Logistics is a business of movements. Each day a transport company or distributor takes in work, plans it onto vehicles, moves goods between sites, proves that they arrived and then bills the customer for the job. Every step creates a record, and every record affects cost or income. ERP for logistics companies is about making those records connect, so a job can be followed from the booking to the invoice.
Many logistics firms start with a booking sheet, a dispatch board on a whiteboard, paper delivery notes and a spreadsheet of rates. That works while the number of jobs is small and the owner knows each customer personally. As volumes rise, the gaps appear. A proof of delivery is missing when a customer disputes an invoice, a fuel bill cannot be matched to a route, and nobody can say which customer is profitable once costs are counted.
The sections that follow cover what an ERP for logistics should handle, from jobs and consignments to warehousing, fleet costs, proof of delivery, billing and margin. It is written for owners and operations managers in road haulage, courier work, third-party logistics and similar businesses.
Jobs and consignments as the core record
In logistics the job or consignment is the unit that matters. It is what the customer buys, what the vehicle carries and what the business is paid for. Vehicle costs, driver time and proof of delivery should all attach to it, so the business can see the cost and income of each piece of work.
What a job record holds
A useful job record links the customer, the collection and delivery points, the time windows, the goods, the vehicle or subcontractor, the driver and the rate that applies. If a job covers several drops, each drop should be its own step with its own status. That makes a multi-drop run easy to follow and easy to bill, and avoids a single note that nobody can search.
Status that everyone can read
Each job should move through clear stages, such as booked, planned, collected, in transit, delivered and closed. The stages let the office, the customer service team and the customer see where a job stands. They also expose jobs that have stalled, such as a collection that was booked but never assigned to a vehicle.
Warehousing that connects to logistics transport
Many logistics businesses hold or handle goods in a warehouse before they move on. Warehousing and transport are often run in separate tools, and that creates a gap at the point where goods leave the building. An ERP can keep the two sides in step without forcing every process onto the same screen.
Goods in, storage and goods out
Goods arriving at a warehouse should be recorded against the customer and the job they belong to. Storage locations, pallet counts and condition notes then carry through to dispatch, so the load that leaves matches what the customer expects. A discrepancy found at goods-in is far easier to resolve on the day than during a dispute weeks later.
Warehouse work is often billable in its own right. Storage, handling and pallet movements may be charged separately under the contract, and those charges should be captured as the work happens rather than estimated at the end of the month.
Cross-docking and handovers between vehicles
Some goods move straight from one vehicle to another with little or no storage, a practice known as cross-docking. Where that happens, the ERP should record the transfer as a handover between jobs, with the time and the people involved. That handover record lets the business bill each leg correctly and trace the goods if something goes missing between vehicles.
Fleet and driver costs for each job
Vehicles and drivers are usually among the largest costs in road transport, yet they are often tracked by month rather than by job. That makes it hard to say whether a route or customer covers the vehicle time it uses. Linking fleet costs to jobs does not have to be exact to be useful, because a reasonable allocation is far better than none.
Costs that belong to a vehicle
Fuel, servicing, tyres, insurance, lease or finance payments and road charges all belong to a particular vehicle. A simple fleet record holds each cost against the vehicle and the date, so a cost per mile or per drop can be worked out for any period. Fuel card and workshop invoices should be captured at source where possible, rather than typed in from a box of receipts.
Vehicle downtime deserves attention too. A vehicle off the road for repairs still carries lease, insurance and driver costs, and the jobs it was meant to cover may have to move to a more expensive option. Recording the downtime against the vehicle and the jobs it disrupted shows what a breakdown really costs.
Driver time and subcontracted vehicles
Driver wages, overtime and agency cover are costs of the work too, and so are subcontracted vehicles when a job is passed to another haulier. The ERP should record which job each shift or subcontracted run was for, so the cost of a job is not understated because the driver's time was never linked to it. Where work is subcontracted, the buy price and the sell price should both sit on the same job record.
Proof of delivery that stands up to a dispute
A proof of delivery records that goods arrived, when, where and in what condition. Customers look at it when they query an invoice, and carriers and insurers look at it when goods are damaged or missing. A proof that is complete and easy to find can settle a dispute in minutes.
Capturing proof at the point of delivery
Digital proof of delivery usually records the recipient's name, a signature, the time and any photographs taken at the drop. Where the device allows, a location is recorded as well. Whichever method is used, the information should go straight into the job record rather than wait on a paper note to be keyed in later. Paper can still serve as a backup, provided it is scanned and linked as soon as it returns to the office.
Signatures, names and photographs can be personal data, so access to them should be limited to the people who need them and kept for a period set in advance. Take advice on your own obligations under UK GDPR, as the right approach depends on what you collect and why.
