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The last row of the trailer is still in the nose. Your sheet says finished. You wipe crusted road salt off the edge of your clipboard, squint at the barcode printed along the top of the freight document in your hand, and step back from the liftgate to avoid the wind whipping off the adjacent rail yard. The lift operator idles a few feet away, waiting for your signal to either pull the next load or lock this trailer closed for the time being.
Cross-check your inbound tally document for unmarked partial load flags
You run your finger down the quantity column, matching each marked received count to the pallets stacked neatly on the dock behind you. All the line items for general merchandise, small parcel overflows, and bulk hardware match what you’ve unloaded so far, no prior stop notes scrawled in the margin or typed in the special instructions section. You also check the pickup confirmation number listed at the top of the document against the number printed on the trailer’s door to make sure you didn’t pull the wrong load earlier in the shift, which is an easy mistake to make when three identical 53-foot trailers back up to the dock within 10 minutes of each other. The numbers match, so you know you’re working with the right document for the right load. A lot of carriers will note partial drops but sometimes forget to update the digital version you receive at the dock, so this check keeps you from logging a discrepancy that doesn’t actually exist.
Flag your inbound tally document for line items that correspond to the unloaded freight still in the trailer nose
You use a bright orange marker to mark each line that aligns with the freight currently out of reach, so no one misses the note later when reviewing the document. The pallets in the nose are all labeled with the same SKU prefix for commercial cleaning supplies, which you find three-quarters of the way down the second page of the document. You circle the entire line, draw an arrow to the margin, and write “TRAILER NOSE, UNCOUNTED AS OF 14:27” so anyone who picks up the document later knows exactly where the missing freight is. You make sure not to mark the line items as missing, just as uncounted, because you don’t know if the quantities listed on the document match what’s actually in the nose until you pull it out and count each pallet individually. Jumping to a missing label now would only create extra paperwork later if the counts line up exactly once you unload the rest of the trailer. Illustrative example: 12 of the 17 noted pallets are unloaded, leaving 5 stacked three high in the trailer’s upper nose that were obscured from view when you first walked the trailer floor.
Photograph your inbound tally document alongside the trailer’s sealed nose before you move the remaining pallets
The carrier may ask for proof that the freight was still sealed in the nose when you did your initial count, and that no one tampered with it before you pull it out, so these photos act as a neutral record of the load’s state at the time of your initial count. You prop the document on the edge of the liftgate so the circled line items and your handwritten note are clearly visible, hold your phone up so the sealed plastic barrier across the trailer’s nose is in the background, and take three clear photos. You email one to the operations lead, save one to your phone, and upload the third to the load’s digital file so it’s attached to the document for all future reference. You log the photo timestamp in the Dock Tally field attached to the load record so you don’t have to hunt for it later. You don’t need to add any extra notes to the upload, since the timestamp, photo content, and load ID are all linked automatically, so you save yourself the extra typing for later.
Record the uncounted SKU count and weight directly on your inbound tally document’s open notes field
Use the following steps to log the partial count clearly, so there is no room for misinterpretation by anyone who accesses the document later:
- Jot the total number of pallets visible in the nose, even if you can’t read each individual label, to establish a baseline count for the unprocessed freight
- Note the trailer number, seal number printed on the nose barrier, and current time to tie the entry to the photos you just took
- Mark if the freight appears to be intact, with no visible damage to pallets, shrink wrap, or boxes peeking out from the top of the stack
- Add your initials next to the entry so anyone reviewing the document later knows who logged the initial partial count
You double check each entry to make sure you didn’t transpose any numbers, and make sure your handwriting is legible enough that someone who doesn’t know your shorthand can read every word. You don’t want a misread number leading to extra work for the receiving team later when they pull the remaining freight. You know that these small details are what prevent confusion down the line if there’s a question about the load count later, whether from the shipper, carrier, or the warehouse team that will put the freight away once it’s fully unloaded. A few extra seconds of writing now saves you hours of tracking down records later when a discrepancy is flagged weeks after the load is dropped off.
Sign off on your inbound tally document for the current partial count before you call the carrier dispatcher
You sign the bottom of the first page where it asks for receiving agent signature, check the box that says “partial count received, remaining freight on board” so there’s no confusion that you didn’t mark the load as fully received. You know better than to sign for a full load when you can see freight still in the trailer, even if the carrier driver pressures you to sign off quickly so they can get to their next stop. You don’t owe the driver a faster turnaround at the cost of accurate counts for your team, and your signed partial count protects both you and the warehouse from being held responsible for freight you didn’t actually receive and count. You take a quick photo of the signed page for your own records, then clip the document back to your clipboard so it’s secure while you make the call. The dispatcher will need to confirm if you can break the nose seal and pull the remaining freight, or if they want to send a representative out to verify the count before you touch it, so you don’t want to move anything until you get that confirmation. This sign off is your official record that the count stopped where it did, no changes can be made to the received count logged so far without a formal adjustment signed by both you and the carrier rep.
Pull up this tally document when you return to the dock after your 15-minute break
You’ll already have a response from the dispatcher by then, so you can pull the document up first to reference the line items you circled before you break the seal on the trailer nose. You’ll cross off your original partial note if you pull all the remaining freight and the counts match, or add a new note if there’s further discrepancy once you unload the last pallets. You’ll also be able to match any photos you take of the unloaded nose freight to the original timestamped photos you took earlier, so you have a full paper trail for the entire load. If the dispatcher tells you to leave the freight in the nose and send the trailer back, you’ll add a final note to the document confirming you did not break the seal, sign again, and send a copy to the carrier for their records. You don’t have to make any decisions right now, and you don’t have to rush through the break to get back to the load, since the signed partial count is already logged and stored properly. You tuck the clipboard into the lockable slot next to the dock door so no one can move or alter the document while you’re gone, and you grab your insulated water bottle from the hook by the break room door. You don’t have to think about the load for the next 15 minutes, because all the required documentation for the current count is done, signed, and stored properly.
