A clipboard in the chiller dock
A load arrives. The goods-in operative records the trailer's display temperature, probes a sample of cases, checks pallets for damage, counts against the delivery note and notes any shortages. It all goes on a paper sheet, signed and filed in the office.
Two weeks later, the stock owner asks about a pallet that their buyer rejected for damage. Was it damaged on arrival? The sheet for that day is in a lever-arch file, and the note says '1 plt damaged' without saying which.
Why goods-in records are hard to use
The checks are done. The record is what fails: it is on paper, it is not tied to specific pallets, and it rarely reaches the stock owner in time for them to act.
- Checks are recorded per delivery, not per pallet.
- Photos of damage are on personal phones, if taken.
- Discrepancies are emailed to the customer later, or not at all.
- Readings are written down but not compared with the customer's acceptance range.
- Paper sheets are filed by date, not searchable by pallet or customer.
What weak goods-in records cost
Damage and shortages that arrived with the load get blamed on your store, and you cannot show otherwise. Stock owners hear about issues too late to claim from their supplier or haulier. Audits by customers take longer because evidence is in files, not on screen.
There is a dock cost too. While the operative finishes the paperwork, the next trailer waits on the bay with its doors shut and its driver asking how long. On a busy morning, a slow receipt process backs up the whole yard.
How we record receipt checks against each pallet
- The goods-in operative opens the expected delivery on the dock device, from the advance notice or booking in your WMS.
- Trailer temperature and probe readings are recorded on the device. Probes with Bluetooth can send readings directly.
- Readings are compared with each customer's acceptance ranges, which their quality team sets, and anything outside is highlighted.
- Each pallet is scanned and counted, with condition recorded and photos taken where damage is found.
- Discrepancies, readings outside range and damage are sent to the stock owner immediately, with photos, for their decision.
- The receipt record, with readings, photos and decisions, is kept against each pallet and searchable later.
| Check | Recorded against |
|---|---|
| Trailer temperature | Receipt |
| Product probe readings | Receipt and sampled pallets |
| Condition and damage photos | Each pallet |
| Count and shortages | Receipt line |
| Customer decision on issues | Receipt and pallet |
Acceptance ranges and decisions on out-of-range product belong to the stock owner's quality team. We record the checks and send them fast.
What the dock and the office see after
A receipt screen that guides the check and records it, with photos. Stock owners hear about problems while the delivering haulier is still on site or just gone. When a question comes later, the pallet's receipt record answers it.
New starters on the dock follow the same steps as the experienced team, because the device asks for each check in order. Supervisors can see which receipts are finished and which are waiting, without walking the dock with a clipboard of their own.
Are your goods-in checks on paper?
- Goods-in checks are on clipboards and filed.
- Damage is not recorded against specific pallets.
- Stock owners hear about issues days later.
- Photos are on staff phones.
- You cannot quickly show what a pallet looked like on arrival.