The long-expected transition from paper to imaging – let alone data-only business transactions – remains a work in progress.

Electronic data interchange (EDI) sprouted in the mid 1980s, and its arrival signaled the beginning of the end for paper documents in the transportation industry. With EDI, two or more businesses could transmit information electronically, from order through invoice and payment.

However, since its inception, EDI has been plagued with exceptions. Only large customers use it, and each customer has unique standards for the transactions they exchange with carriers. Plus, many customers that use EDI still require “hard-copy” documentation, such as a signed proof-of-delivery (POD) receipt, to pay an invoice.

In the mid 1990s, carriers began using imaging systems to streamline the handling, storage and retrieval of their paper documents. Customers began to accept images created by those systems in place of original documents to pay invoices – a shift that enabled fleets to speed up billing and collections. More recently, many carriers have developed sophisticated e-commerce tools that eliminate the need for paper altogether.

Even so, the use of hard-copy documents remains the standard way to account for the many exceptions that occur in supply chains, such as overages, shortages and damaged freight. “Customers still want a paper copy in hand,” says Bruce Kalem, chief financial officer of Milan Express, a 950-truck carrier in Milan, Tenn. “It would be wonderful if we went paperless, but I don’t know how you would account for exceptions.”

The challenge certainly isn’t technical. Today’s technology would enable a totally paperless operation, and the equipment cost continues to drop. Rather, as Kalem suggests, the issues are customer relations and management’s resolve. Yet many carriers are forging ahead with new technology, tackling exceptions and hurdles along the way from customers and even their own employees.

Challenges from within
Much of a company’s paperwork is generated internally. Due to a lack of integration among internal systems, many employees still use printers, copiers and fax machines more than should be necessary.