Share
If you want to be absolutely sure you are receiving everything you ordered, instruct your receiving person to complete a ‘blind’ receiving report. To ensure a good independent receiving count, the receiving guy needs to complete a separate receiving report and should not be given the shipper’s packing list until after he is done.
Prepare a ‘blind’ second report if time allows. He prepares the receiving report and then hands it off to the clerk in the receiving office (or another person) and they compare what the supplier said they counted and what was actually received and recorded separately.
If time is limited at a minimum count the big-dollar items. If counting 100% is too much work or too bothersome for your firm, maybe the best option is to follow this advice on the high dollar items and forget the screws and nuts. To make your efforts pay off, focus on assuring yourself your company received the goods for which it is paying. You will only discover short shipments and errors if you perform the work with competent people.
Questions to ask to your receiving personnel apart from their supervisor:
- When you are busy, are you forced to skip counting procedures when trucks are lined up and waiting?
- Have you been instructed to skip some procedures at times when work backs up and there is no additional help made available? Does this happen frequently?
- Do you ever find discrepancies months later when boxes are opened that were ignored the day they were originally received? If so, do you report this to purchasing? If you do not, are you told it is too late to report shortages? Do you know it is never too late to report shortages?
- Were you taught that all shortages regardless of age need to be reported to purchasing so that they can file a claim with the supplier? There are no exceptions to this for you working in receiving.
