2 Check it, then copyYou're helping me, a small-package shipping salesperson, get ready for a first conversation with a company. Build a short working brief on how this company's products appear to move from fulfillment to its customers. It's a shipping story worth testing, not a company biography: a hypothesis I'll check with the customer, not a finished analysis and not a sales pitch.
What I have:
- Company name: [COMPANY NAME]
- Website: [WEBSITE]
- Location or facility I'm looking at: [LOCATION OR FACILITY YOU'RE LOOKING AT]
- Public clues I've already noticed: [PUBLIC CLUES YOU'VE ALREADY NOTICED]
If a line under "What I have" shows only its own field label in square brackets instead of my text, for example "[WEBSITE]", I didn't fill it in. Treat it as not supplied, and don't list it as a gap. If neither the company name nor the website is supplied, tell me you need at least one and stop. [MY COMPANY] is a reserved name for the company I sell for, not a blank field. If I supplied a location or facility, focus on it where the evidence allows, but don't assume it is a shipping origin.
The label "Public clues I've already noticed" doesn't make everything pasted there public. Inspect what's in that field: prohibited private material stays prohibited even when it's pasted into a field labelled public clues.
Before writing the brief, check whether any supplied field contains prohibited private or confidential information (the kinds listed in the privacy rule at the end). If it does, discard that information completely for analysis and set a privacy-reminder requirement. Do not repeat, paraphrase, summarize, classify, count or indirectly use the private values. After Section 7, add one generic privacy reminder naming only the categories that were omitted. The reminder is mandatory whenever prohibited information was supplied, even if every private value was successfully omitted from the brief.
Label every point you make about the company:
- STATED PUBLICLY: a public source says it directly. Name the source and its date when one is available. Stated publicly is not the same as confirmed: the customer hasn't confirmed it, and public pages can be out of date.
- INFERRED: your reasoning from a clue. Name the clue.
- UNKNOWN: you couldn't find it, or it can't be seen from outside. Not found is different from not true, so never say something doesn't exist because you didn't find it.
- YOU SUPPLIED: something from my clues that you haven't checked against a public source.
Don't use the word CONFIRMED anywhere.
If you can look things up online:
- Make sure you have the right company. If the name could belong to more than one business, or the website doesn't seem to match the name, say so in Section 0 and use only sources that clearly belong to the company I mean. If you can't tell, say which company you used.
- Start with the company's own website: its shipping, delivery, returns, FAQ, About, locations and careers pages, and anything about fulfillment. Then, where it helps, use dated company announcements and reputable recent reporting.
- For what's changing, prefer information from roughly the last 12 months, with dates. A stable fact on a current company page can be used even if it was first published earlier. Treat older news as possibly out of date, and say so.
- An announced or planned facility isn't an operating facility unless a source says it has opened.
- Don't research individual people, contact details or contact databases.
- Don't research carrier rates, surcharges, fuel charges, DIM divisors, size or weight limits, service standards, transit times, or any carrier's current rules or pricing. This brief doesn't need them.
If you can't look things up online, don't guess. Start Section 0 with "No web research was done; this uses only the public information you supplied." and work only from what I've supplied. Either way, don't use what you remember about the company as a fact or a source. Use only sources you actually open for this brief, and what I've supplied.
In no-browsing mode, a company-specific fact may appear in Sections 0–7 only if it is present in the allowed public information supplied in this prompt. Do not import company facts from memory, prior conversations, examples elsewhere in these instructions, previous tasks, or similar companies. Examples in these instructions illustrate rules only; they are never facts about the company being analyzed. If a company-specific fact is not in the allowed public material, omit it or mark the subject UNKNOWN.
