If you are at play in the field of logistics with international trade, warehousing and distribution, sooner or later you will have to deal with shipping containers. And in the end you will need a Delivery Order. This is the 5th article ( the first was about Inco terms, the second about Bill Of Lading, the third about Terminal Handling Charges and the fourth about ISPS) of a serie about documents and terms relating to your Supply Chain.
In the second article we talked about the importancy of a Bill of Lading in the whole shipping cycle. When the cargo reaches his port of destination, the carrier needs to handover the cargo to the receiver. This handover is a document called Delivery Order. Here we discuss Delivery Order in terms of Goods to consignee by carrier. This is another important document in the Supply Chain, the final one as you might say as it parting the cargo from the carrier.
This is how a Delivery Order looks like.
When and where is the Delivery Order made?
The carrier of the cargo makes the Delivery Order at the port of destination. That can be in their own office or an authorised agent on behalf of the carrier. When the cargo arrives at the port of destination the goods will be moved to a custom bonded area where the customs clearance procedures can be carried out. On the Bill of Lading is indicated what kind of service type has been chosen for the container. In most cases there wil be a House Bill of Lading (HBL) issued by the Freight Forwarder. The counterpart agent at the port of destination will collect this HBL and make a Release Letter to the carrier to ask that the Delivery Order will be issued to the nominated consignee. Most of the times where a HBL is issued, the Master Bill of Lading (MBL) will be a Sea Waybill or a Telex Release to facilitate an easy release. As the main carrier has received this Release Letter, they will make a Delivery Order to the nominated consignee.
What is the purpose of a DO?
A Delivery Order is proof of the end of the shipment journey for that specific cargo/container(s) and once the Delivery Order has been issued, you can consider the Bill of Lading as duly discharged and accomplished. It also means the end of contract between carrier and consignee of that specific cargo.