The Perfect Order: Right Documentation

The seventh of Dr. Marien’s 8Rs of his Customer’s Bill of Rights is the Right Documentation. Per his original article, the Right Documentation was described as:

With the demanding Rights described above, documenting and communicating clean, reliable and timely information is crucial among parties. Besides meeting security requirements by ensuring that information is not getting into the wrong hands or to meet government requirements, all parties must cooperate in making sure that perfect information is passed among parties securely. If bad or unreliable order information is passed along initially, then there is a high probability that imperfect shipments are going to occur.

The quality of transportation and logistics fulfillment is necessarily tied to obtaining good, clean order information. Many firms are now separating “perfect orders” from “perfect shipments.”

Perfect orders relate to getting all of the performance specifications agreed upon before the shipment is prepared and tendered to 3PLs.

Are all required documents—paper or electronic—prepared and correctly filled out to satisfy business and regulatory requirements? Once shipments are made, are clean Advance Shipping Notices (ASNs) communicated to buyers on a timely basis? Is payment for goods received with proper documentation and instructions as goods are turned over to buyer from seller? If an OS&D (over, short & damaged report) to the shipment occurs, do receivers and 3PLs document the damages quickly and correctly? All of these questions relate to the information surrounding the flow of materials.

I think that there are two key points that Dr. Marien makes that stand out regarding the definition of documentation: First, documentation can be physical or electronic, such as printed paper, a label, a hangtag, an RFID tag, or an EDI transaction. Second, documentation can relate to the order or to the shipment. One type of document might be embedded within, associated with, or reliant upon another. And so, we have to expand our definition of what “documentation” could mean.

Documentation that could be related to the order includes:

• Item hangtags for descriptions and pricing.
• Item instructions and warranty information inserts
• Item-level barcoding (whether graphically embedded or physically adhered)
• RFID tags on items
• Item hazardous material sheets
• X12-EDI850 Purchase Order or X12-EDI875 Grocery Products Purchase Order
• X12-EDI855 Purchase Order Acknowledgement
• X12-EDI860 Purchase Order Change or X12-EDI876 Grocery Products Purchase Order Change

Documentation that could be related to the shipment includes:

• Pick list
• Pack list
• Bill of lading
• Shipping manifest
• Carrier label, e.g., for small package shipments
• UCC-128 carton compliance label (with optional RFID tag)
• UCC-128 pallet compliance label (with optional RFID tag)
• Routing instructions (e.g., X12-EDI754) as a result of the routing request (e.g., X12-EDI753)
• Warehouse ship order (e.g., X12-EDI940) and warehouse ship advice (e.g., X12-EDI945)
• Advance Ship Notice (e.g., X12-EDI856)
• Invoice, such as the X12-EDI810 or X12-EDI880 (for grocery products)
• Commercial invoice for cross-border commerce.

Next, Dr. Marien correctly mentions that documentation—notably for Advance Ship Notices—must be “communicated on a timely basis.” Delivery “at the Right Time” is the sixth Customer Right, and extends not only to the product being conveyed, but also to the documentation associated with it, whether physical or, more importantly these days, electronic. The synchronization of electronic transactions (e.g., EDI) with business operations is critical to ensure that the right documentation is sent, received, and processed prior to the physical goods arriving. It does no good (it would only compound the problem) to have the invoice sent prior to the ship notice, especially if the ship notice is in error.

Physical or digital, related to the item, order, or shipment, designated for product box, shipping carton, or pallet, whether on the inside or on the outside, the right documentation—provided to the customer at the right time—requires us to think beyond the walls of the distribution center and consider everything that is communicated to the customer related to getting the product successfully conveyed for use or sale. The Right Documentation isn’t just about physical specifications, it’s also about electronic transactions.

With more insight into the seventh customer right, the Right Documentation, we can move on to the eighth customer right. Up next: The Right Cost.

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