How do I check a supplier's delivery against my purchase order and their packing list?

What each document tells you

• The purchase order: what you ordered, how many, at what price, and the total you expect to pay.
• The supplier's packing list: what the supplier says went into the shipment, in which carton, at what weight.
• Your count on arrival: what actually reached your door.

A gap between the first and second means the supplier shipped something other than you ordered. A gap between the second and third means something was lost or damaged in transit. Knowing where the gap sits tells you who to call: the supplier or the carrier.

Example: 500 cartons and 48 rolls of tape

You issued a purchase order through the Purchase-order generator for 500 shipping cartons at 1.85 and 48 rolls of packing tape at 4.25, a total of 1,129.00 SAR. The shipment arrives with the supplier's packing list.

1. Print the purchase order or open it on your phone, and lay the packing list beside it.
2. Match each item by description or code: are the cartons the size you ordered? Is the tape the width you asked for?
3. Compare quantities: the order says 500 cartons, the packing list says 500 in 10 bundles. Count the bundles first, then open one or two at random and count inside.
4. If you find 46 rolls of tape instead of 48, write 'Short 2 rolls of tape' on the delivery note before signing, and keep a photo of it.
5. Look for visible damage, such as wet or crushed cartons, and photograph it before unloading.

When you find a gap

The 1,129.00 total on the purchase order is built on the quantities you ordered. If less arrived, do not pay that total as it stands before agreeing with the supplier: either they send the shortfall or the invoice comes down. The tool cannot amend a purchase order you already sent or track its status. If you need a document with the revised quantities, issue a new purchase order under a different number, or ask the supplier to invoice the actual quantity.

Keep each order's paperwork together

The tool keeps no purchase orders once the page closes. Save the PDF in a folder named after the order number, and put the packing list, the signed delivery note and any damage photos in with it. When the invoice arrives a week later, everything you need to check it is in one place. If you ship to your own customers, give them a packing list for each shipment from the Packing-list generator so they can check in the same way.