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The margin has a note. The shortage box on the form is empty. You’re leaning against a stack of shrinkwrapped pallets at bay 7, rain streaking the frosted glass above the loading leveler, the carrier’s driver tapping their steel-toe boot while they wait for you to sign off on the delivery. The scrawled note is in blue ballpoint, smudged a little like the writer was holding the page in wind when they wrote it, and it reads 7 cases missing, mixed berry SKU 44819.
What the paper says: shortage written in margin
You trace the line items with your thumb as you scan the bill of lading: 42 cases of plain yogurt, 36 cases of vanilla, 28 cases of mixed berry, 21 cases of peach. The total weight listed is 1,892 pounds, the trailer number is printed in the top right corner, and the only handwriting besides the margin note is the driver’s name scrawled at the top when they checked in 10 minutes earlier. There’s no stamp from the shipping facility’s quality control team, which isn’t unusual for midweek runs when their team is short staffed, but it means there’s no secondary confirmation of the outbound count to cross-reference right now. All pre-printed checkboxes for damage, overage, and shortage are unmarked, and the official comments line below the line items is completely blank, which is why the writer likely scribbled the note in the unused margin space next to the mixed berry line.
Entries you leave alone
You don’t cross out the listed 28 cases of mixed berries, you don’t fill in the shortage box yet, and you don’t erase or scribble over the margin note even if you think it might be wrong. You don’t add any other comments before you verify the count, you don’t sign the signature line, and you don’t check the “received in good order” box that the driver keeps gesturing to in an attempt to speed up the process. You also don’t scratch out the margin note, even if you’re tempted to dismiss it as an error before you do your count, because crossing out official delivery records can make it look like you’re hiding information later, even if your intentions are good. You don’t write any notes about the weather or the driver’s attitude on the page either, since those details are irrelevant to the delivery record and can clutter the critical information for anyone who pulls the form later. You don’t mark up the driver’s copy of the form at all yet, because they need their own unaltered record to turn back in to their dispatch team at the end of their route.
The ten-minute check: shortage written in margin
You complete this quick, systematic count before you write anything else on the form, prioritizing accuracy over speed even if the driver mentions they’re already running 20 minutes behind for their next drop-off:
- Start with the line item tied to the margin note: count every case of mixed berries on the pallets marked for your facility, scanning each barcode as you go to cross-reference with the order manifest pulled up on your handheld scanner.
- Count all other pallets on the load, even those marked for other drop-off locations, to rule out misloaded cases that were stacked on the wrong skid by the warehouse team at pickup.
- Check the back of the trailer, under the load lock, and in the side storage compartments for loose cases that may have shifted off the pallets during transit, especially since the driver reported heavy crosswinds on the highway during their route.
- Cross-reference the total scanned count against the line item count on the bill of lading, and flag any discrepancies between the two for follow-up, regardless of how small they are.
- Compare your final count to the margin note to confirm if the listed shortage matches what you find on the load, no matter how pressed you are to get the unloaded trailer back on the road for its next stop.
Illustrative example: If your count finds 21 cases of mixed berry SKU 44819, that is exactly 7 cases short of the 28 listed, matching the margin note exactly. You jot that count down on a scrap of paper before entering it into your system, so you don’t mix up the numbers when you’re filling out the form. You log each count in your Dock Tally log as you go, so you don’t have to rely on memory once you’re back in the office filling out the rest of the delivery paperwork.
Where the page goes: shortage written in margin
Once you’ve completed your count and filled out all relevant fields on the form, you run it through the dock office copier to make three identical copies. The first copy goes to the driver, after you both sign and date every copy to confirm the count is agreed upon. The second copy goes directly to the inventory control team’s inbox, so they can update stock counts and flag the discrepancy for reconciliation if a shortage is confirmed. The original copy gets placed in a clear plastic sheet protector to avoid damage from spills or tears, then filed in the locked filing cabinet by the dock office door, organized by pro number so you can pull it up later if needed. You make sure each copy is fully legible before you hand any of them off, smudging is common when you’re writing with cold, wet hands on the dock, so you wipe your hands on your work pants before you sign, and you wait a few seconds for the ink to dry before you run the form through the copier. You never leave the original page on the counter by the door or stuff it in your pocket, because it can get lost or damaged before it gets filed properly.
Assumptions you do not make
You don’t assume the margin note was written by a disgruntled warehouse worker who wanted to cause trouble, you don’t assume the driver stole the missing cases, and you don’t assume the count from the shipping facility was wrong. You don’t assume the shortage is a mistake just because the shortage box was empty when you got the form, and you don’t assume that no one will follow up on the note later, even if the missing cases are low-value. You don’t assume your count is perfect the first time, either, which is why you do a second quick pass if the numbers don’t line up with either the manifest or the margin note. You don’t assume the margin note was written by mistake, even if you’ve never had a shortage from this carrier before; every team has off days, and misloads happen even at the most well-run shipping facilities, so you give the note the same weight you would give an official comment in the designated comments field. You also don’t assume the driver knows anything about the note, most drivers don’t check the bills of lading line by line before they leave the pickup location, so they likely have no idea the note is there, or what it means, until you point it out to them.
Next time you open this same page: shortage written in margin
You might pull this page three weeks from now, when the inventory control team flags a discrepancy in the mixed berry SKU counts during their cycle count. You pull it from the filing cabinet, and you can immediately see the margin note, your written confirmation of the count, both signatures, the date and time you filled it out, and any additional comments you added about loose cases found behind the load lock. You can cross-reference the numbers you wrote down with the cycle count numbers, the driver’s log, and the shipping facility’s outbound record, to trace where the discrepancy originated without guessing. You might also pull it when the shipping facility reaches out asking if you received the full 28 cases, because their outbound count showed 28 left their warehouse, and they’re trying to track down the missing stock. You can point to both the margin note and your signed count confirmation to show exactly what you received when the trailer dropped, no guesswork needed. You might even pull it if you’re training a new dock worker a few months from now, walking them through how to handle unconfirmed notes on delivery forms, using this page as a real example of how to document discrepancies correctly without altering existing entries. You’ll be able to show them exactly what you did, why you did it, and how the clear record made resolving the discrepancy far faster than it would have been if you’d erased the note or filled in the shortage box before you verified the count.