COD Operations Glossary (MENA → LATAM)
Clear definitions used in COD fulfillment, last-mile delivery, confirmation, and payouts.
COD (Cash on Delivery)
A payment model where the customer pays in cash at delivery. The courier collects cash and the merchant gets paid through settlement cycles.
Why it matters: COD requires confirmation, strong last-mile, and clean reconciliation to scale safely.
Related: Order Confirmation, Settlement, Reconciliation
RTO (Return to Origin)
Orders that fail delivery and return back. In COD, RTO directly hurts profitability and warehouse workload.
Why it matters: Reducing RTO improves delivery rate and cash flow predictability.
Related: Order Confirmation, Address Validation, Last-mile
Order Confirmation
A call-center process (Spanish in LATAM) to confirm customer intent, validate address, and schedule delivery.
Why it matters: Confirmation is the #1 lever to reduce RTO in COD markets.
Related: RTO, Address Validation
Settlement Cycle
The payout schedule where COD collected cash is reconciled and transferred to merchants.
Why it matters: Clear cycles reduce disputes and stabilize cash management.
Related: Payouts, Reconciliation
Reconciliation
Matching orders, delivery status, COD collected amounts, fees, and payouts into one consistent report.
Why it matters: Prevents missing cash and creates trust at scale.
Related: Settlement, Reporting