Consignee

A consignee is the person to whom goods are shipped. That is the wording used in the Supply Manual glossary on CanadaBuys, the Government of Canada's reference for procurement terminology. The term is not an abbreviation. It is a plain shipping and contracting word for the party on the receiving end of a delivery.

In Canadian federal procurement, the consignee identifies who receives the goods a supplier ships under a contract. The French equivalent given in the glossary is destinataire. Suppliers meet the term in shipping instructions, delivery requirements and the paperwork that accompanies a shipment, so it helps to know exactly what it means and what it does not.

Consignee and consignor: the two ends of a shipment

The consignee is the receiving party. The consignor is the opposite party, the one that ships or sends the goods. In a typical government contract, the supplier is the consignor and the department or organization taking delivery is the consignee. Every shipment has both, and the two roles are defined by direction of travel: who sends, and who receives.

Because the glossary defines the consignee as a person, the term can point to a named individual, an office or a receiving location. What matters is that the consignee is the party the goods are addressed to.

Consignee versus consignment: two related but distinct terms

The Supply Manual glossary also defines consignment, and the two words should not be confused. A consignment involves goods shipped for future sale or another purpose, while title stays with the consignor. Consigned goods remain part of the consignor's inventory until they are sold.

The glossary adds that the consignee is accountable for consigned goods after accepting them. So the word consignee carries a simple meaning in an ordinary shipment, the party receiving the goods, and an added accountability once goods are accepted under a consignment arrangement.

• Consignee: the person to whom goods are shipped.
• Consignor: the party that ships or sends the goods.
• Consignment: goods shipped for future sale or another purpose, with title remaining with the consignor.

Where delivery to the consignee sits in the procurement cycle

The Supply Manual places delivery follow-up among the activities of the contract-administration phase of procurement. That phase begins after the contract is awarded. Shipping goods to the consignee, confirming that they arrived and following up on delivery all belong to this stage, not to the bidding stage.

This means the consignee usually becomes a practical concern after award, when the supplier must act on the contract's delivery terms. The bid itself, however, is where those terms first appear, so bid teams benefit from reading them early.

What it means for a supplier bidding on Canadian public contracts

Treat the solicitation and the resulting contract as the final word on where goods go. The supplier ships to the destination and delivery instructions the document specifies, and the consignee is the party that receives them at that point.

Do not assume every contract uses the word the same way. A solicitation may define the term itself, or it may use a named receiving officer, a consignee address, a destination or a delivery point instead. Read the delivery section closely, confirm who the receiving party is, and make sure your shipping documents and pricing for delivery match what the contract states. Standard clauses and conditions that can apply to federal contracts are published in the Standard Acquisition Clauses and Conditions Manual, which is a useful companion when you review delivery terms.

If the receiving party is unclear, raise the question with the contracting authority during the solicitation period, while questions can still be answered for all bidders.