Goods receiving and inwards inspection
Receiving is where inventory accuracy is either established or lost, and it is usually the least supervised task in the building. Everything downstream inherits its errors: a wrong count becomes a stock discrepancy, an unrecorded damage becomes an unwinnable supplier claim, and an unchecked delivery becomes a production stoppage discovered at the line.
- 1
Receiving Clerk matches the delivery paperwork to an open purchase order before unloading.
Receiving Clerk
Before unloading, not after. An unexpected delivery accepted onto the floor is difficult to return and impossible to reconcile cleanly.
Matches an open order: go to step 2
No matching order: go to step 10
- 2
Receiving Clerk inspects the outer packaging for damage while the driver is present and photographs anything visibly wrong.
Receiving Clerk
While the driver is present. A damage claim raised after the vehicle has left is usually refused, and the photograph is the entire evidence base.
No visible damage: go to step 3
Damage found: go to step 9
- 3
Receiving Clerk counts the received quantity against the delivery note and records the actual count.
Receiving Clerk
Count, do not assume the note is correct. Recording the note's figure as the received figure defeats the purpose of the step.
- 4
Receiving Clerk confirms the received quantity matches the ordered quantity.
Receiving Clerk
Quantity matches: go to step 5
Short or over shipped: go to step 8
- 5
Receiving Clerk checks the goods against the specification: part number, grade, batch or lot number, and expiry where applicable.
Receiving Clerk
Capture batch and lot numbers at receipt. If you need to trace an affected batch later, this is the only point at which capturing it is cheap.
- 6
Receiving Clerk moves goods requiring inspection to quarantine and marks them as not yet released.
Receiving Clerk
Quarantine is a physical location, not a status in a system nobody checks. Uninspected stock put straight onto the pick face will be picked.
- 7
Receiving Clerk books the goods into the system against the purchase order and files the paperwork with the recorded counts.
Receiving Clerk
Book in the same day. Physical stock that exists and system stock that does not is the root of most stock discrepancies.
Booked in: the procedure ends
- 8
Receiving Clerk records the discrepancy on the delivery note, has the driver acknowledge it where possible, and notifies the Buyer.
Receiving Clerk
Signing a delivery note clean and reporting a shortage later puts the burden of proof entirely on you.
Recorded and buyer notified: go to step 5
- 9
Receiving Clerk notes the damage on the delivery note before signing, retains the packaging, and notifies the Buyer with photographs.
Receiving Clerk
Keep the packaging until the claim is resolved. Carriers routinely ask for it and disposing of it usually ends the claim.
Claim raised, goods usable: go to step 3
Goods rejected: go to step 11
- 10
Warehouse Supervisor decides whether to accept the unexpected delivery, holding it separately until a Buyer confirms an order exists.
Warehouse Supervisor
Hold separately rather than refusing outright. Refusing a genuine delivery causes its own problems; mixing it into stock causes worse ones.
Order confirmed: go to step 2
Not ours, refused: the procedure ends
- 11
Buyer arranges return or replacement with the supplier and records the outcome against the purchase order.
Buyer
Record it against the order, so supplier performance is visible over time rather than remembered anecdotally.
Resolved: the procedure ends
Change these before you use it
- Name your actual quarantine location and how released stock is physically distinguished from held stock.
- List which items require inwards inspection rather than inspecting everything, or the step will be skipped under pressure.
- Set your tolerance for accepting a short shipment without a Buyer decision, in writing.
- If you handle temperature-controlled or hazardous goods, add the arrival checks those require. This template covers neither.
- If you are traceability-regulated, confirm the batch and lot capture in step 5 records everything your regime requires.
This is a starting point, not compliance advice. It is written to be adapted, and a procedure that touches access, money, or customer data needs to match how your business actually operates and whatever rules apply to you. Use it as a first draft to edit, not a policy to adopt.
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