A consignment changes hands several times between a supplier and the people it is meant for, and each change of hands is where an audit question starts. The answer is a document signed by both sides, on the day, at every transfer of responsibility. These three cover most domestic movements: the waybill that travels with the load, the goods received note that takes it into a store, and the delivery note signed at the destination.
Names vary between organisations. The Logistics Cluster's operational guide (opens in a new tab) notes that waybills are sometimes called delivery notes, and that many warehouses issue their own goods received note because a transporter's waybill can arrive incomplete. What matters is that each handover has its document, that the documents agree with each other, and that nobody has to rebuild the record from memory afterwards.
Which document, at which handover
Waybill: at dispatch
Issued by the sender when the load leaves, and carried with it: consignor, consignee, vehicle, driver and the goods by line, signed by whoever loaded it and the driver who accepts it.
Goods received note: into a store
Completed by the receiving storekeeper when stock enters a warehouse, including a forward warehouse before winter: what arrived against what was sent, in what condition, and where it was put.
Delivery note: at the destination
Signed by the named, authorised receiver when the consignee takes the goods, with any shortfall or damage written on it before anyone signs.
A distribution to households adds a fourth record, the distribution list with each recipient's acknowledgement; the last-mile delivery guide covers it, and the road transport guide sets out the rest of a movement's paperwork, from the loading sheet to the exception record.
What makes the set hold together
- One reference across all three. The waybill number, or your own consignment number, appears on the goods received note and the delivery note, so the documents can be matched without a phone call.
- The same units throughout. If the waybill counts cartons, so do the other two; a kit counted as one line on one form and as its contents on another cannot be reconciled.
- Exceptions written on the document. A short or damaged delivery is recorded on the form at the handover, with the quantity, and signed by both sides. A clean signature followed by a complaint the next day is hard to prove.
- No blank lines left open. Unused lines are struck through before signing, so nothing can be added afterwards.
- A named signatory. Agree before dispatch who may sign at the destination, and with what stamp, so a delivery is not handed to whoever is present.
- Copies to each side. The sender, the transporter and the receiver each keep a signed copy; agree who sends the original back, and by when.
- A language the receiver reads. Where the receiving staff read Dari or Pashto rather than English, give the form's headings in both.
Waybill
Waybill
Issued by the sender at dispatch; travels with the load. One per vehicle.
Consignment
Waybill number
Consignment or order reference
Date and time of dispatch
FromSender, warehouse and address
ToConsignee, site and address
Authorised receiverName and role, agreed before dispatch
Vehicle and driver
Transport company
Vehicle type and registration
Driver's name and telephone
Goods
| Line | Description | Unit | Quantity | Weight (kg) | Volume (m³) | Condition at loading |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Signatures
| Name | Signature | Date and time | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Loaded and released by (sender) | |||
| Received for transport by (driver) | |||
| Received at destination by |
Goods received note
Goods received note
Completed by the receiving storekeeper as stock enters the store.
Receipt
GRN number
Warehouse
Date received
Received fromSupplier, transporter or sending warehouse
Waybill or delivery note number
Order or consignment reference
Goods
| Line | Description | Unit | Quantity on waybill | Quantity received | Difference | Condition | Storage location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Exceptions
Shortages, damage or wrong itemsLine, quantity and what was seen
Damaged or rejected items set apart in quarantine and labelled
- Photographs taken, where the programme allows them
- Stock cards and the stock ledger updated
Signatures
| Name | Signature | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Received by (storekeeper) | |||
| Delivered by (driver or supplier) | |||
| Checked by |
Delivery note
Delivery note
Signed by the authorised receiver at the destination. Shortfall or damage is written here before anyone signs.
Delivery
Delivery note number
Waybill number
Delivered toOrganisation, site, district and province
Date and time of handover
Goods
| Line | Description | Unit | Quantity sent | Quantity received | Shortfall or damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
At the handover
RemarksCondition on arrival, anything refused and why
- Received in full and in good condition
- Received with the exceptions written above
Signatures
| Name and role | Signature and stamp | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Received by (authorised receiver) | |||
| Handed over by |
A completed delivery note
How a short delivery reads when it is recorded at the handover. Everything in it is invented.
Example only: the organisation, people, places and numbers are fictional.
| Field | Entry |
|---|---|
| Delivery note | DN-0042 (example) |
| Waybill | WB-0117 (example) |
| Delivered to | Sample NGO, district office, District A, Province B |
| Handover | 14:20 on the agreed delivery day |
| Line 1 | Hygiene kit, cartons: 300 sent, 298 received; 2 cartons crushed, contents wet |
| Line 2 | Blankets, bales: 150 sent, 150 received; none |
| Remarks | 2 cartons refused and returned on the same truck; noted on the waybill |
| Box ticked | Received with the exceptions written above |
| Received by | Storekeeper, Sample NGO (named), signed and stamped |
| Handed over by | Driver (named), signed |
The two refused cartons now appear in three places that agree: the delivery note, the waybill's destination signature and the sender's goods received note when they come back. Nothing has to be explained later.
Where Zhikal fits
Zhikal's road freight issues a waybill at dispatch and returns a signed delivery note at handover into the client's file, and its distribution work adds the recipient records. When it runs the warehousing too, the goods received note is part of the same file. The forms above are generic: use your organisation's own where it has them.
Sources
- Warehousing Documentation (opens in a new tab)
Logistics Cluster, Logistics Operational Guide. What waybills, delivery notes and goods received notes record, and why a warehouse keeps its own GRN.
- 3.2 Afghanistan Transporters (opens in a new tab)
Logistics Cluster, Logistics Capacity Assessment. How the domestic trucking market, transport slips and tariffs work, and the 2022 suspension of insurance services.
External sources are cited for the facts they report and were checked when this guide was last updated. Citing them implies no relationship with, or endorsement by, their publishers.