Organising goods receiving
Receiving is the point where goods enter your records. If a mistake is made here, it stays in the system and appears again and again: in stock counts, in picking, in customer complaints. A careful receiving process is the cheapest quality control a warehouse has.
Prepare before the truck arrives
Know what is expected: purchase orders, quantities and delivery windows. Keep space ready and the receiving team informed. Surprises at the dock lead to hurried and careless work.
Check against the delivery note
For each delivery check the supplier, the items, the quantity, the batch and expiry dates, and the quality and packaging. Compare physical goods with both the delivery note and the purchase order.
Count properly
Do not rely on the supplier's numbers. Count the packages and, for valuable or critical goods, count the contents. Use scanners where possible to avoid manual errors.
Handle differences at the door
- If the quantity is different, note it on the delivery document and ask the driver to confirm.
- If goods are damaged, photograph them and record the damage in front of the supplier or carrier.
- If goods were not ordered, keep them separate and contact purchasing.
Differences found later are far harder to claim.
Book the goods immediately
Enter received goods into the system the same day, with batch and expiry information. Goods that sit unbooked on the floor are among the most common reasons for mismatches.
Put away quickly
Move goods to their location and record the position. A pallet left in the receiving area is a pallet that will be forgotten or mixed with something else.
Measure the process
Track how long receiving takes, how often there are discrepancies and which suppliers cause the most problems. Use the data in supplier discussions.
A receiving checklist
- Delivery note matches the purchase order.
- Packages are intact and counted.
- Goods checked for quality, batch and expiry date.
- Differences noted on the document and signed by the driver.
- Goods booked and put away on the same day.
Use blind receiving where it helps
In blind receiving, the receiver counts goods without seeing the expected quantities and the system then compares. It reduces the tendency to confirm what is on the paper and is especially useful for valuable goods.
A simple, written receiving procedure, applied every day, prevents many errors that would be expensive to fix later.