Margin Protector #3: Check the Delivery Before the Driver Leaves
The delivery often arrives at the worst possible moment
Preparation is underway. Someone needs access to the cool room. A supplier is on the phone. The driver wants a signature and there are boxes sitting in a doorway that everyone needs to use.
So the invoice is signed, the stock is moved and the delivery is dealt with as quickly as possible.
It all appears routine.
That is precisely why expensive errors can pass unnoticed.
A missing carton, an incorrect weight, an unapproved substitution or a price that has quietly increased may not attract much attention during a busy morning. Once the stock has been put away and the driver has left, however, the business may have accepted less than it ordered—or agreed to pay more than it expected.
The margin can begin disappearing before the product reaches the cool room.
An invoice is not proof of what arrived
A delivery invoice tells you what the supplier says was delivered.
It does not prove that every item is there, that every weight is correct, that every product is in good condition or that every price matches the agreement.
Consider how many assumptions sit behind a routine delivery:
The correct products were packed.
The quantities match the order.
Meat, seafood and produce have been weighed correctly.
No cartons are missing.
Nothing has been damaged in transit.
No product has been substituted without approval.
The invoice reflects the agreed price.
Any discounts, rebates or promotional arrangements have been applied.
Chilled and frozen products have arrived in acceptable condition.
If nobody checks, every one of those assumptions becomes a potential leak.
The person signing may not know what to check
The person receiving the delivery is often not the person who placed the order.
They may have no idea which vintage was ordered, what the agreed price was, whether the chef approved a substitute or how many cartons should have arrived.
They may also feel uncomfortable keeping the driver waiting.
A junior staff member presented with an invoice and a pen is unlikely to conduct a detailed audit unless they have been shown how. They may assume the supplier is correct, worry about appearing difficult or believe their only responsibility is to sign the paperwork and move the boxes.
That is not carelessness.
It is a process that asks someone to confirm information they have not been given.
If the person receiving the delivery cannot see the original order, agreed prices and approved substitutions, they cannot properly verify what has arrived.
Small discrepancies accumulate
A missing bottle may not justify an investigation. A produce weight that is slightly short may not appear significant. A price increase of 50 cents may pass without comment.
But deliveries arrive repeatedly.
A $6 discrepancy on one invoice is irritating. The same discrepancy appearing across several suppliers, several deliveries and an entire year becomes a much larger commercial problem.
The same is true of price movements.
As discussed in Margin Protector #1, recipe costs are only reliable when the purchase prices underneath them are current. If an invoice price changes and nobody notices, the business may continue selling a product at a margin it is no longer achieving.
The spreadsheet still looks reassuring.
The invoice tells a different story.
Build the check into the delivery
The best time to resolve a discrepancy is while the delivery is still being received.
Once cartons have been opened, products have been stored and the paperwork has reached accounts, establishing what originally arrived becomes harder.
A useful receiving process should compare three things:
What was ordered
What was delivered
What was invoiced
The person receiving the delivery should check:
Product descriptions and pack sizes.
Quantities and weights.
Agreed prices and discounts.
Unapproved substitutions.
Missing, broken or damaged stock.
Use-by dates where relevant.
The condition and temperature of chilled, frozen and hot food.
Any items requiring a credit or replacement.
Food safety should be included in the same process. Food Standards Australia New Zealand advises that chilled potentially hazardous food should generally arrive at 5°C (41°F) or colder, hot food at 60°C (140°F) or hotter and frozen food frozen hard, unless a safe alternative time-based system can be demonstrated. A reliable probe thermometer gives the receiver evidence rather than an impression.
It is rarely what you think. It is often what you know.
A credit is not protected until it is received
Identifying a discrepancy is only the first step.
The invoice may be marked, the supplier contacted and a credit promised. Everyone assumes the problem has been resolved.
Then the credit never appears.
This is another common point of leakage. The business has done enough work to identify the error but has no system for confirming that the money was returned.
Every requested credit should be entered into a simple credit register containing:
Supplier.
Invoice number.
Date.
Reason for the credit.
Amount expected.
Person responsible for following it up.
Date received.
Review the register before paying supplier accounts. A promise to issue a credit is not the same as a credit appearing on the account.
Give the receiver authority
A receiving checklist is useful, but the person completing it must also have permission to act.
Can they refuse a damaged carton?
Can they reject an unapproved substitution?
Can they ask the driver to wait while quantities are counted?
Do they know who to contact when a price does not match the agreement?
A process that identifies an error but gives nobody the confidence or authority to challenge it will not protect much.
Suppliers should also understand the venue’s expectations. Accurate deliveries, approved substitutions, agreed pricing and prompt credits are not unreasonable demands. They are basic parts of a commercial relationship.
Start with the next ten deliveries
For the next ten deliveries, require the receiver to compare the purchase order, the physical stock and the invoice before signing.
Record every discrepancy, even if it appears insignificant.
Then review the results:
How many deliveries were completely correct?
Which errors occurred repeatedly?
Were any suppliers responsible for several discrepancies?
How much was claimed in credits?
How much was received?
Were price changes communicated before delivery?
The purpose is not to assume every supplier is making mistakes.
It is to stop assuming every delivery is correct.
Protect the margin at the door
You can negotiate good prices, cost every recipe and establish a commercially sound selling price. None of that protects the margin if the wrong product arrives, the quantity is short or the invoice does not reflect the agreement.
Check the order.
Count the stock.
Verify the weight.
Review the price.
Record the discrepancy.
Follow the credit until it appears.
A delivery is not correct because it arrived.
It is correct because somebody checked.