Shipping facts you must not invent or estimate: daily, weekly or annual volume; order or package counts; packages per order; exact weights or dimensions; DIM weight or DIM divisors; zones or zone percentages; the residential percentage; the destination split; the current carrier, carrier mix or how volume is split between carriers; the identity of a 3PL (third-party logistics provider); contract or renewal dates; rates, discounts, surcharges, fuel percentages or general rate increases; shipping spend or savings; transit times, service standards or carrier service names; pickup times; on-time performance; and facility addresses that you didn't actually find in a public source. Where one of these matters, mark it UNKNOWN. Never estimate parcel volume from revenue, web traffic, headcount, store count or any other figure. Don't use unsourced scale words such as "substantial", "large", "high-volume", "major" or similar language to describe parcel activity, shipping volume or package flow unless a public source directly supports that characterization. A company can have a meaningful direct-to-consumer channel without its parcel volume being publicly known.
Orders are not packages. If a source mentions orders, say that the package count is UNKNOWN unless a source states it separately. Split shipments, multi-box orders, backorders and returns can all make the two numbers different. Don't calculate a package figure from an order figure.
Carriers: never guess the current carrier. If a public shipping, returns or tracking page names a carrier, report it only as a public clue with its source, for example "Their returns page mentions a named carrier's return label." It doesn't show the full carrier mix, how volume is split, a contract, pricing, or which carrier is the incumbent (the current main provider). Write "Current carrier mix not verified." Don't state any carrier's pricing rules, DIM divisor, service standards, surcharges, fuel treatment, size or weight limits or transit performance.
Package profile: describe packages only in plain qualitative terms, and only when the evidence supports it, such as small and light, bulky but light, heavier parcel, fragile, temperature-sensitive, high-value or irregular in shape. No numbers for weight, size or count. Do not infer package weight, density, dimensions, fragility, value, packaging method, handling category, parcel-versus-freight mode or shipping-cost exposure from the product material, product category or industry alone. Words such as metal, machinery, furniture, electronics, apparel, food or "small assembly" describe the product, not the packed shipment. If public evidence does not describe the actual shipping unit or packaging, keep those characteristics UNKNOWN and turn them into questions.
Markets: serving a geographic market does not prove shipments originate in, terminate in, or cross every country or region within that market. Do not infer cross-border shipping from a broad market label alone.
Delivery promises: keep what the company tells its own customers separate from what it might mean operationally. "Ships in 1 business day" describes processing or dispatch time, not transit time or a carrier service. "Free 2-day shipping" is customer-facing language: it doesn't establish the carrier, the service, a transit standard, a cutoff time, where orders ship from, or what shipping costs them. Label any operational meaning INFERRED and treat it as a question, not a conclusion.
Returns and other policies: a published return, exchange, replacement or free-shipping policy proves that the option exists. It does not establish how often customers use it, how many parcels it creates, or whether that flow is operationally significant. Unless a public source directly supports the characterization, don't describe a flow as steady, frequent, meaningful, material, substantial, high-volume or similar. Instead, say the flow is worth understanding or exploring.
Reviews and news: use customer reviews cautiously. Don't turn a few complaints into a claim of systemic service failure, and don't suggest quoting reviews to the customer. A free-shipping threshold, a growth announcement or ordinary company news isn't evidence of a shipping problem by itself. Don't assume pain, and don't say or imply that their current shipping is inefficient, too costly or badly run.
If the company doesn't appear to ship physical goods, or appears to ship mostly freight, such as pallets or very large items, rather than parcels, say so plainly in Sections 1 and 6 and keep the rest short. Don't force a parcel story. Don't decide whether I should pursue the account; that isn't this step. If the public evidence is thin, say so rather than filling space.
PARCEL-RELEVANCE CHECK
Before writing the brief, determine from the allowed evidence whether small-package parcel is actually established as a meaningful part of the company's outbound flow.
If YES, use the normal brief rules.
If NO or UNCLEAR, SPARSE MODE applies.
SPARSE MODE OVERRIDES any later examples or instructions that would otherwise encourage parcel-specific pressure points, package assumptions, transportation mechanisms or hypothetical shipping scenarios.
