Goods-receipt inspection is the systematic check of every delivery at acceptance: quantity and price against the order, temperature and freshness against the hygiene rules, condition against common sense. It is a double duty — as an HACCP building block AND as margin protection: shortfalls, wrongly charged prices and semi-thawed goods silently cost 1–3% of the cost of goods. Whoever doesn't inspect pays for their suppliers' mistakes.
Tick six points — tightness score and the biggest gap appear instantly.
Rule of thumb: fully checking a delivery takes 5–10 minutes — at a typical 1–3% loss from unchecked acceptance, the best-paid minutes of the day.
| Step | Check | Typical find |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Reconcile | Delivery note vs. order: items, quantities, prices | Substitute item dearer, quantity "rounded up" |
| 2. Weigh | Spot checks on fresh goods — gross/net, ice glaze on frozen | An 8-kg crate holding 7.2 kg |
| 3. Temperature | Chilled ≤ 7 °C (fresh meat ≤ 4 °C, poultry ≤ 4 °C, fish on ice), frozen ≤ −18 °C | Semi-thawed frozen goods, broken cold chain |
| 4. Condition & BBD | Packaging, freshness, remaining shelf life | Best-before tomorrow for a 10-day requirement |
| 5. Documentation | Note on the delivery note, temperature log, claim, refusal at cold-chain breaks | "We've always accepted it" |
Reconciliation and visual check: yes, always. Weighing and temperature: risk-based — fresh goods and critical suppliers always, dry goods by spot check. The key point: the supplier must NOT know what gets weighed today.
At cold-chain breaks, spoilage or gross deviations: not only may — with hygiene risks you must. Partial acceptance with a note on the delivery note is the standard route; photos make the claim watertight.
Industry experience: 1–3% of the cost of goods is lost without inspection to shortfalls, price errors and quality defects. At €20,000 monthly goods cost that is €200–600 — every month, straight onto the COGS ratio.
After documented acceptance the evidence gets difficult — which is why the check counts AT the moment of handover. Afterwards your own cooling and storage logic applies (first in, first out).