The proof of delivery (POD) process allows verification of the actual quantity received by the ship-to party or the difference quantity and the reason for deviation. The POD process occurs after goods issue has been posted for the delivery. POD only supports delivery confirmations for external customers.
The ship-to party transfers the proof of delivery in the SAP System via IDoc. This way, quantities are confirmed once for the entire delivery. The status of the proof of delivery is depicted as 'relevant for POD', 'differences reported' and 'confirmed'. You can check the POD status in delivery processing at any time by using the status overview. No entry is made in the document flow.
If there are no difference quantities, which is the case most of the time, verification and confirmation occur automatically via IDoc. In other words, the POD process creates no additional workload for you in most cases.
You can edit and analyze reported differences with the SAP System. After you have taken care of the differences that occurred, confirm this process manually. In this case, the verification process (done by the ship-to party) is separate from the confirmation process, allowing you to check over the POD or release it for further processing.
On this basis, you can, in turn, create delivery-related billing documents for the correct quantities. This process reduces the amount of administration needed, since no credit memos are necessary for this business process.
Creation of billing documents via the billing due list is not permitted until after POD confirmation is complete. However, you can create billing documents individually. The system issues a warning that the proof of delivery has not been confirmed yet, but does not prevent you from creating the billing document.
You can cancel the POD confirmation as long as no billing documents were created and no steps were taken toward value or quantity correction. POD cancellation is also possible if billing documents were created but then cancelled. Therefore, you have the option of changing or adding information about quantity or reasons for deviation after the POD has already been confirmed.
When you create a verification or confirmation, the system records the current date and time in the document. You can also enter the confirmation date and time yourself in a manual confirmation.
You can select deliveries according to criteria such as shipping point, goods issue date and delivery number by using Worklist POD outbound deliveries. You can specify the POD status, date and time for POD confirmation that you are searching for on the selection screen. You can go to individual documents directly from the worklist, where you can edit them and even create individual delivery-related billing documents directly. In addition, the following information about the deliveries to be edited is available in the worklist:
You can also confirm more than one delivery directly from the worklist.
After the proof of delivery has been confirmed, the system constructs a worklist for manual subsequent processing for deliveries requiring quantity and value corrections (cost of goods sold, for example). In this list, you can select deliveries according to criteria such as reason for deviation, POD date and material. You can also use this list for statistical analyses. When you are finished making manual corrections, confirm this step in the worklist. The delivery can only be archived after it has been confirmed.
The system does not make automatic corrections based on POD confirmation.
Proof of delivery is not to be confused with the processes of reversing goods issue or returns delivery.
You can make the settings for proof of delivery in Customizing (IMG) under Logistics Execution -> Shipping -> Deliveries -> Proof of delivery:
Set the POD-relevant indicator in the Shipping view in the sales area data of the customer with whom you want to execute the POD process.