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Warehouse Management

Warehouse Receiving Process: Steps, Controls and Software Support

Sherman Hsieh

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Last updated: October 8, 2026 · Independent guide · We do not sell rankings or coverage.

The warehouse receiving process is the set of steps that turns a truck at your dock into available, correctly valued inventory: you schedule the delivery, check the freight against the purchase order or advance ship notice (ASN), count and inspect it, resolve any overages, shortages or damage, post the receipt, and put the goods away. The receipt you post also feeds accounts payable, because it is the second document in the three-way match between purchase order, receipt and vendor invoice. Below are the stages, the controls for each, and what your WMS and ERP do along the way.

The receiving process at a glance

1. Plan the inbound load. Confirm the purchase order, book a dock appointment and load any ASN.
2. Check in the carrier and unload. Check the bill of lading and seals, and note visible damage before you sign.
3. Identify and count. Scan labels against the ASN, or count blind.
4. Inspect. Check condition, item identity, lot and expiry data.
5. Resolve discrepancies. Record overages, shortages and damage (OS&D) and start supplier or carrier claims.
6. Post the receipt. Update inventory in the WMS and ERP and create the accrual AP will clear.
7. Put away. Move goods to a storage or pick location and confirm by scan.
8. Close the loop with AP. Match the invoice to the purchase order and receipt within set tolerances.

Who owns each stage

This RACI-style summary assumes a distributor with separate warehouse and accounts payable teams. Smaller operations combine roles, but keep the person who counts separate from the person who approves payment.

Stage 1: Plan the inbound load

The receiving lead owns the dock schedule. Inputs are open purchase orders, supplier ship dates and, where suppliers trade by EDI, the ASN that follows the EDI 850 purchase order. The output is an expected receipt in the WMS that the dock team can scan against, plus a labor plan for the day.

The main control is that nothing is unloaded without an open purchase order or a documented exception. Common failures are carriers without appointments, late ASNs and buyers changing order quantities without telling the dock. If you require ASNs from suppliers, the EDI 856 ASN has to reach you before the freight, and its pallet labels must match its contents.

Stage 2: Check in the carrier and unload

A dock associate checks the bill of lading against the appointment, records trailer and seal numbers, and looks for visible damage. The output is the signed delivery receipt. The control is a rule that associates note short pieces, crushed cartons and broken seals on that receipt before signing, because unrecorded exceptions are harder to recover later.

For freight moving by a US motor carrier, federal law sets the outer limits on claims. Under 49 U.S.C. 14706, a carrier may not set a period shorter than 9 months for filing a loss or damage claim, or shorter than 2 years for bringing a civil action after it disallows the claim. Under 49 CFR Part 370, a valid written claim must identify the shipment, assert liability and ask for a specified or determinable amount; the carrier must acknowledge it within 30 days and pay, decline or make a firm offer within 120 days. Build your OS&D procedure around your carrier contract terms within those limits.

Stage 3: Identify and count (ASN-based or blind)

In ASN-based receiving, the receiver scans the SSCC on each GS1-128 pallet or carton label, and the WMS pulls the expected items and quantities from the ASN. GS1 defines the SSCC as the key that identifies a logistic unit. When labels and ASN agree, one scan receives the pallet; when they do not, the receiver breaks it down and counts by item.

Blind receiving means two different things depending on the software, and you should confirm which one a vendor means:

• Hidden expected quantity. In Oracle Purchasing and iProcurement, blind receiving means the person entering the receipt does not see the quantity ordered, the quantity already received or a default receipt quantity. Oracle notes that receiving date and quantity tolerances are ignored when blind receiving is enabled.
• Receiving without an ASN. Infor WMS offers “Blind New ASN” and “Blind No ASN” options on its RF receiving menu alongside ASN/Receipt, ASN/PO Receipt and PO Receipt options. Infoplus, a WMS vendor, uses “blind receipt” for freight that arrives with no ASN and lets you set an ASN rule per item (ASN Required, ASN Allowed or ASN Not Allowed).

ASN scanning is faster when supplier data is reliable, but a receiver who sees the expected number tends to confirm it. A common control is to run ASN receiving for suppliers with a good accuracy record and switch new or problem suppliers to blind counts, or to blind-count a sample of ASN receipts each week.

Stage 4: Inspect

The receiver or a QC inspector checks that the item, unit of measure and pack size match the order, and captures lot numbers, serial numbers and expiry dates where the item requires them. Items needing quality review go to a hold status or a quarantine location instead of available stock. The output is a status on each line: accepted, held or rejected.

