowledgments. Which way is the right one will be evaluated differently from case to case.