Receiving a delivery from a supplier
What do I check when a supplier delivery arrives?
Count it against the purchase order before the driver leaves, then put it away against the same order so on-hand is right within the hour.
The two expensive mistakes are signing for stock that is not there and leaving a pallet on the dock without booking it in. The first is unrecoverable once the driver has gone. The second means on-hand is wrong and the next order gets flagged short for stock that is standing ten metres away.
Damaged cartons are photographed and written off against the supplier, not absorbed. A damaged carton that quietly goes onto the shelf is a customer complaint waiting its turn.
Imported lines carry landed cost. Freight, duty, insurance and cartage are apportioned across the container by value, so the cost you sell against is the cost you actually paid rather than the supplier's invoice price.
What to do
- 1 Open the purchase order on the warehouse floor screen.
- 2 Count each line against the order before the driver leaves.
- 3 Photograph and record any damage, and raise it against the supplier.
- 4 Put it away, which books it in and updates on-hand for that branch.