Failures here are usually master data: a supplier changes a case pack from 12 to 10, the ERP still says 12, and every count after that is wrong. Inventory errors created at the dock surface later as mis-picks and stock discrepancies, so treat unit-of-measure mismatches as a stop-and-escalate event.

Stage 5: Resolve overages, shortages and damage

The receiving lead records each discrepancy and the buyer decides how to handle supplier errors. Outputs are an OS&D record and, where needed, a supplier return, debit memo request or carrier claim.

Set over-receipt rules in the system instead of leaving them to judgment at the dock. In Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, over-receipt codes define an Over-Receipt Tolerance % and can require approval before the extra quantity is accepted; you assign codes to items or vendors. Separate carrier issues (transit damage, short pieces against the bill of lading) from supplier issues (wrong item, short against the ASN).

Illustration (constructed numbers): a purchase order and ASN show 200 cases. The blind count finds 196 cases, and 3 of them are crushed. The delivery receipt was signed “3 cartons damaged” but showed no shortage. You would receive 193 good cases, put 3 damaged cases in a hold location for a carrier claim, and raise the 4-case shortage with the supplier against its ASN. An invoice for 200 cases would then fail the three-way match until the supplier issues a credit.

Stage 6: Post the receipt in the WMS and ERP

Posting is where the physical receipt becomes a system record. In NetSuite WMS, receiving against an inbound shipment on the mobile app creates one item receipt per linked purchase order and updates received quantities on the purchase order and the inbound shipment, unless you activate the “Manually post item receipts?” rule. In Business Central, posting a warehouse receipt updates the source documents and adds the items to inventory.

The accounting effect depends on setup. In Business Central, if you select Expected Cost Posting to G/L, the receipt posts expected cost to interim accounts (Inventory Account (Interim) and Invt. Accrual Acc. (Interim)), and the invoice later clears them and posts actual cost to inventory. A growing received-not-invoiced balance is often the first sign that receipts are posted late or against the wrong order.

Stage 7: Put away

A putaway driver moves goods from the dock or an inbound staging location to a storage or pick location and confirms the move by scanning the destination bin. NetSuite WMS has a “Stage received items before putting away?” rule that sends receipts to inbound staging bins first. In Business Central, when both Require Receipts and Require Put-aways are on, items cannot be picked until they are put away, and in warehouses using directed put-away and pick, put-away templates suggest bins based on fixed or floating bin rules, bin rankings and fixed-bin minimum and maximum quantities.

The control is scan confirmation at the destination. The common failure is goods left in staging, visible in the system but impossible to pick.

Stage 8: Close the loop with accounts payable

The AP clerk matches the vendor bill to the purchase order and the receipt (see our guide to the EDI 810 invoice for how EDI invoices are checked). NetSuite’s 3 Way Match Vendor Bill Approval workflow, part of its Approvals Workflow SuiteApp, compares the bill with both the purchase order and the item receipt using percentage tolerance limits and absolute quantity difference limits set on item, vendor and subsidiary records. In April 2026, Acumatica invited distribution customers to beta test a three-way matching prototype, with mismatched bills placed on a Matching Hold status, and said the feature was preliminarily targeted for its 27R1 release.

The control that ties receiving to AP is that the receipt quantity, not the invoice quantity, drives payment.

Metrics to track

• Dock-to-stock cycle time: hours from arrival to putaway confirmed. A 2026 summary of the WERC DC Measures report, published by forklift maker Hyster-Yale, puts the best-in-class threshold at under 3.1 hours.
• Supplier orders received with correct documentation: the same summary gives a best-in-class level of 99% or higher.
• ASN accuracy by supplier: share of ASN receipts needing no adjustment.
• OS&D rate: receipts with any discrepancy, by supplier and carrier.
• Receiving productivity: lines, cases or pallets received per labor hour.
• Staging dwell time: time from receipt posting to putaway.
• Received-not-invoiced aging: receipts without a matched bill after 30, 60 and 90 days.

How software supports each stage

Planning: an EDI provider or connector loads ASNs; NetSuite Inbound Shipment Management holds expected shipments, though it only receives shipments in In Transit or Partially Received status. Counting: RF scanning in Infor WMS, NetSuite WMS or Infoplus handles ASN and no-ASN receipts, and Oracle supports hidden-quantity blind receiving. Discrepancies: Business Central over-receipt codes. Posting: ERP inventory and general ledger, such as Business Central expected cost posting. Putaway: Business Central put-away templates and NetSuite WMS staging. AP matching: NetSuite’s 3 Way Match workflow, or an AP automation tool where the ERP lacks native matching.

Basic ERP receiving is often enough until you need license plate tracking, directed putaway or RF scanning across sites. When you add a WMS, decide which system owns receipt posting so inventory and the accrual are not created twice.

