Receiving activities

Unloading activity

This is the physical unloading of the product from the carrier to the receiving dock staging area. After the items are removed from the carrier’s vehicle, a carton count is usually performed before the bill of lading is signed to release the driver. Compare the goods received with the bill of lading. Do not compare the quantities against the actual purchase order.

Quality and quantity check methods

Even though your warehouse verifies the quality and quantity of a vendor’s shipment, it is impossible to thoroughly test every item that flows through your warehouse. A defective product is often brought to your attention when a customer returns or exchanges the product. This method of finding defective products is costly in terms of processing the return, replacing the product, and losing customer confidence in your company.

If you receive products that are visibly damaged or unacceptable for sale, receive them as unavailable for sale so they are not committed to orders. On regular purchase orders or Blanket Release (BR) orders, the Unavailable Quantity field is available in the Extended section for all products except nonstock, serial, lot, or not-for-resale products. The inventory unavailable for sale should be segregated from the rest of the receipt and returned to the vendor or disposed of.

Stock movement

After the receiving process is complete, the inventory can be moved to a storage location, pick location, testing location for quality assurance purposes, or a damaged goods zone.

System updates

You must update the system with the received product information before the product is available to be sold. If you keep your receiving journal open for several hours and continue to receive items throughout the day, the goods you put away are not visible on the system.