What is proof of delivery?
Also called POD
Proof of delivery is the signed document confirming the receiver took the freight, usually the delivery copy of the bill of lading. It is what an invoice must be supported by before anyone pays it.
Without it, an invoice is a claim rather than a bill. Brokers will not pay against one, and factoring companies will not advance against one, so a load with no proof of delivery is work that has been done and cannot yet be sold.
It records who signed for the freight, at what time, and whether anything was noted as damaged or short at the point of handover. Those notes are what a cargo claim is later argued from, which is why a clean signature matters as much as a prompt one.
For most loads it is simply the delivery copy of the bill of lading, signed and dated by the receiver. Some customers use their own delivery receipt instead, and a few require both.
What it means on a dispatch desk
Proof of delivery is the slowest link in most small carriers' cash flow, and the delay is almost always a driver's phone rather than a customer's finance department. A desk that collects a legible scan at the dock, before the truck leaves, invoices the same day; one that collects them weekly invoices weekly, and waits a week longer to get paid on every single load.
Related terms
- Bill of ladingA bill of lading is the document issued at pickup that lists what is being shipped, who is shipping it and where it is going. It is simultaneously a receipt for the freight, a contract of carriage and a record of the goods' condition.
- FactoringFactoring is selling freight invoices to a third party at a discount in order to be paid within a day or two instead of waiting thirty to sixty days. The factoring company then collects from the broker.
- Quick payQuick pay is a broker's own offer to pay a carrier faster than the standard terms, in exchange for a percentage discount on the invoice. It is an alternative to factoring, arranged directly with the broker.
- Lumper feeA lumper fee is money paid to third-party workers at a warehouse who load or unload the trailer, rather than the driver doing it. It is common at grocery and food distribution centres.
Knowing the term is the easy half
Knowing which carriers are worth calling this morning is the hard half.
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