The lorry is waiting
A delivery from a manufacturer arrives mid-morning. The driver wants to get away. Your goods-in team counts pallets rather than cases, signs the paperwork, and starts putting stock away. Later someone notices two cases of a line are crushed, one line is short, and another is a different size from what was ordered.
The note goes to the buyer by word of mouth, or on a scrap of paper. The supplier invoice arrives for the full order. Accounts pays it. By the time anyone raises a claim, the supplier says it should have been noted on delivery.
Why supplier errors go unclaimed
Goods-in checking is usually done against the delivery note, not the purchase order, and under time pressure. There is no easy way to record exactly what was wrong, with evidence, at the point it is found. And the information does not flow to the people who can act on it, the buyer and whoever pays supplier invoices.
| Discrepancy | Needed for a claim | Usually available |
|---|---|---|
| Short delivered | PO quantity against received | Signed delivery note only |
| Damaged | Photos, noted at delivery | Nothing, or a verbal mention |
| Wrong item or size | What was ordered and what arrived | Found later at picking |
| Short dated | Date against agreed minimum | Not checked |
What unclaimed discrepancies cost
You pay for stock you did not receive, or received unusable. Your stock figures are wrong from the moment the delivery is booked in, which leads to promises to customers you cannot keep. Suppliers who are never pulled up on short deliveries have little reason to improve. And the buyer only hears about repeated problems anecdotally.
There is a knock-on in the warehouse too. Stock booked in at the ordered quantity rather than the received quantity shows as available when it is not, so orders are accepted against it, pickers go to empty locations, and customers find out about the shortage on their delivery note. One missed count at goods-in turns into several problems further down the line.
The goods-in checking we set up
- When a delivery arrives, the goods-in team opens the matching purchase order on a handheld or tablet.
- Each line is checked by scanning a case, with the quantity received entered against the quantity ordered. Differences are highlighted immediately.
- Damage, wrong items and short dates are recorded against the line with photos, while the driver is still there if possible.
- Only what is received and accepted is booked into stock, so stock figures start correct.
- Discrepancies generate a supplier claim in the format you choose, sent to the supplier contact and copied to the buyer.
- The supplier invoice is matched against what was received, not what was ordered, so accounts pays the right amount or holds it until the claim is settled.
- A supplier scorecard of short and damaged deliveries over time.
- Claims tracked until credited.
- Evidence stored with each claim.
What goods-in looks like afterwards
The team checks against what was ordered, records problems in seconds with photos, and books in what actually arrived. The buyer hears about discrepancies the same day. Accounts pays the right amount. And when the buyer meets a supplier, they have a record of every short and damaged delivery to talk through.
Do you recognise these?
- Goods-in checks pallets, not cases, when busy.
- Supplier invoices are paid in full despite short deliveries.
- Damage is found days after delivery.
- Buyers hear about supplier errors by chance.
- Stock figures are wrong straight after a delivery.