AN EDINBURGH IT company has launched the UK's first pay-as-you-go software system which will enable customers to sign for deliveries by mobile phone.
The Pod Father system was developed by Valley Technology with a client, Neil Williams Haulage, to provide an instant proof of delivery using standard mobile phones and writing recognition technology.
Valley worked with Thus, the telecoms firm, and
O2, the mobile phone operator, on the invention and is in talks with other technology companies.
An estimated 2% of receipts go missing once they have been signed, leading to delays and lost income for hauliers, courier firms, builders' merchants and specialist retailers.
Managing director Alastair Broom said the Pod Father should help eliminate the problem of lost receipts and enable suppliers to produce invoices more quickly.
The product will compete with more expensive systems which are used by international delivery companies. Broom said: "The potential for this is very large, but we want to do it all ourselves. No one else is targeting the lower end of the market because of the presumed expense of doing something like this."
Valley was set up in Edinburgh by Broom more than 10 years ago. Clients include Farmfoods, the frozen food retailer, and International JetClub, the aircraft operator.
