An ORDER CONFIRMATION is a written confirmation of an order which is sent by the producing or service rendering company that accepts the order placed by a purchasing customer. It serves as a tool to avoid confusion and mistakes in case the the order does not conform to the original offer. The ordered product or service is formally recorded in an Order Management System as a purchase order. When the product or service is rendered an Invoice finalizes the contract and initiates the payment process according to the agreed payment condistions.

The typical contents of an order confirmation include the details of the ordered product or service like number of units and corresponding price, both contact and shipping addresses, the payment conditions and (if requested) the delivery date.

The below picture illustrates an example of the manufacturing industry.

• Chaffey, Dave. E-business and E-commerce Management: Strategy, Implementation, and Practice. 3rd ed. Harlow, England: FT Prentice Hall, 2007.
  
• http://www.amazon.de/Business-Commerce-Management-Strategy-Implementation/dp/0273707523/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1303766453&sr=1-1-catcorr

— Jennifer Teßmann 2011/04/20 21:33