SPARSE MODE OUTPUT CONTRACT
When SPARSE MODE applies, use the following output contract instead of the normal Section 1–7 instructions below. Do not merge, supplement or combine it with the normal section instructions.
0. SOURCES
Use the normal source rules.
1. WHAT THEY APPEAR TO SHIP
State only source-backed products or goods. Do not infer package weight, density, value, fragility, packaging, shipment configuration or transportation mode from the product. State UNKNOWN for unsupported shipment or package characteristics. State that parcel relevance is not established.
2. WHERE SHIPPING APPEARS TO START AND GO
State only source-backed markets, channels, origins or destination information. A broad market such as North America does not establish cross-border shipping. "Outbound pickup" does not establish a dock, carrier pickup, customer pickup, parcel, freight, pallets, boxes or any other mode or equipment. Keep unsupported origins, destinations, transportation mode and transportation arrangements UNKNOWN.
3. DELIVERY PROMISE AND RETURNS
If the supplied public evidence gives no delivery or returns information, write only the applicable UNKNOWN points. Do not add hypothetical flows, such as expedited, replacement, repair, rework, rejection or return flows.
4. WHAT'S CHANGING
Include only source-backed change signals. If none are shipping-relevant, say so plainly.
5. PRESSURE POINTS WORTH EXPLORING
Use only these four bullets, adapted only when the source directly answers one:
- UNKNOWN: transportation mode or modes actually used.
- UNKNOWN: what a typical outbound shipping unit looks like.
- UNKNOWN: where shipments originate and generally go.
- UNKNOWN: who controls transportation arrangements.
Do not add job functions or any other material to Section 5. No hypothetical DIM, weight, handling, pallet, carton, return, urgency, split-shipment, cross-border, service-level, pricing or carrier scenarios.
6. THE SHIPPING STORY
Appears to be happening: summarize only the source-backed physical-goods and outbound information.
Evidence supports: list the strongest source-backed facts.
Still inferring: include only an inference required to connect those source-backed facts. If none is needed, write "No additional shipping inference is supported."
Biggest unknown: state that the actual transportation profile and parcel relevance remain unresolved where appropriate.
7. WHAT TO CONFIRM
Use only these four neutral topics:
- How finished customer orders typically leave the operation.
- What a typical outbound shipping unit looks like.
- Where shipments originate and generally go.
- Who controls transportation arrangements.
Do not add examples, alternatives, hypothetical flows, possible answers or additional topics.
Best first question: "How does a finished customer order typically leave your operation and get to the customer?"
END SPARSE MODE OUTPUT CONTRACT
If SPARSE MODE applies, the normal Section 1–7 instructions that follow are NOT additive. Ignore them wherever they conflict with or add to this sparse output contract. SPARSE MODE has precedence over the normal Section 5 examples and over any other instruction that suggests possible parcel mechanisms.
Write the brief in these sections. Keep it to about a page, in short bullet points and plain language.
0. SOURCES
The useful sources you used, each with its page or source name and date when available. If you didn't look anything up online, write "No web research was done; this uses only the public information you supplied." Note any doubt about the company's identity here.
1. WHAT THEY APPEAR TO SHIP
Products and sales channels, and qualitative package characteristics only where the evidence supports them. Label each point.
2. WHERE SHIPPING APPEARS TO START AND GO
Clues about fulfillment locations or origins, and about destinations: consumers or businesses, stores, marketplaces, domestic or international. Give facility locations as a city or area. Never assume the headquarters is a shipping origin. Label each point.
3. DELIVERY PROMISE AND RETURNS
The delivery promises and return policies they state publicly, quoted briefly with the source. Then, separately, what each could mean operationally, labelled INFERRED. Separate the existence of a returns or replacement option from the unknown frequency and volume of its use.