How we researched this

We read the federal rules on motor carrier claims (49 U.S.C. 14706 and 49 CFR Part 370), vendor documentation from Microsoft, Oracle (NetSuite and Oracle Purchasing), Infor, Infoplus and Acumatica, and the WERC benchmark summary published by Hyster-Yale. We checked them on October 7 and 8, 2026. We also reviewed the top search results for “warehouse receiving process,” including pages from Easyship, Mintsoft and Buske Logistics, which sell shipping software, WMS software and 3PL services. Those pages cover the basic steps but say little about blind receiving, OS&D, carrier claim rules or the ERP accounting entry.

Related guides

• Cross-Docking Software: Planned vs Opportunistic Flow
• Warehouse Slotting Software: When You Need It (2026)
• Three-Way Match in AP: How It Works and Software Options

Frequently asked questions

What is blind receiving in a warehouse?

It usually means the receiver counts the freight without seeing the expected quantity, as in Oracle’s blind receiving option. Some WMS vendors, including Infoplus and Infor, also use the term for receiving freight that arrived without an ASN. Ask vendors which meaning they use.

Is ASN receiving better than blind receiving?

ASN receiving is faster when supplier labels and ASNs are accurate. Blind receiving gives an independent count that catches supplier errors. Many distributors use ASN receiving for reliable suppliers and blind counts for new or problem ones.

How long do I have to file a freight damage claim in the US?

Federal law says a motor carrier cannot give you less than 9 months to file a claim, under 49 U.S.C. 14706. The carrier must acknowledge a written claim within 30 days and resolve it within 120 days under 49 CFR Part 370. Your bill of lading and carrier contract set the exact period.

What is a good dock-to-stock time?

A 2026 summary of the WERC DC Measures report puts best-in-class dock-to-stock time at under 3.1 hours. Your target depends on product mix, ASN quality and inspection needs.

Does the WMS or the ERP record the receipt?

Usually the WMS captures the scan and the ERP holds the financial record. In NetSuite WMS, receiving creates the ERP item receipt automatically unless you switch to manual posting.

Sources

• Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, 49 CFR Part 370, loss and damage claims, up to date as of October 5, 2026. ecfr.gov
• Legal Information Institute, 49 U.S.C. 14706, Liability of carriers under receipts and bills of lading, no date shown (subsection (e) enacted December 29, 1995). law.cornell.edu
• Oracle, iProcurement Implementation and Administration Guide, Release 12.2, Receipts, no date shown. docs.oracle.com
• Infor, Infor WMS 2024.x, Receiving using an RF device, generated April 25, 2024. docs.infor.com
• Infoplus (WMS vendor), Blind receiving without an ASN in the mobile app, no date shown. infopluscommerce.com
• GS1, Serial Shipping Container Code (SSCC), no date shown. gs1.org
• Microsoft Learn, Receive items (Business Central), last updated January 27, 2025. learn.microsoft.com
• Microsoft Learn, Receive more items than ordered with over-receipt codes (Business Central training module), June 11, 2025. learn.microsoft.com
• Microsoft Learn, Design details: expected cost posting (Business Central), last updated March 17, 2026. learn.microsoft.com
• Microsoft Learn, Set up put-away templates (Business Central), last updated May 2, 2025. learn.microsoft.com
• Oracle NetSuite Help Center, Receiving inbound shipment orders (NetSuite WMS), no date shown. docs.oracle.com
• Oracle NetSuite Help Center, Using Inbound Shipment Management, no date shown. docs.oracle.com
• Oracle NetSuite Help Center, Setting tolerance and difference limits (3 Way Match Vendor Bill Approval), no date shown. docs.oracle.com
• Acumatica Community, Three-way matching beta testing, posted by an Acumatica product manager, April 15, 2026. community.acumatica.com
• Hyster-Yale (forklift manufacturer), Benchmarking and improving distribution center metrics, summarizing the WERC 2026 DC Measures report, 2026, no exact date shown. yale.com
• WERC, WERC’s 2026 DC Measures report delivers benchmarks for an industry at an inflection point, May 16, 2026. werc.org

7356 Overall Score

Sherman Hsieh

CEO & Editor-in-Chief, Business-Software.com
Independent analysis of enterprise software — ERP, CRM and more

Sherman Hsieh is the founder, CEO, and editor-in-chief of Business-Software.com. He leads the site's independent, buyer-focused coverage of ERP, CRM, and other business systems, including vendor-neutral comparisons, pricing analysis, and implementation guidance. Before founding Business-Software.com, Sherman was an executive at Siebel ...