What Is Proof of Delivery?
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Talk to our experts- Proof of delivery
- Proof of delivery (POD) is information a carrier supplies after a shipment arrives: the name of the person who signed for it, the time and date of delivery, and other delivery details. In B2B freight it closes the loop the bill of lading opens: the bill of lading records what was tendered, the POD who received it.
Also called: POD
How it works
Proof of delivery is the carrier's record that a shipment was delivered. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) freight glossary defines it as information supplied by the carrier containing the name of the person who signed for the shipment, the time and date of delivery, and other shipment delivery related information.
Where proof of delivery sits in a freight shipment
At pickup, the motor carrier issues a receipt or bill of lading naming the consignor, consignee, origin, destination and freight.
Progress such as in transit and out for delivery can be recorded until the shipment arrives.
The receiver signs for the shipment at the delivery point.
The carrier supplies the signer's name and the time and date of delivery.
What a POD looks like depends on the carrier. The US Postal Service, for its own mail, describes a Proof of Delivery as an emailed letter with the delivery information, the recipient's name, the tracking number, an image of the recipient's signature and the printed name and address. USPS says it is only available for items with a Signature Confirmation service purchased or included in the mail class.
FHWA's glossary defines OS&D as over, short and damaged, and describes a report issued at the warehouse when goods are damaged, with a claim usually filed with the carrier. FHWA defines a claim as charges made against a carrier for loss, damage, delay or overcharge.
Proof of delivery vs. bill of lading
The two documents bookend the shipment. Federal rules require for-hire, non-exempt motor carriers to issue a receipt or bill of lading for property tendered for transportation, listing the consignor and consignee, origin and destination, number of packages, description of the freight and, where it affects the rate, its weight or volume. The bill of lading starts the move. Proof of delivery closes it, recording who signed for the shipment and when.
Example
A distributor ships 12 pallets to a contractor's job site. At pickup, the bill of lading lists 12 pallets. At delivery, the receiver signs for 11 and notes one pallet short, and the carrier's proof of delivery records the signer's name, the date and the time.
When the contractor's accounts payable team asks why the invoice covers 12 pallets, the distributor can see that only 11 arrived: 12 - 1 = 11. It credits one pallet and files a claim with the carrier for the short pallet.
On Shopify
On Shopify, delivery status is recorded on a fulfillment as fulfillment events. Shopify describes a fulfillment event as a tracking event that records the status and location of a fulfillment at a specific point in time, and says fulfillment events provide a chronological history of a package's journey from shipment to delivery.
- Statuses: the values include attempted delivery and delivered, which Shopify defines as the fulfillment was successfully delivered.
- Creating events: the fulfillmentEventCreate mutation in the GraphQL Admin API creates an event to track the shipment status and location of items that have shipped. It requires the write_fulfillments access scope.
An integration that receives delivery confirmations from a carrier or an ERP can use that mutation to record the delivered status on the matching Shopify fulfillment.
How Uncap helps
Uncap's Epicor BisTrack integration page notes that the BisTrack Delivery mobile app lets drivers capture proof of delivery with photos and customer signatures. In Uncap's integration, delivery status, including proof of delivery where your drivers capture it in BisTrack Delivery, comes back to the buyer's account.
Sources
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a bill of lading and proof of delivery?
A bill of lading is issued by the motor carrier when freight is tendered, listing the consignor, consignee, origin, destination, packages and description of the freight. Proof of delivery comes at the other end: the carrier's record of who signed for the shipment and the time and date of delivery.
How do I get proof of delivery?
Ask the carrier that delivered the shipment, because proof of delivery is information the carrier supplies. The process depends on the carrier. The US Postal Service, for example, provides a Proof of Delivery for eligible mail with Signature Confirmation through its tracking tool at USPS.com.
What document serves as proof of delivery?
The carrier's delivery record, showing the name of the person who signed for the shipment, the time and date of delivery and other delivery information. Its format depends on the carrier: the US Postal Service, for example, sends an emailed letter with an image of the recipient's signature.
