Proof-of-delivery disputes referral brief template: a metadata-only handoff for route optimization consultants

Short answer

A company introduction about proof-of-delivery disputes is a short brief the operations director can forward to the CEO unchanged. It holds metadata only: what the courier does and its full-time headcount, which systems hold scans, photos, tickets, adjudication notes and credits, how many years they cover, roughly how many disputes a year, who owns the records, who can authorize a licensing discussion, one open question and any documented access date. No exports, photos, tickets or recipient names.

Visual briefFull-size diagram
A blank referral brief form whose eight fields fill in one by one with Illustrative values for a fictional courier: 420 staff, delivery platform plus help desk plus ledger, 7 years, about 9,000 disputes a year, claims lead as owner, CEO as decision-maker, a platform switch on March 31 and a not-shared line.
Illustrative. A fictional courier's brief; every value is a count, a year span, a system type, a role or a documented date.

This template belongs to the proof-of-delivery disputes guide, which shows which records make a dispute readable. Use the blank form during one call with the operations director or claims lead, then compare your draft with the completed Illustrative brief further down.

The blank brief

Copy the form. Every field takes a short phrase, a number, a year span or "unknown". "Unknown" is a useful answer; a guess is not.

FieldWhat to write
A. Business[Courier, parcel network or retailer fleet; regions served; full-time staff at peak]
B. Dispute taskDeciding "not received", "damaged" and "wrong recipient" complaints against delivery proof and client rules
C. Record classes[Route scans, delivery photos, signatures, tickets, client delivery rules, adjudication notes, credits and denials]
D. Systems[Delivery platform; carrier portals; help desk; claims tool or spreadsheet; accounting]
E. Coverage[Years per system; which system holds which years]
F. Volume[Rough disputes per year; rough share decided by a person rather than an automatic credit]
G. Record owner[Role that keeps the dispute files]
H. Decision-maker[CEO or owner, with counsel]
I. Open question[One thing nobody can confirm yet]
J. Access event[Platform switch, carrier integration change or contract end, with its documented date]
K. Rights note[Whose deliveries; whether shipper contracts mention delivery data]
L. Not sharedNo exports, photos, tickets, recipient names, client names or logins

Field L never changes. It tells the reader, before they ask, that nothing confidential has moved.

How to fill the harder fields

C. Record classes. List what exists, not what would be nice. Some couriers have scans and photos for every stop but adjudication reasons only as a dropdown code. Say which: "notes in words" and "code only" read very differently to a reviewer.

D. Systems. Name system types in plain text, and say who hosts the photos. A delivery photo captured by a platform the company is leaving is a different asset from one the company stores itself. Carrier portals count separately: carriers decide their own proof, and FedEx, for example, says signed proof-of-delivery letters for FedEx Express are available for up to 18 months, so the brief should say whether the company kept its own copies.

F. Volume. A rough annual count from the help desk dashboard is enough. The split between automatic credits and adjudicated cases matters more than the total, because adjudicated cases carry the reasoning.

I. Open question. Usually a link, not a file. Can a credit memo be traced to one tracking number? Are client delivery rules stored where the claims team can see them? The system map explains why those joins decide how readable the history is.

J. Access event. A date with a source, such as the platform contract end. With nothing on file, write "none known". The retention timeline shows which copies fade first.

Why the evidence in these files is checkable

Dispute files are built to be judged by someone outside the courier. When a retailer client faces a card chargeback for a parcel the courier marked delivered, Stripe's guidance for product-not-received disputes asks for delivery proof that shows the full delivery address, and its sample evidence packets list carrier, ship date, delivery date, tracking number and status, plus a delivery photo and signature verification. A courier whose files answer those questions case by case holds dated, structured evidence a reviewer can test. The brief only says the fields exist; it never shows them.

Completed brief (Illustrative)

Written for this page about a fictional 420-person regional parcel courier. Every value is invented.

