Warehouse receiving workflow: dock checks, discrepancies and the handoff to putaway
Receiving establishes the inventory record. GAO’s 2002 inventory-count study documented receipt errors among the variance causes tracked by the studied sites. The procedure below separates expected quantities, received identifiers, inspection evidence and the release to putaway.
WarePulse rejects over-receipt against an established expected quantity and requires configured lot and expiry identifiers. Mobile receiving can add an item catalog photo; receipt-specific damage evidence needs its own retained record. Authorized Next Movement bookings can supply expected receipts; supplier ASN connections remain separately scoped work.
Connect workflow fit to rollout context earlier.
WarePulse rejects over-receipt against an established expected quantity and requires configured lot and expiry identifiers. Mobile receiving can add an item catalog photo; receipt-specific damage evidence needs its own retained record. Authorized Next Movement bookings can supply expected receipts; supplier ASN connections remain separately scoped work.
Warehouses whose shortages and damage are found at picking rather than at the dock.
Food, pharma and device warehouses that must record lots and expiry at receipt (all plans).
3PLs that need photo evidence of inbound damage before disputing it with a carrier or client.
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ImplementationWatch the floor app run the workflow
See receiving, task execution, picking, confirmations, and exception context move from the floor app into the operating view.
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Plan the next warehouse step
Bring your worst delivery of the last month, and we will run it through WarePulse receiving with you: short lines, damage and lots.
Workflow steps
- Receive one line two units short and one line over, and see the over-receipt refused.
- Receive an expiry-tracked item without a date and see it refused (all plans).
- Model a damaged-carton receipt and confirm where its historical photo evidence is retained before posting any damage adjustment or hold.
Implementation planning
- Locations import from CSV with a code, zone and type; create at least one quarantine location before go-live.
- Decide which items track lots and expiry before the first receipt, since the setting drives what receiving asks for.
Questions to resolve
- Can WarePulse take our suppliers’ ASNs? Only Next Movement ASNs today; other files, including EDI 856, are scoped work.
- What if a supplier ships more than ordered? Receiving refuses the overage; record it and settle it with the supplier.
What WarePulse delivers inside this workflow
How WarePulse changes execution, handoffs, and reviewability inside this workflow.
Receipts show expected against received quantities per line, and over-receipt is blocked.
On every plan, lot and expiry are recorded at receiving, and an expiry-tracked item cannot be received without a date.
Mobile receiving captures an item catalog photo. The separate damage-report workflow records an inventory adjustment and its photo evidence; it is not simply an attachment to a receipt.
Authorized staff can place available quantity on a quality-check hold. Receiving directly into a quarantine location depends on the supported authorized flow; confirm it separately from mobile receiving.
On every plan, damage, shortage, overage and wrong-item problems can be raised as claims with their evidence attached.
Next Movement bookings arrive as signed advance ship notices; other ASNs need a scoped connection.
What this workflow usually gets wrong
The process friction that quietly extends lead time, hides exceptions, and stretches labor.
Deliveries are received against the packing slip instead of the expected receipt, so shortages surface at picking.
Damage is noticed after the carrier has left, with no photo to support a claim.
Lot and expiry dates are keyed later from paperwork, if at all.
Stock waits on the dock with no status, neither available nor clearly on hold.
Built for warehouses where this station is the bottleneck
The teams and roles this workflow impacts first.
Warehouses whose shortages and damage are found at picking rather than at the dock.
Food, pharma and device warehouses that must record lots and expiry at receipt (all plans).
3PLs that need photo evidence of inbound damage before disputing it with a carrier or client.
Four checks before a pallet leaves the dock
Count the delivery against the expected receipt, not against the paperwork that came with it. Record the identifiers the business will need later, such as lot, expiry and supplier reference, while the product is still at the dock. Photograph anything damaged before the carrier leaves. Then release the line to putaway or receive it into a quarantine location with a reason.
Receive against an expected receipt: a purchase order on every plan, a Next Movement ASN or a manual receipt.
Record lot and expiry at the dock for every item that tracks them.
Photograph damage and note the carrier before signing.
Send failed lines to quarantine instead of leaving them on the dock.
Where to go next
Receiving against expected receipts
Expected lines from purchase orders and Next Movement advance ship notices.
See detailsPutaway workflow
What happens to a released line: location rules, capacity and confirmation.
See detailsYard management
Dock doors, appointments and trailers on every plan.
See detailsFF&E and project logistics
Receiving against project, room and floor destinations.
See detailsData exchange
What arrives by CSV, through Next Movement or by a scoped connection.
See detailsPricing
Receiving is included on every plan; lot and expiry capture is included on every plan.
See detailsImplementation
Loading locations, items and opening stock before the first truck.
See detailsTrust Center
Audit logging and data handling behind received quantities.
See detailsHow to roll it out
Prepare the expected receipt
Before the truck arrives, load the expected lines from a purchase order (all plans), a Next Movement ASN or a manual receipt.
Check quantities
Count each line against the expected quantity; WarePulse records the difference and refuses more than was expected.
Capture identifiers
Record the required lot and expiry values. Preserve damage evidence in the designated receipt-specific record rather than relying on a catalog image.
Release or hold
Release clean lines to putaway; receive failed lines into a quarantine location or place them on a quality-check hold.
Raise discrepancies
On every plan, raise shortages, overages, wrong items and damage as claims with the photos attached.
Frequently asked questions
What should receiving check first?+
Can WarePulse import supplier ASNs?+
Does WarePulse accept more than was expected?+
Where does damaged stock go?+
Start with the station creating the most operational drag today.
Run a difficult delivery through WarePulse receiving: short lines, a damaged carton and a lot-tracked item. If the record is right when the truck leaves, putaway starts clean.
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