Fewer boxes arrived than expected. What should I check first?
Reconcile the ordered, dispatched, physically received and currently usable quantities using the same unit definition and SKU allocation. Preserve the receiving evidence before repacking or issuing stock. A warehouse count, an invoice total and a packing-list total can describe different populations; a difference is a question to investigate before assigning its cause.
This guide starts with an actual apparent shortage. It does not renegotiate the order's allowed overrun or underrun, and it does not design a traceability system. Retrieve the existing agreement and identity records, then build an evidence-based reconciliation that the dispatch, receiving and purchasing teams can all follow.
Freeze the facts at the receiving point
Record what physically arrived, when and where it was counted, the count method and the person responsible. Preserve carton or pallet identifiers and photographs of relevant seals, labels or visible damage. Separate unopened quantities inferred from packing configuration from units actually counted. Neither is automatically wrong, but their evidential strength and limitations differ.
Check whether cartons are partial, mixed-SKU or differently packed from the expected configuration. Confirm whether the PO unit means one box, one component or one complete kit. A packing list stating cartons can be misread as a count of individual retail boxes. Retain the original documents and show any correction as an identified revision, rather than overwriting the source.
Scroll horizontally to compare all columns.
| Population | Evidence to reconcile | Keep separate |
|---|---|---|
| Ordered | Accepted line, SKU, unit and authorized changes | Requested amount versus agreed amount |
| Dispatched | Packing allocation and dispatch count record | Produced stock still at origin |
| Received | Physical receipt and documented count basis | Expected stock not yet delivered |
| Usable | Received quantity less separately identified holds or exclusions | Quality disposition versus physical absence |
| Commercially open | Unresolved difference and agreed follow-up | Proposed adjustment versus accepted settlement |
Where do the records first diverge?
Trade.gov's packing-list guidance describes package-level contents and measurement information used in logistics. Use the actual list as one reconciliation input, not proof that every listed piece arrived. Ask dispatch to show the allocation behind the disputed line and receiving to explain the corresponding count. Compare the same identifiers before combining totals.
If dispatch reports fewer units than the accepted order, the open question begins before transport. If dispatch and receiving totals differ, compare handover records and package identities without immediately concluding that the carrier lost goods. A quantity may be at another location, on a later movement or recorded under the wrong variant. Document verified findings and leave unverified explanations labeled as hypotheses.
Worked reconciliation: the physical gap is not the usable gap
Assume, only for this example, that an accepted order line requires 1,200 individual boxes. The dispatch record lists 12 cartons of 100. Receiving records 11 sealed cartons and one partial carton containing 60, so the documented physical receipt is 1,160. If 30 of those boxes are separately held pending a quality decision, 1,130 are currently available for use.
The physical difference against the assumed order is 40; the current usable difference is 70. Do not describe all 70 as missing in transit. The 30 held pieces need disposition, while the 40-unit physical difference needs reconciliation. These invented counts illustrate separate questions and do not establish entitlement to a credit, replacement or a particular liability finding.
Send a discrepancy packet someone can resolve
Provide the affected order line, agreed quantity basis, dispatch references, receipt counts and a concise explanation of the first mismatch. Identify evidence still needed and request an authorized response. Use the lot and receiving guide to retrieve existing identity links; avoid turning a missing record into an invented count.
Arrange an immediate documented recount of the affected scope where practical, preserving the original observations. Notify the responsible seller and logistics contacts through the agreed channel, stating verified facts and missing evidence rather than an unsupported accusation. Do not wait for a complete theory before reporting a material discrepancy.
Keep operational recovery separate from commercial closeout. Possible proposals include locating and delivering an unreceived balance, an agreed top-up order, a credit for an accepted shortfall or an explicitly accepted revised allocation. None is an automatic entitlement. Record quantity, specification, delivery basis, proposed cost treatment and the authorized parties' decision. Check the actual agreement and applicable notification requirements with the responsible professionals; no universal claim deadline is provided here.
Close only the reconciled scope: what was found, what remains unresolved, which stock is released and what adjustment the authorized parties accepted. Keep later receipts against the same open balance so a replacement is not accidentally counted as extra ordered stock. The quantity agreement guide explains the pre-existing commercial baseline.
Send PACKRIVA a redacted discrepancy packet and the required usable quantity by SKU. As a development and sourcing coordination partner, we can help organize the relevant supplier and receiving questions. Request a short-delivery reconciliation discussion with the count basis clearly stated; coordination does not predetermine the outcome.