3PL Receiving Process Deep Dive: How Our Goods-In Works

Table of Contents

Introduction

Transparency builds trust – and we believe that showing our process removes the mystery of what happens once your inventory hits our docks. Welcome to a behind-the-scenes look at our Goods-In department! When your products arrive, they don’t just sit around; we immediately usher them into a finely tuned, highly efficient system designed to ensure accuracy, maintain quality, and get the stock ready for fulfillment as quickly as possible.

Here is a step-by-step guide to how inventory is received, inspected, and logged into our system by our dedicated team.

Step 1: The Arrival and Identification

The moment a delivery arrives, our Goods-In operatives spring into action. The first order of business is to identify exactly what has landed on our docks and who it belongs to.

Our team carefully retrieves the packing slip to match the delivery against the appropriate client and purchase order inside ShipHero, our Warehouse Management System. ShipHero is the central hub of our entire operation – every warehouse receiving process, every product, and every quantity is logged there in real time, giving both our internal team and our clients full, live visibility into what is happening with their stock.

Sometimes deliveries arrive without a packing slip – but that doesn’t slow us down! Our experienced operatives know exactly how to inspect the package contents or cross-reference shipping labels to ensure every box is accurately identified and matched to the correct account. Once confirmed, the shipment’s status is officially updated in ShipHero, kicking off the next phase of the process.

Step 2: Quality Control and Expiration Tracking

Quality is our top priority from the second a product enters the warehouse. For perishable goods or items that require strict batch tracking, our team performs a meticulous inspection before anything is logged.

We actively search for Lot numbers and Best Before End (BBE) dates on both the packaging and the products themselves. These are recorded precisely in ShipHero, ensuring that inventory rotation is managed correctly all the way through to fulfillment. We take the responsibility of handling perishable and date-sensitive products seriously – our system is specifically set up to prevent any product beyond its optimal condition from ever being shipped to an end customer.

Step 3: Systematic Logging and Verification

With the products identified and quality-checked, it is time to give them a home in our system. Each item is assigned to a dedicated Goods-In (GI) location – a physical tote or cart with a corresponding system location in ShipHero. This means we always know exactly where your products are while they are in transit between the receiving dock and their final put-away location. Nothing gets lost in the middle.

Next comes the verification phase. Our operatives confirm that every item’s barcode is readable, scans correctly, and that the product weight is accurately recorded in the system. If a product arrives with a barcode that doesn’t scan, our team resolves it on the spot – printing and carefully applying a new label without covering any important product information, brand imagery, or instructions. When this happens, the event is logged and communicated to the relevant parties so there is a full audit trail.

Step 4: The Final Count and Sign-Off

Accuracy is the cornerstone of great fulfillment. Before a purchase order is closed out, our operatives conduct a rigorous review – comparing the units received against the units ordered. We have strict internal thresholds in place, and if a meaningful discrepancy is identified, it is flagged immediately to a Team Lead before anything progresses further.

Once everything is counted, verified, and correctly logged, the purchase order is marked as Closed in ShipHero. At that point, your inventory is officially received and ready for the next stage of its journey through our warehouse.

Full Visibility for You, Every Step of the Way

One of the things we are most proud of is the level of transparency we offer our clients. Through shipsfor.us – the client-facing portal powered by ShipHero – you have real-time access to your inventory data, purchase order statuses, and receiving activity at any time. No chasing emails, no wondering where your stock is. It is all right there.

For any queries, discrepancies, or communications that sit outside the system, our team manages client interactions through Monday.com, ensuring that every conversation is tracked, assigned, and resolved with full accountability. Nothing falls through the cracks.

The Team Behind the Tech

While ShipHero is a powerful platform, it is our people who truly make the magic happen. Our Goods-In department is staffed by highly trained operatives who are passionate about precision. From continuous training to ongoing process refinement, our operations and management teams are always looking for ways to improve and streamline our workflows.

When you partner with us, you aren’t just getting a warehouse – you are getting a dedicated team, industry-leading technology, and a rock-solid system designed to handle your inventory with the utmost care and efficiency.