Packing List Comparison to Purchase Order

Discrepancies between packing lists and purchase orders

When goods are delivered to the warehouse, verification of the goods being delivered happen in three ways: on the purchase order, on the pallet, and on the delivery packing list. This is a time-consuming verification process. If discrepancies are found, the receiving process is greatly delayed and may result in product refusal or containment until the issue can be resolved. 

An advance shipment notice may be sent prior to the delivery of the goods. However, the shipping notice may not be directly tied to the actual goods pick but rather generated from the inventory management system. 

Common problems from this process

• Goods that are being delivered are not a match to the purchase order. The change may be subtle as in a pack size change or a color change. However, the replacement item can not be received under the PO’s original part number.
• A purchasing decision is forced to the warehouse floor that has to be made within a constrained time.  Does the warehouse keep the incorrect item, or refuse it.
• Many carriers will not take back refused product.
• If the item is kept, how is it handled? Does it move to a quarantine space which adds processing complexity to the warehouse process.
• Incorrect inventory remains on the warehouse floor until a resolution is found. 

How HULFT can help

HULFT Integrate has the ability to interact with both warehouse door scanners at the supplier level, and with many purchasing systems. Consider scanning the product at the time of loading and receiving a verification that the picked product is a match to the PO. 

HULFT can also customize a solution that allows for the Purchase order verification (PO to packing list) to take place prior to the delivery of the goods. By reading a PDF of the packing list sent through an email, HULFT is able to utilize AI-based comparison and learning to structure a comparison between the packing list and the purchase order long before the truck shows up.

These solutions allow HULFT Integrate to be part of an ad-hoc order validation system at the delivery point, or even better, at the shipping point. This collaboration between supplier and client can prevent shipping mistakes before the cargo leaves the warehouse, with the consequent savings in time and money for all parties involved.