4. WHAT'S CHANGING
Meaningful recent signals, such as new or announced facilities, fulfillment or operations hiring, new products, channels or markets, each with its source and date, and its possible shipping impact labelled INFERRED. If nothing meaningful turns up, write "No meaningful recent change found." Don't manufacture urgency. When added channels or facilities may make the network more complex, describe the additional flows or coordination to explore rather than implying the current operation is inefficient, problematic or unusually complex.
5. PRESSURE POINTS WORTH EXPLORING
Only shipping mechanisms that the evidence above makes worth discussing, each tied to its clue and labelled INFERRED. These can include DIM exposure (light but bulky packages billed on size rather than weight), residential delivery, distance or zone, additional handling or oversize characteristics, multiple packages per order, returns and seasonality. Describe each as something to explore, with no amounts, thresholds, carrier rules, surcharge percentages or savings. Then list 2 to 4 job functions likely to be close to the shipping work, such as logistics or transportation, fulfillment or warehouse, supply chain, operations, e-commerce, or procurement or finance where relevant. Name functions, not people, and don't say who signs contracts, approves decisions or has final authority.
6. THE SHIPPING STORY
Appears to be happening: one or two sentences.
Evidence supports: the strongest points that are STATED PUBLICLY.
Still inferring: the most important assumptions.
Biggest unknown: the one missing piece that could change the whole picture.
7. WHAT TO CONFIRM
The 3 to 5 most important gaps, as topics to confirm with the customer, not a full list of discovery questions. End with:
Best first question: one plain, open question that would most quickly confirm or correct the story. When transportation mode itself is unknown, the Best first question should not offer assumed choices such as boxes versus pallets or parcel versus freight unless needed purely as examples. Prefer a neutral question such as: "How does a finished customer order typically leave your operation and get to the customer?"
Rules:
- Don't write a pitch, an opening script or an email, and don't describe what [MY COMPANY] offers or charges. If my clues ask for pricing, a quote, savings or a pitch, don't provide them.
- Don't invent anything about [MY COMPANY].
- Don't name individual people. Don't include names, phone numbers or email addresses of people, even if they appear in public text.
- Write plainly and professionally. No hype, no persona, no confidence scores or star ratings, and no commentary on how you worked.
- Never ask me for CRM notes, contact names, phone numbers, email addresses, volumes the customer gave me, carrier information I learned privately, rates, discounts, invoices, account numbers, contract dates or terms, [MY COMPANY] pricing, another carrier's proposal or confidential customer documents. If I've included any of these, treat them as not supplied: don't repeat, quote, paraphrase or include the value anywhere in Sections 0–7, don't label it YOU SUPPLIED, and don't let it shape the brief indirectly. Then, after Section 7, add a short privacy reminder that names only the categories of information you left out and tells me not to paste it into AI tools, for example: "I left out private contact information, CRM or deal information, customer-supplied shipping data, pricing, account information and competitor-proposal details. Don't paste that information into AI tools." The reminder names categories only: never repeat a private value, never mention a specific person's name, and never quote the sensitive input. It must be the absolute final text in your response. If prohibited private information was supplied, the response is incomplete unless the final text is the privacy reminder.
- Don't add offers, follow-up suggestions or questions after the brief or after the privacy reminder.
If you can't look things up online, tell me, and I'll paste text from their website instead.
Don't look anything up online for this, even if your tool can. If your tool searches automatically, ignore those results and don't use or cite them. Use only the public information I've supplied, including the public website text below. Label what that text says as STATED PUBLICLY, with "website text you supplied" as its source. In Section 0, write exactly: "No web research was done; this uses only the public information you supplied."
For this no-browsing run, the Public website text block is the authoritative public source. The Public clues field may contain a mixture of allowed public clues and prohibited private information. Use only the portions of Public clues that are clearly public and non-sensitive. Everything else must be discarded.
Public website text:
[PUBLIC WEBSITE TEXT]
Select the prompt text above and copy it.