Your warehouse receives the expected cartons of cotton cushion covers from China. The delivery receipt shows the carton count, but the stock entry contains fewer navy covers than the purchase order. Purchasing asks the supplier for a refund. The warehouse supervisor wants to check the cream covers, which arrived in similar cartons, and whether the intake team counted packs or individual covers. Establish what is missing before deciding who must answer for it.
The covers and receiving discrepancy are fictional illustrations, not customer transactions or a warehouse standard. This article is general information, not logistics, customs, legal, accounting, tax or investment advice. Qualified advisers must assess notice requirements, risk allocation and remedies. A count difference does not establish where a loss occurred or guarantee recovery.
Confirm what this arrival was meant to contain
Retrieve the approved order and amendments, final commercial invoice and shipment-specific packing list. Identify the goods assigned to this arrival, including quantities by variant, rather than compare today's receipt with the entire purchase without checking the shipping plan.
The seller may have reserved samples, agreed another dispatch or supplied an approved quantity change. Find the actual agreement and supporting record for each explanation. An undocumented suggestion that some covers will come later does not reconcile the shipment.
The split-shipment guide addresses goods allocated to separate arrivals under one order. Check those allocations before calling the unarrived portion a shortage in today's consignment. Keep quantities still due visible with their agreed dispatch status; do not remove them from the order because they are absent from this receipt.
Recount in the unit the order uses
Ask the warehouse to confirm its receiving unit and conversion to the ordered unit. A sealed pack may contain several covers, while a stock-system entry may record the pack as one. Resolve that mapping before comparing totals. If the count relies on stated pack contents, make that assumption explicit and have the responsible person decide which contents need verification.
Arrange a recorded recount appropriate to the discrepancy. Identify who performs it, when it occurs and which cartons they examine. Have the team distinguish colours or sizes by the actual goods and approved identifiers, rather than trust the outer label where the contents differ.
The International Trade Administration's document guide describes packing-list fields including item quantities, package type and count, marks and weights. These fields help connect the shipment to receiving records. A package count alone cannot answer how many navy covers your team received. The guide is US exporter guidance, not a complete document requirement for China or your destination.
Reconcile physical stock with warehouse movements
Keep the original intake record and the corrected count, with the reason for a correction. Trace transfers into storage, samples removed, goods sent to another location and any units placed on hold. Do not count a transfer between warehouse areas as another receipt.
For these covers, compare navy and cream by the same identifiers. Finding navy stock entered as cream could resolve an assortment discrepancy without changing the total units received. Damaged covers still present in the warehouse belong in the physical count with their condition recorded; treating them as missing would combine a quality claim with a quantity claim.
Purchasing and the receiving team could use this reconciliation:
| Receiving field | Evidence for the cushion-cover arrival |
|---|---|
| Expected goods | Shipment-specific quantities and variants from the approved records |
| Package identity | Carton marks, package count and any repacking references |
| Count basis | Ordered unit, receiving unit and checked pack-content conversion |
| Actual receipt | Recorded count by variant, examiner and date |
| Subsequent movement | Storage transfers, samples, onward dispatch and goods on hold |
| Unresolved difference | Item-level shortage or surplus, with assumptions still open |
| Notices and response | Parties contacted, required channels, dates and supporting files |
These are editorial reconciliation fields, not a receiving or claim standard. Keep the source records beside the schedule so another colleague can reproduce the comparison. A corrected spreadsheet needs an explanation of the correction.
Compare the handoffs without assigning blame from weight alone
Obtain available packing, warehouse intake, repacking and dispatch records for the identified goods. Ask the relevant custodian to explain a gap in its records. The shipment-proof guide helps connect transport references to actual cargo; a valid tracking number does not establish the contents of every carton.
Record damaged packaging, broken seals or other visible exceptions with their location and time of observation. Package weights may help identify a discrepancy, but differences can also reflect packaging, measurement or records. Have a competent reviewer assess their significance. Do not identify a factory shortage or theft from one unexplained weight difference.
Preserve delivery records and photographs in their original form. If your team discovered an internal shortage after signing for the expected carton count, record both events and their dates. Ask the responsible adviser how the receipt wording affects the actual claim; this article cannot decide that consequence.
Protect notice requirements while you investigate
Send the contracting seller a specific notice of the quantity discrepancy using the required channel and the evidence available. State what your team has confirmed and what remains under review. Check transport and insurance notice requirements separately where a loss in those stages may be relevant. A supplier investigation does not replace a carrier or insurer notice.
The CISG text addresses contractual quantity in Article 35, examination and notice in Articles 38 and 39, and partial delivery in Article 51. Have counsel check applicability, the agreement and relevant declarations. These provisions provide no universal receiving deadline or conclusion that the seller caused a missing quantity.
The cargo-cover guide addresses identifying the policy and party entitled to claim. Use the actual insurer's instructions and qualified advice. Insurance existence does not establish that this shortage is covered.
Close the quantity difference through an agreed outcome
After the recount, your buyer should give the seller the item-level difference and ask it to reconcile its records. Keep any surplus or mislabelled variant visible alongside the shortage. Your team should not net unlike goods on its own because their unit prices happen to match.
If the parties agree another delivery, a refund or a credit, identify the goods and quantities it covers and the effect on the original order. Keep a pending replacement separate from stock already received. Ask the accountant and broker whether the actual discrepancy requires a supplier document correction or action on existing import records; preserve the originals and their history.
An unresolved shortage does not authorise your team to deduct the claimed value from another due invoice. Obtain the relevant agreement or professional advice before changing a payment obligation.
Use pay an invoice to enquire about an agreed supplier payment before funding. Your warehouse establishes the receiving count, and the contracting and transport parties address the discrepancy. Payment handling does not count cartons, locate missing covers or determine liability.