What is a Delivery Order?
A delivery order is a legal document instructing its recipient to transfer the shipment to another entity. A delivery order is commonly abbreviated as D/O and is usually issued by a consigner, freight owner, carrier or anyone who must hand over the shipment to another party. Generally, a delivery cycle witnesses several such orders in one go.
Significance of Delivery Order in an E-commerce Shipping and Delivery
Delivery Order ensures mandatory checks while switching handlers and acts as proof of safe transportation by a specific entity.
- Identifying drop offs: A product can incur damage while delivery and poor handling are one of the primary causes of the mentioned issue. As a delivery cycle comprises several smaller processes where different handlers manage the product, identifying the dropoff points might take a lot of work. As a delivery order enforces intermediate checks, such issues can be easily identified and dealt with accordingly.
- Streamlining: A delivery order highlights the recipient of the shipment. Therefore, a handler can confidently identify and hand over the product without fearing the possibility of theft.
Prerequisites of Delivery Order and How It Works
A delivery order is issued when a change of hands is required. In other words, when an intermediate cycle ends, a delivery order is required.
- Completion of a cycle: Once a delivery cycle, for example, the middle mile is over, the current handler issues a D/O.
- Inspection: The entity taking charge of the product must inspect the product to identify damages, if any.
- Hand-over: The product is handed over to the concerned entity after the examination.
Use Case with Delivery Order
For example, a product is being shipped from Melbourne to Davao city. Therefore, the delivery lifecycle comprises the first mile, middle mile and last mile. When the shipping company sent the product to the Filipino port, a D/O was issued by the freight owner requesting to hand over the products to the warehouse manager. The manager, in turn, inspects the product before accepting it to ensure every product is in place and undamaged.