Stock Control Process

Receive Stock Effectively

In most stockrooms, the goods are received in a goods-receiving bay. It is important that the goods receiving bay is kept clean and orderly. A disorderly or unclean good receiving bay may lead to:

• Accidents during off-loading because of unclean or cluttered areas. Oil spillage or wet and unclean surfaces can lead to accidents during off-loading.
• Shrinkage: an unclean receiving bay makes room for easy pilfering.
• Difficulty in taking stock of arriving goods. When there are other goods such as broken items, it is difficult to take stock.
• Loss due to breakage because of cluttered and dirty areas. Oils spills and all other forms of spillage must be cleaned and cleared from the goods receiving bay.

Cleanliness and orderliness in receiving bays must be maintained according to store policy. Each store, wholesale, or organization has a policy regarding cleanliness and orderliness in the receiving bay. The usual policies address how to dispose of broken goods, the various forms to be completed, and the reporting chain.

Goods Receiving Procedure

After ensuring that the goods receiving bay is clean, carry out the following when the goods arrive:

1. Ensure that, when the delivery truck or courier delivers goods, a waybill is handed out and that the goods are designated for the stockroom.

2. When goods arrive, they are accompanied by a delivery note. This note outlines all the goods and their characteristics. It also informs the receiver of the number of goods, type, date of delivery, from and to whom the merchandise is, and quantity of merchandise.

3. Check the number of pallets, cartons, cages, boxes or whatever means of containers are received, against the quantity recorded on the waybill and the delivery note.

4. Before goods are stored, the seals of the boxes are checked to ensure that they are not broken or tampered with – while the courier or delivery truck is still at the store. If so, it must be recorded on the delivery note and signed by the deliverer, courier and the person receiving the stock. The manager should be informed if seals were broken or tampered with. This is a crucial point because the knowledge of what happened to the containers or boxes helps the receiver as well as the deliverer to track any loss or shrinkage. Different organizations have different rules and regulations governing goods that are received in boxes or containers that do not comply with the delivery note. In most cases, the broken boxes are returned and a ‘goods returned’ note is signed.

5. Ensure that the seal numbers entered on the delivery note/waybill match the seal numbers on the boxes. It is important to ensure that the numbers entered on the seals match with those on the delivery note. If they do not, there can be several reasons for that, such as wrong goods that have been received or the right goods are lost. In most cases, a telephone call is made to the supplier to investigate the wrong entry of the goods.

6. A Goods Received Slip (GRS) is then handed to the transporter together with a signed delivery note.

7. The received goods are sorted according to organizational requirements and characteristics of the goods or stock. The goods that need to be kept at a certain temperature are immediately taken to the refrigeration rooms, and those that require other types of care, such as chemicals and goods that react to heat, are stored according to manufacturer recommendations.

Storing of Goods

The received goods are separated and stored according to:

Fragility – Fragility goods are separated from the rest and stored separately.

Perishability – perishable goods, such as frozen foods, some types of medicines, or chemicals, are separated and immediately stored in refrigerated rooms.

Hazardous substances – hazardous substances such as gases, fuels and chemicals are stored separately, according to manufacturer’s recommendations.

Damaged stock is stored separately.

In most organizations, the stock is recorded electronically or manually, and the tracking of wrongly-recorded stock is easily done. The computer system in the store is used for processing the orders with the supplier. The orders are entered with a full description of what has been purchased, the price, delivery date and other relevant information. A Goods Received Slip (GRS) is completed by the receiver. The goods received slip states the type of goods, the date the goods were delivered, and the amount of stock received. The stockroom keeps the same information and uses it to supply the departments or the store.

Administrating Goods Received

Management is informed by three different documents of the delivery of consignment/goods:

• Copy of purchase order/invoice
• An advice note from the supplier – delivery note
• A consignment note from a contracted carrier – waybill

All these documents can be summarised as being ‘note accompanying delivery’.

In most organizations, it is acknowledged that when checking-in deliveries, one should carry out the following procedures:

• Open each box separately and find the delivery note. If the goods are large equipment that might not require to be opened, a physical inspection by a qualified person is necessary.
• Ensure that the name or branch number on the delivery note is for your store or branch.
• Write the delivery note number on the Goods Received Slips (GRS) in the space provided. When there is a computer-printed delivery note, it must also be recorded on the GRS.
• Unpack the stock according to price category, type, and the characteristics of the goods.
• Count the stock in the different title categories or according to types.
• Check the quantity of physical stock in each price category and ensure that the quantity and the prices of the goods are the same as what is recorded on the delivery note.
• When the stock you have counted, and the delivery note balances, tick in red pen next to the quantity and the selling price on the delivery note and check that the total quantity is correct and tick in red pen. Other organizations might use a different colour of a pen or have a different procedure.
• The manager must double-check the delivery and countersign the delivery note. (In some organizations, someone other than the manager does the doublechecking of the delivered goods.)
• Once the delivery has been checked, mark on the GRS.
• Scan the delivery, following the procedure on the scanner.
• After the delivery has been GRS’d, fax your Regional Office with the log number, which store/branch received from, delivery note number, GRS number and the date received. (Other organizations have different procedures, but most of them follow something similar.)
• Tear the GRS out of the book and staple each GRS to the front of the relevant delivery note. They must be stapled together (with their respective GRS) behind each other.
• Ensure that delivery notes are entered on a mailing list and sent to the regional office/store headquarters.

Notification of Damage, Shortage or Error

Delivered goods might be damaged, in short supply or underweight. The packaging might be damaged, missing packages, short weight, or incorrect quantity. It is important that the supplier is notified at once. The receipt documents, consignment note and or delivery note must be filled in with the information of the missing, damaged, or underweight goods and handed over to the driver and, at the same time, the purchasing unit is informed about the damaged, shortfall or error on the goods and the necessary documentation are completed. Negotiate with the supplier about suitable corrective measures.

Performance Criteria for receiving Goods

Goods are unpacked, using correct techniques and equipment, in line with workplace policies and procedures.

Packing materials are removed and disposed of promptly, according to workplace policies and procedures.

Incoming goods are accurately checked and confirmed against purchase orders and delivery documentation, according to workplace policies and procedures.

Items received are inspected for damage, quality, breakage, or discrepancies and recorded, according to workplace policies and procedures.

Stock levels are recorded accurately, according to workplace policies and procedures.

Secure storage of goods is arranged, according to workplace policies, procedures, and government legislation.