Logistics
Storing goods that are not yours
The goods are the client's, the risk while they sit inside may be yours, and what settles a claim is what was recorded on arrival.
Storing other people's goods is a trust business decided in two very short moments: when the goods arrive and when they leave. In between come months when nothing happens — until the client opens a box and says it was already like that.
The two moments that decide everything
| Moment | What must be recorded | What it prevents |
|---|---|---|
| Arrival | Quantity, apparent condition and who delivered | A transport damage ending up as yours |
| Arrival, if something looks wrong | Photo and written reservation, that day | Arguing three months later with nothing to show |
| While stored | Movements, location and who accessed | «Two pallets are missing and nobody knows» |
| Departure | Who it was handed to and in what condition | A claim arriving after the goods have left |
Important
The second row is the one that nearly always fails and cannot be reconstructed: **goods that arrive damaged and are accepted without a word become, on paper, goods that were damaged inside**. Nobody will be able to prove otherwise months later, because there is nothing to show. The reservation is made at the time and with a photo, even if the driver is in a hurry and even if the relationship with that client is good: it is precisely what protects that relationship when the problem appears.
What to hold per client, not per warehouse
Watch out
That last point causes the most frights and gets the least preparation: **someone turns up to collect with a delivery note and good manners**. With no list of who may collect for each client, the decision falls to whoever is on the loading bay on a Friday afternoon. A short, current list consultable from the bay itself is worth more than any contract clause — because the contract is not at the door and the list is.
When the claim arrives
- 1
Pull the arrival record before replying
What was noted that day orders the whole conversation.
- 2
Check who accessed and when
Including the client's own people, who sometimes come in.
- 3
And answer with facts and dates, not impressions
«It arrived like this, here is the photo» settles what a long email cannot.
Worth knowing
What liability you take on as keeper, what limits the contract allows and which insurance is required depend on the type of storage and your country. **Your adviser or broker settles that**; here it is about recording what you will later have to prove.
›Must everything arriving be photographed?
Not everything: anything showing a mark, always; and sample the rest.
›What if the client accesses their own goods?
Record it the same: it is the only way to know what happened inside.
›How long to keep arrival and departure records?
Longer than the relationship: claims arrive late.
A real case
The situation
A warehouse takes in pallets with torn wrap and accepts them silently to keep unloading moving.
What you do
- Takes a photo and records a written reservation there and then, even with the lorry waiting
What you get
When the client claims three months later, the conversation starts from what was recorded that day.
The situation
Third-party goods arrive and their condition is not recorded.
What you do
- Captures the condition on entry
What you get
The later dispute has something to close on.
The situation
The owner takes stock and asks how much of theirs you hold.
What you do
- Records movements in and out per owner
What you get
You answer with a figure.
The situation
Two owners share a location and goods get confused.
What you do
- Records what occupies each location
What you get
Identity is preserved by location.
The situation
A consignment has sat for months without movement.
What you do
- Flags what has sat too long
What you get
The case is faced before it grows.
The situation
The owner disputes a despatch they do not remember requesting.
What you do
- Keeps who authorised each despatch
What you get
The authorisation has a name and a date.
This article answers
- third party warehouse documentation
- claim for damage to stored goods
- what to record when receiving a client's goods
- warehouse keeper liability