Goods receipt for EU deliveries: checks before posting

Most stock differences do not arise on the shelf but at the ramp. A delivery from Europe covers long distances, is reloaded, perhaps cleared through customs, and arrives with documents that do not always match the goods. If it is posted unchecked all the same, the error is in the stock from the first minute and only resurfaces at the next count. A fixed checking sequence before posting prevents that. It costs a few minutes with every delivery and saves days of clearing at the stock count.

The checking sequence in eight steps

1. Arrival: look at the vehicle or container before opening it. Check the seal, outward condition, tarpaulins and moisture, compare the seal number with the consignment note and photograph it.
2. Collect the documents: delivery note, invoice or packing list, consignment note and, if the forwarder supplies them, the customs documents.
3. Compare with the order: order number, item, quantity and unit on the delivery note and the order must agree.
4. Count the packages: number of pallets and cartons against the delivery note, before they enter the warehouse.
5. Check the contents: quantity per carton, condition, batch and expiry date for the relevant goods, serial numbers for valuable devices. For uniform deliveries a sample is enough; for high-value or conspicuous deliveries the check is complete.
6. Record deviations: shortages, surpluses, wrong items and damage with a photo and a short record. Damage belongs on the consignment note before the driver signs and leaves.
7. Assign status and place: sound goods go into free stock, defective goods into the blocked area until it is clear how to proceed.
8. Post: the goods receipt is posted with the checked quantity, deviations are noted separately.

Allow time for the check and agree it with the forwarder so that the driver does not press. Whoever releases the vehicle after ten minutes saves nothing but moves the check to the stock count.

An example (fictional)

According to the delivery note, a delivery comprises 24 pallets with a total of 1,440 cartons (24 × 60). The count shows 24 pallets but only 1,438 cartons; two are missing. Four of the counted cartons are damaged. 1,434 sound cartons are posted (1,438 − 4), four cartons go into the blocked area, and the short delivery of two cartons is claimed from the supplier. Had the warehouse posted 1,440 cartons unchecked, free stock would show six cartons more than stand on the shelf. Over many deliveries this adds up to exactly the difference that later appears at the stock count.

Customs, documents and responsibility

The customs status of a delivery is a matter for the forwarder, the customs broker and your tax adviser. The warehouse does, however, need to know whether a delivery has been released before it enters free stock. Clarify with the forwarder which documents should be present on arrival, and with purchasing who informs the supplier of deviations. Deadlines for claims follow from the contract. Keep them visible in the goods receipt area.

The roles should also be separated: whoever places the order does not post the goods receipt, and in the case of deviations a second person checks. This is not an expression of mistrust but the same four-eyes principle that applies to the count.

What to document

• Goods receipt record with date, time, vehicle, seal number and the names of the checkers.
• Photos of the seal, the consignment note, the packages and any damage.
• Deviation record with a reference to the claim made to the supplier.
• The link between order, delivery note and posting document.

Keep everything together. When differences are cleared, a count team can then see whether a deviation was already known on receipt.

In short

A checked goods receipt is the cheapest preparation for a stock count. In a warehouse audit, AuditMaster also looks at goods receipt, from the paper check to posting discipline, and names weak points in order of priority.