FieldIllustrative entry
A. BusinessRegional parcel courier, business and residential, three metro areas, 420 full-time staff at peak
B. Dispute taskDeciding "not received", "damaged" and "wrong recipient" complaints against delivery proof and client rules
C. Record classesRoute scans, delivery photos, signatures, tickets, adjudication notes in words since 2021, credits and denials
D. SystemsDelivery platform hosting photos (being replaced); help desk; claims spreadsheet; accounting ledger
E. CoverageScans and photos about seven years; tickets six years; written notes four years
F. VolumeAbout 9,000 disputes a year, roughly a third decided by a claims adjudicator
G. Record ownerClaims lead, with the customer service manager for tickets
H. Decision-makerCEO, with general counsel; operations director as sponsor
I. Open questionWhether photos can be exported in bulk before the old platform contract ends
J. Access eventOld delivery platform switched off March 31, per the signed replacement plan
K. Rights noteMostly the courier's own contracts with shipper clients; two large clients' terms mention delivery data
L. Not sharedNo exports, photos, tickets, recipient names, client names or logins

Read it as the CEO would: what exists, how far back, who keeps it, what is uncertain and when part of it gets harder to reach. None of it is a record.

Mistakes that make a brief harder to act on

  • Attaching a sample. A screenshot of a ticket or a photo turns a clean introduction into a data incident. If something was shared with you by mistake, the guidance on accidental sharing applies, and uploading company documents explains why none are needed.
  • Naming the IT admin as decision-maker. Platform access is not authority. The who-can-license tree shows who can actually say yes.
  • Inventing a deadline. "Before the photos are gone" is not a date. Use the documented one or write "none known".
  • Counting contractors. Independent drivers do not count toward the 50 full-time employees; state full-time staff only.

After the executive reads it

If the decision-maker agrees to a call, the company applies and SourceX reviews record classes, rights and qualification. SourceX licenses approved business data directly from companies for AI training and evaluation, and manages the agreement, rights review, data preparation, delivery and payout. Whether shipper contracts limit reuse, how recipient data must be handled, SourceX's current data needs and any offer stay unknown until that review.

The company needs 50+ full-time employees at peak (contractors excluded), a documented operating history, rights to license and an authorized contact. Companies in the U.S., Canada and the EU qualify, as do companies in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, India, Singapore, South Africa, Latin America, the UAE and Saudi Arabia when at least 90% of the data is in English. Partners sign the Channel Partner Agreement before submitting; the first valid introduction within the 90-day window is credited when the company submits a verified application. The client opportunity brief generator can turn the form into a short email, the warm introduction brief covers the owner-managed case, and related record types sit under logistics and warehousing.

Next step

Refer a company. Earn up to $100,000. Default reward: 25% of Actual Supplier Payout, capped at $100,000 cumulatively per referred company. Eligibility and payment conditions apply, and a signed Schedule A or addendum can differ. A lead, meeting or signature alone does not trigger payment.

When every field holds a fact or "unknown" and field L is true, register as a partner, confirm the company on who qualifies and read the program terms before the operations director forwards the brief.

  1. Step 1Share your linkSend your personal link to a company you know.
  2. Step 2Company appliesThe company applies itself at /apply.
  3. Step 3Company signs and is paidThe company signs, delivers its data and is paid by SourceX under its agreement.
  4. Step 4You get your rewardYour 25% of the actual supplier payout. A reward becomes payable after SourceX has paid the referred company under its signed agreement and the payout conditions in the program terms are met, including finance approval and your tax and payment details.

Common questions

Should the brief say what share of disputes the company wins?

No. Win rates and credit totals are commercial information and do not help an executive decide whether to take a call. Volumes, years and systems are enough.

What if the courier delivers mostly for one large shipper?

Say so in the rights line, in general terms, without naming the client. A dominant shipper contract is the first thing counsel will read, and flagging it early saves a wasted review.

Can I include one anonymized delivery photo to show quality?

No. Nothing leaves the company at the introduction stage, anonymized or not. Describe what the photos show in words, such as "door or desk visible, timestamped", and leave the rest to SourceX's review.

Sources

  1. fedex.com/en-il/customer-support/faq/receiving/trackin…
  2. docs.stripe.com/disputes/visual-evidence
  3. docs.stripe.com/disputes/best-practices
  4. refer.sourcex.si/terms

Free resources

Know a company with valuable proprietary data?

Become a referral partner, get your link and introduce the company’s CEO (in an owner-run company, usually the owner). Referral partners can join from most countries. We can't work with partners in countries or regions under U.S. sanctions or on U.S. restricted-party lists. The companies you introduce should be based in the U.S., Canada and the EU, or in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, India, Singapore, South Africa, Latin America, the UAE and Saudi Arabia with at least 90% of their data in English.

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