Define what completed delivery means
Proof of delivery is a record of the handover your business needs to establish. Arriving near a destination is one event; handing the right goods to the appropriate recipient is another. Agree on the evidence required for your operation before asking drivers to mark deliveries complete. The process should explain who received the goods, what was accepted and what exceptions remain.
Do not assume that a location point, photograph or signature answers every question on its own. A photo of a sealed carton may show its presence without establishing its contents. A signature without a clear delivery reference can be difficult to interpret later. Choose a practical combination of records and explain the standard to drivers, dispatch staff and customers who receive regular deliveries.
Prepare the reference before leaving the depot
Give each delivery a reference that links the destination, customer and expected goods. Confirm the receiving location and contact arrangements. A business may have a shop, a store room and a separate unloading point; the right address depends on the agreed handover. Ask about opening hours and access constraints before dispatch so the driver is not forced to improvise at the gate.
Keep product descriptions and units consistent with the picking information. Two cartons are not automatically equivalent to two packs, even if the item name is the same. If substitutions are allowed, define who can approve them and how the approval is recorded. The driver should know which differences require a call before the goods are handed over.
Use a handover evidence checklist
Choose only evidence that serves a clear operational purpose and fits the customer's arrangements. If your organisation uses signatures or photos, establish how they are collected and stored appropriately. This checklist describes an operating process; it does not imply that every item is a feature of a particular app. Check your tools before designing the final form.
- Delivery reference, customer and exact receiving location.
- Arrival or handover time, with a clear definition of each event.
- Name or business role of the authorised receiving contact.
- Expected products and units, accepted quantities and visible exceptions.
- Agreed evidence, follow-up owner and the final status communicated to dispatch.
Record partial acceptance without hiding the difference
Consider this illustrative example. A driver brings eight cartons to an outlet in Benin City. The receiver accepts seven and declines one because its outer packaging is damaged. Recording 'delivered: eight' hides the exception; recording only seven without a note loses the explanation for the remaining carton. The record should show what was expected, what was accepted and what happened to the declined item.
The next action might assign the return decision to dispatch and the customer update to an account contact. Record the agreed handling instruction rather than leaving the driver to infer it. If the recipient disputes a quantity, note the disagreement and contact the authorised colleague. A clear unresolved status is more useful than marking completion just to remove the delivery from an active list.
Give failed deliveries an actionable outcome
A closed premises, inaccessible road or unavailable recipient requires a specific reason and a decision. Avoid using a generic 'failed' label without explanation. Record what prevented the handover, whether contact was attempted and who must decide the next step. Keep customer contact details out of broad message groups when a controlled business record can hold the necessary information.
Agree the difference between an attempted delivery and a completed handover. A driver should not have to invent an outcome to finish a workflow. If the goods stay on the vehicle, make that responsibility explicit. If a redelivery is planned, confirm the new arrangement with the relevant contact and keep it linked to the original reference so the office can understand the sequence.
Reconcile evidence before closing the case
At the end of a run, compare expected deliveries with completed, partial and unresolved handovers. Reconcile declined goods and open actions with dispatch. Make sure any offline notes or delayed updates have reached the office before using the records for a final customer response. The aim is a coherent handover history that another colleague can interpret without reconstructing it from several calls.
Trurep supports active delivery tracking and review of delivery history, destinations, products, recorded locations and check-ins. Use that context alongside your agreed acceptance evidence. Confirm which evidence your current workflow actually captures; do not assume a route trace is a recipient signature or a completed quantity check. The strongest process gives each delivery an understandable outcome and every exception a named owner.
