Three papers can talk about the same shipment and yet provide different answers to three different questions. One paper, the purchase order, explains what is being requested. Another, the packing list, explains what is being prepared for the shipment. A third, the delivery note, explains what is now being given or is being received. When those papers are lumped into one pile of paper, newbies can get confused about what to check in each piece of paper when performing logistics checks.
Consider a specific example of a shipment. Lay out the three documents one next to the other. Check first the purchase order. What is the item name? What is the item quantity? What is the supplier? What is the delivery address? What is the delivery date? Go next to the packing list. Does the item description and quantity match the purchase order? Move next to the delivery note. What is the shipment reference number? Who is the receiver? What is the carrier information? Is the shipment complete or is there a note of something missing, damaged, or partial?
The purchase order is the beginning of the process. That tells what should be happening in advance of the actual logistics steps such as warehouse movement, carrier picking up goods, or goods delivered. A newbie should be looking at the final date, but also the order number, what the item description is, what quantity is requested, and what the delivery address is; that gives the warehouse the information they need for storage, and gives the supplier information of what has to go into the shipment. If any of those are inaccurate or missing, things will not work when a new order comes in.
The packing list is the document that accompanies the physical shipment itself. This is what allows someone to see what has been put into each crate, each pallet, each carton, or what has been put together to form the entire load. That is where a quantity check is important. When the purchase order shows the total quantity to be shipped is 12 and the packing list shows 10 of that item, the issue is not only where did the other two go? That is likely an indication of a shortage, a backorder, a picking error, or a split shipment. The packing list helps reconcile the movement of goods into inventory with what is actually being moved into the carrier.
The delivery note is the note that is used in the process of handing the goods over. Depending on what process is involved, that can be at the start of the process when the items are leaving, at the end when the items have been received, or when the items are accepted by the person receiving the items. That should help clarify what goods have arrived, who received the goods, and if any action needs to be taken. Any note such as damaged goods, missing units, late arrival, tracking issues, etc., should be noted, as that can help explain why the inventory record is off, or why the process to move onto the next item is not completed.
A simple way of looking at the three documents is to ask one question on each. What is the request for the goods on the purchase order? What has been prepared to move on the packing list? What has been handed over and received on the delivery note? That helps separate the documents. It also allows for a shorter, clearer logistics note when a delay or shortage or wrong item or bad address is involved.
The check is good when I can reference the source of the answer in the documents. If someone asks why the shipment is not complete, they should know where they are looking in the original order, the packing list, or the delivery note. It turns the paperwork from being another stack of files to quickly scan, into a way to easily track the movement of goods.