What Is a Delivery Report?
A delivery report is a document generated by the carrier or logistics provider summarising the delivery status of multiple consignments over a specified period, route, or service.
A single freight shipment ends with a signed proof of delivery. A full delivery run ends with a delivery report. Both record whether goods were delivered or not — at entirely different scales. The proof of delivery closes one transaction; the delivery report closes the operational record of an entire service period and produces the data logistics managers use to measure carrier performance and reconcile billing.
The Definition of a Delivery Report
A delivery report is a document generated by the carrier or logistics provider summarising delivery outcomes across a set of consignments, produced after a delivery run, at the close of a reporting period, or on request from the shipper or logistics manager.
The delivery report is not issued per consignment. A proof of delivery is the document that confirms a single specific consignment was received by the recipient — signed at the individual delivery event and belonging to one shipment record. The delivery report operates at a different level: it aggregates delivery outcomes from multiple events into one structured document, giving the shipper a complete operational picture of how a carrier or service performed across a defined period.
A delivery notification is a different instrument. A delivery notification is a real-time per-event alert — it fires when a consignment goes out for delivery, when delivery completes, or when an attempt fails. The delivery report is the retrospective structured document that collects all individual delivery events from a period and presents them in one record for operational review, performance assessment, and audit.
The Go Trans logistics glossary covers all shipping document terms used in European cross-border freight — from per-consignment delivery documents through to the operational reports carriers generate after each service period.
The shipping documents glossary in the Go Trans logistics glossary covers every document in the freight chain alongside the delivery report, from the pre-collection transport order through to individual and aggregate delivery confirmation records.
What a Delivery Report Contains
A delivery report contains the consignment reference, recipient details, scheduled delivery date, actual delivery date and time, delivery status, and — for unsuccessful deliveries — the failure reason and the number of attempts made.
Each field addresses a specific operational question. The consignment reference links each line of the report to the individual shipment and its associated proof of delivery record, making every entry traceable to the original booking.
The delivery status field records the outcome for each line: delivered, failed delivery, returned to sender, or awaiting re-delivery. The failed delivery reason field records why an unsuccessful attempt occurred — recipient absent, access restricted, address incorrect, consignment refused, or a vehicle issue on the carrier's end.
The contents of the delivery report determine exactly how it is applied in operational and financial management — it serves 4 distinct purposes across those two functions.
How Delivery Reports Are Used
Delivery reports serve 4 purposes in logistics operations: carrier SLA monitoring, billing reconciliation, failed delivery investigation, and retrospective audit.
Carrier SLA monitoring compares the scheduled delivery date against the actual delivery date for each consignment on the report.
Billing reconciliation matches the carrier's invoice against the delivery report line by line.
Failed delivery investigation uses the failed delivery reason field to identify why non-deliveries occurred.
Retrospective audit applies the delivery report when a dispute arises about whether a consignment was delivered, when a damaged goods claim requires the carrier's operational context, or when a lost shipment investigation needs the delivery run record for a specific date and route.
Electronic Delivery Reports and Format
A delivery report is generated by the carrier's Transport Management System (TMS) or tracking platform and made available in PDF, CSV, or Excel format. API and EDI data feeds serve shippers integrating carrier delivery data directly into their own ERP or order management systems.
Carriers generate delivery reports automatically at the end of each delivery run or at the close of a reporting period. Shippers request custom reports covering specific date ranges, routes, or service types.
All Go Trans carrier partners — DSV, DHL, DPD, UPS, and FedEx — generate delivery reports for consignments processed through their networks across 29 European countries. Shippers access real-time delivery status through the Go Trans shipment tracking system — the delivery report provides the structured retrospective record of those delivery events once a service period closes.
Get a Freight Quote
Every freight consignment arranged through Go Trans across 29 European countries is processed through a carrier that generates delivery reports as part of its operational record. To arrange a shipment or confirm service requirements, request a shipping quote through Go Trans.
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