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The bottom carton is wet. The cartons above it are dry. You’re standing on the cold concrete slab of your receiving bay, delivery paperwork tucked under one arm, and you shift the stack of dry upper cartons to the side to get an unobstructed view of the water damage along the lowest layer of the pallet. The rest of the delivery pallets unloaded so far show no signs of moisture, so you know the issue is isolated to this single stack.
Log immediate site details on your receiving damage record
You start with unvarnished, observable facts only, no speculation about how the water got there or who is at fault, to keep the record neutral and useful for any follow-up steps you take later. Jot down the exact time of delivery, the carrier’s full business name, the trailer number printed on the side of the vehicle, and the current weather conditions outside the bay. Note if the trailer floor had visible standing water when you pulled the pallet load out, or if the forklift operator drove through a deep puddle on the lot to move the pallet from the trailer to the bay. Illustrative example: 0.25 inches of rain fell in the two hours leading up to delivery, per your site’s outdoor weather tracker, so surface puddles on the access road are a possible contributing factor. You also note if the pallet was wrapped in a full waterproof plastic cover, or if the wrap only covered the upper three-quarters of the stack, leaving the bottom carton exposed to the elements during transit or unloading. You avoid adding subjective comments like “the driver was careless” to the record, sticking only to details you can prove with physical evidence or timestamped records.
Separate affected stock from undamaged units immediately
You move all four dry upper cartons to a separate pallet labeled for this delivery, so no warehouse team member accidentally mixes them in with the damaged stock or shelves them before you complete your inspection. Count the exact number of units in the dry cartons, cross-check that number against the line item count on your delivery receipt, and write that number next to the total shipped count on your receiving damage record, so you have a clear, immediate comparison of undamaged vs. affected stock. Leave the wet bottom carton on its original pallet for now, so you can take clear photographic evidence of the damage in context before you open it for a content inspection. Take three photos for your records: one wide shot of the full pallet showing only the bottom layer is wet, one close-up shot of the water mark along the edge of the bottom carton, and one shot of the area where the pallet was unloaded, whether that’s the trailer floor or the bay entrance, to capture any visible water sources that may have caused the damage. You save these photos to a dedicated folder for delivery exceptions, labeled with the delivery date and carrier name for easy access later.
Note surface and content damage severity for each unit
You log every observation about individual cartons directly to your receiving damage record, using a simple table to track details consistently across every unit in the stack:
| Carton ID | Surface Damage Observed | Content Check Result | Disposition Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bottom carton 1/1 | 6-inch dark water ring along entire lower edge, minor warping of cardboard corners | Seal unbroken, no internal inspection completed yet | Held for full content inspection |
| Upper carton 1/4 | No visible moisture, cardboard rigid and intact | Seal unbroken, no signs of water intrusion | Marked as sellable, ready for stocking |
| Upper carton 2/4 | No visible moisture, cardboard rigid and intact | Seal unbroken, no signs of water intrusion | Marked as sellable, ready for stocking |
| Upper carton 3/4 | No visible moisture, cardboard rigid and intact | Seal unbroken, no signs of water intrusion | Marked as sellable, ready for stocking |
| Upper carton 4/4 | No visible moisture, cardboard rigid and intact | Seal unbroken, no signs of water intrusion | Marked as sellable, ready for stocking |
You fill out each line of this log as you inspect every carton in the stack, even if the unit shows no signs of damage, to create a complete record of every item in the delivery. If you open the wet bottom carton to inspect its contents, you add a new line to the table for each individual item, noting if the product packaging is damp, if the product itself is water-sensitive, and if any damage is present that would make it unsellable. Cross-reference the product SKU against Dock Tally’s inventory damage thresholds to decide if the item can be reworked, returned to the vendor, or needs to be disposed of as unsalvageable. You don’t throw away any damaged packaging or product until you have completed all required documentation, to retain evidence if you need to follow up on the damage later.
Flag delivery driver notes before they depart the bay
Once you have completed your initial inspection and logged all surface damage details, you flag the delivery driver before they leave the bay to show them the wet carton. Ask them to add their own observations about the damage to your receiving damage record, and to initial next to your entry if they agree with the details you have written down. If the driver refuses to sign or initial the entry, you note that refusal on the record, along with the exact time they depart your site, so you have a clear timeline of the delivery process. You do not argue with the driver about fault for the damage, as that does not change the facts of the incident and can delay completion of your receiving process. Before they leave, you ask for a copy of their daily delivery run sheet if they have one available, to attach to your receiving damage record for cross-reference later. You also make sure to mark the damage exception clearly on both your copy and the driver’s copy of the delivery receipt, so you do not accidentally sign off on the full delivery as undamaged.
Reference this entry during your next inventory cycle count
The next time you open this receiving damage record is during your scheduled quarterly inventory cycle count, when you reconcile all on-hand stock against your digital inventory logs. You pull this entry to cross-check the final disposition of the wet bottom carton against what you recorded on delivery day, to make sure your inventory counts align with the actions you took after the delivery. If you were able to dry out the carton and its contents without damage, you mark the entry as resolved, so no team member wastes time following up on a closed issue. If the contents were damaged and disposed of, you match the loss amount to your inventory shrinkage log without having to dig through months of old delivery receipts to find the original record of the damage. If the contents were returned to the vendor, you cross-reference this entry with the vendor return confirmation to ensure your stock counts are accurate across all your warehouse systems. This entry also serves as a quick reference if a customer reaches out at any point in the future to report a damp product from this delivery lot, as you can immediately confirm which units were marked as sellable and which were held for inspection, to narrow down the source of the issue quickly. You store the physical copy of the record in your delivery exception file after the cycle count is complete, so it remains accessible for any future reference needs.