Let’s say that you send off a package as soon as possible to a distant country. So, what will you do? Hire a courier service, of course. There are several popular options these days with the likes of TNT N.V, DHL, Aramex, UPS and Fedex that will deliver messages, packages and mail and are known to provide a higher quality of service in comparison to normal mail services.
Since most people are very particular about how their goods move from point A to point B, the international courier provides its customers with a receipt that is evidence to prove that the courier is in the care of the international courier until it reaches its destination. This receipt is known as an airway bill which is always processed in three copies.
The first copy is signed by the shipper while the second copy is signed by both the sender and the carrier and is handed over to the person who receives the package. Finally, the third copy is finally signed by the carrier and handed over to the sender as Proof of Delivery (PoD).
The airway bill contains important information of the delivery which can be especially helpful if something goes wrong. Details are place and date of carriage contract, place of departure, name and addresses of the carrier, sender and the consignee, description and nature of goods as well as details of freight. Very importantly, the airway bill also has a tracking number which can be used to check the status of delivery, and current position of the shipment.
In most cases, the sender pays for the shipment unlike with some destinations where a cash-on-delivery (CoD) can be arranged for.