Exceptions, refusals and redeliveries
Not every delivery goes to plan. A consignee may refuse goods, a site may be closed, or a shipment may arrive short or damaged. Each outcome needs its own status and reason code, and each one affects billing. A redelivery is often chargeable, while a refused load may need to return to the depot. Recording these outcomes against the job means the next invoice or credit note is right first time.
Billing customers from completed logistics work
Billing is where good operational records turn into income. If each job carries its rate, its extras and its proof of delivery, the invoice can be produced from the job rather than typed from memory. That shortens the time between delivery and payment and cuts down on disputes over unclear charges.
Rate cards and contract terms
Customers often agree a rate card, which sets prices for each type of job, for distance or zone, and for extras such as additional stops or waiting time. The ERP should hold the rate card and contract terms against each customer, so the rate applied to a job is the one agreed, not the one a driver remembers. Changes to a rate card need a start date, so work done under the old terms is billed correctly.
A rate card that is clear enough to bill from usually states:
- The basis of each charge, such as per drop, per pallet or per job
- The distance or zone bands and how the distance is measured
- Which extras can be charged, and the agreed rate for each
- The date from which each rate applies
Extras, surcharges and re-billing
Extras are the charges that arise on the day, such as tail-lift use, waiting time or a special access requirement. Each one should be captured on the job with its reason and time, and checked against any approval rules the customer has agreed. Where costs such as tolls or fuel surcharges are passed on, the re-billing rule should be set up in advance, so the amount is right and easy to explain.
Margin per customer, not just per month
The most useful figure in logistics is often the hardest to find: the profit from each customer. A business can be busy and still lose money on an account, because the work costs more to deliver than the rate covers. Once jobs carry their costs and income, margin can be read by customer, by route and by type of service.
Profit by customer and by service
A margin report should show income, direct costs and the contribution left for each customer and service type. Direct costs include vehicle, driver, fuel and subcontract costs for the jobs, along with any re-billed items. Shared overheads can be shown separately, so the decision about a customer rests on what it contributes after its own costs.
The same report is useful in pricing conversations. When a customer asks for a lower rate or extra capacity, the margin for that account shows what can be offered without eroding the business. Numbers from the job record make that discussion faster and less personal.
Cost to serve and route profitability
Some customers look profitable on rate alone but cost more to serve because of frequent short-notice bookings, missed time windows or heavy paperwork. Recording those costs against the customer shows the true cost to serve. Route profitability works the same way, showing which regular runs earn their keep and which need repricing or a different plan.
FAQ
What is the difference between a job and a consignment in logistics?
The terms are used loosely, and the meaning depends on the business. A consignment usually means the goods being carried, while a job is the piece of work the business agrees to do for a customer, which may cover several consignments or drops. An ERP should be able to hold both, so the cost and income of the work can be seen together.
How does an ERP help with proof of delivery?
It can store the proof against the job, including the recipient, the time, any signature or photograph and any exception code. That makes it quick to find when a customer queries an invoice. Some businesses keep paper as a backup, but the record should still be linked to the job it belongs to.
Can an ERP track fleet costs for each vehicle?
An ERP can hold vehicle costs such as fuel, servicing and insurance against each vehicle and date, and report them for any period. Linking those costs to individual jobs needs allocation rules, which take more thought. Many businesses start with costs per vehicle and add job-level allocation once the basic data is reliable.
How should a logistics company bill its customers?
Billing is usually based on agreed rate cards and the completed work recorded on each job, including any extras and the reason for them. Invoices are best produced from the job record, with proof of delivery attached for any queries. Contract terms and rate changes should carry start dates, so each job is billed under the right terms.
Does an ERP replace a transport management system?
It depends on the size and complexity of the operation. Some smaller logistics businesses run jobs, vehicles and billing in one ERP, while larger operations may use a dedicated transport management system alongside it. The question to ask is whether the system can hold the job, cost and billing detail your planners and accounts team need.
How do you measure profit per customer in logistics?
Add up the income from each customer's jobs, then subtract the direct costs of those jobs, including vehicles, drivers, fuel and any subcontracting. What remains is the contribution before shared overheads. Looking at cost to serve as well, such as short-notice bookings and disputes, gives a fuller picture of which customers are worth keeping on current terms.
Final thought
An ERP for logistics companies is most useful when jobs, vehicles, proof of delivery and billing are linked to the same record. The reward is more than a tidier office. It is the ability to answer simple questions quickly: was the job delivered, what did it cost, and does the invoice match the work?
Fleet costs and margin reporting are worth doing next, but the job record and the billing link come first, because they show the effect of missing information most clearly.
Jobs, vehicles and invoices that sit in separate tools are hard to reconcile, and the first useful step is a clear picture of how work moves from booking to payment. Mirex Agency can help you draw that picture, and our ERP solutions service can then tie the steps into one record that the operations and finance teams both rely on.
