Most receiving problems are decided before the truck is unloaded: a missing ASN, an unchecked seal, a shortage nobody wrote on the delivery receipt. This checklist covers a 3PL receipt from appointment to invoice, grouped by stage, so it can be printed and kept at the dock.
How should a 3PL receiving process run?
In five stages, each with its own owner: before arrival (customer service or the inbound planner), at arrival (dock lead), unloading (receiving crew), putaway and system (inventory control), and billing capture (whoever builds the invoice). The point of a checklist is that each stage hands the next one complete information. A receipt is not finished when the trailer is empty; it is finished when inventory is available in the WMS, discrepancies are with the customer, and every billable service is recorded.
The warehouse receiving checklist
1. Before arrival
2. At arrival
3. Unloading
4. Putaway and system
5. Billing capture
For what each charge is and how to word it, see warehouse accessorial charges and how to audit accessorial charges before invoicing.
What are the rules behind the arrival and dock steps?
Several checklist items come from federal requirements or guidance rather than habit:
- Chocks, trailer support and floor checks. OSHA's powered industrial truck standard, 29 CFR 1910.178, requires that highway truck brakes be set and wheel chocks placed under the rear wheels while the truck is boarded with powered industrial trucks, says fixed jacks may be necessary to support a semitrailer not coupled to a tractor, and requires trailer flooring to be checked for breaks and weakness before it is driven onto. It also requires operator training and a performance evaluation at least once every three years.
- Dockboards. Under 29 CFR 1910.26, dockboards must support the maximum intended load, portable dockboards must be secured or kept from shifting, and measures such as wheel chocks must keep the transport vehicle from moving while employees are on the dockboard.
- Seals. CBP's seal procedures guidance for CTPAT partners describes the View, Verify, Twist and Tug (VVTT) check, done with a witness, to confirm the seal number is correct and the seal is intact and properly attached, and it calls for highway carriers to verify that the seal number and location match the shipping documents. If you or your customer participates in CTPAT, follow the procedure your customer's security profile requires; even if not, the check is cheap insurance.
What goes wrong at receiving, and how do you prevent it?
| What goes wrong | Why it costs you | Prevention |
|---|---|---|
| Shortage found after the driver leaves | A clean signed receipt makes the claim much harder for the customer to pursue, and the customer may look to you | Count by SKU before signing; write exceptions on the delivery receipt |
| Seal number not checked | No way to show whether the box was opened before it reached you | Record the expected number in advance; photo the seal before cutting |
| Floor-loaded box arrives on a palletized quote | Hours of unpriced labor plus pallets you supply | Confirm load type before the appointment; re-quote or apply the floor-load row |
| No ASN, or an ASN that does not match | Receipt sits on the dock while someone chases the customer | Make an ASN a condition of booking the appointment |
| Damaged stock received to available inventory | It gets picked and shipped, and the end customer complains | Receive damage to a hold location with photos attached |
| Extra work not recorded | Sorting, relabeling and after-hours never reach the invoice | Capture on the floor, at the time, with a reason; review before invoicing |
| Receipt entered in the WMS a day later | Inventory looks short, orders fail, and dock-to-stock time stretches | Receive in the WMS the same shift; track dock-to-stock |
How do you measure receiving performance?
Track a few numbers from your own records rather than chasing published benchmarks:
- Dock-to-stock time, from arrival to inventory available in the WMS, by load type.
- Receipt accuracy: receipts with no later inventory adjustment ÷ total receipts.
- Cartons or pallets per person-hour, by load type. This is also the main input to labor cost per container.
- Accessorial capture: receipts where extra work was recorded and billed ÷ receipts where extra work was done.
If floor-loaded containers dominate your dock-to-stock delays, the comparison in palletized vs. floor-loaded unloading explains where the time goes and how to price it.
Luis turns each booked inbound into a job with its requirements attached (load type, counts, SKUs, special instructions), so the crew and equipment are planned before the truck arrives. Chloe reads the completed receipt and flags sort, pallet and after-hours charges that were triggered but not billed, for a person to review. See how the agents work together.
Sources
- 29 CFR 1910.178, Powered industrial trucks
- 29 CFR 1910.26, Dockboards
- Seal Procedures (Recommended Seal Procedures Including Best Practices)
Figures from these sources are cited where they appear. Anything not cited is labeled as an assumption, a planning range or an illustrative example. How we write and check these guides.
Update log
- Published.