It is wise to inspect a purchase product either before delivery or before acceptance. Inspection can be made at the supplier’s facility or at the buyer’s location. For international purchases, outside organizations can be hired to conduct inspections at foreign locations before shipment is actually made. Buyers sometimes require inspections at various stages of the product manufacture.

In-house inspections can be done by a receiving clerk or anyone in your organization, but they should be done promptly. Delaying inspection may forfeit any right to return the goods or to be compensated for defective or damaged goods. Receiving clerks can refuse to accept goods from the carrier if the package is obviously damaged. Even if accepted, a description of the damage should be made on the carrier’s receipt. Concealed damage discovered inside the package should be immediately reported to the carrier and the supplier as soon as discovered.

Without prompt inspection being reported to the supplier, there is a good chance the supplier will claim the product was in good shape when picked up by the carrier. In some cases the supplier will want to visit your facilities to look at the damage. In other cases the supplier will ask that the goods be returned for his evaluation.

Thorough inspection involves more than checking for damage. A good inspection checks to see if the received product matches the specifications on the order. It checks to see that the quantity received matches the quantity ordered and the quantity indicated on the receiving document. Any differences need to be clearly reported to accounting so the invoice can be compared to the amount received or payment amount can be adjusted.

Obtaining well-qualified and reliable suppliers will reduce inspection cost. Except for items requiring extremely critical specifications, as more confidence in a supplier’s performance is accumulated, random inspections may be substituted for inspection of every piece.

The cost of verifying counts can be reduced for small low value items, such as hardware, by weighing and counting small samples, and then comparing the counts with the calculated counts for the weight of the total shipment.