Logistics
The warehouse storing for several owners
You hold goods that are not yours, for several clients at once. What protects you is knowing at all times what belongs to whom.
On your racking there are goods belonging to six different companies. None is yours and you answer for all of it while it sits there. It is a comfortable position commercially and an uncomfortable one documentarily: **the risk is not in what you do, it is in what you cannot show**.
The four questions you will be asked
| Question | What answers it |
|---|---|
| What came in, when and from whom? | The intake record, with condition on arrival |
| Under what conditions was it stored? | The warehouse records for that period |
| What went out, when and on whose order? | The despatch record and who authorised it |
| **How do you know this belongs to that client?** | **Separation and identification — where it fails** |
Important
**Receiving without checking is accepting what arrived as it arrived.** It is the same loading-bay rule as in any sector, and here it weighs double because the goods are not yours: if they come in damaged or short and you sign without reservation, the damage moves inside your custody period. Recording condition on arrival —even one line and a photo— is the difference between holding goods and answering for what someone else broke.
What to agree with each client
- 1
Who may order a despatch and how that is verified
This is where serious problems enter, not the stocktake.
- 2
What is checked on receipt and what is recorded
Quantity, condition, temperature where relevant, accompanying paperwork.
- 3
What happens to goods arriving in poor condition
Accept under reservation, reject or isolate. Decided beforehand.
- 4
And what happens if a client stops paying or vanishes
Awkward to agree and worse to resolve with nothing written.
Watch out
Big trouble does not enter through the warehouse: **it enters through the despatch order**. A phone call, an email from a lookalike address, someone claiming to be from the client. The goods leave, and showing afterwards that the order looked legitimate is very hard with no procedure in place. Who may request a despatch, through which channel and how it is verified must be agreed in writing with each client — not decided by whoever is in the office that afternoon.
Worth knowing
What duties a bailee assumes, what they answer for regarding others' goods and what documentation they must keep depends on the contract and on the rules applying to the activity and product type. **Your adviser settles that**; here we cover what in practice decides whether you can show you complied.
›Am I liable for my clients' goods?
While in your custody, on the contract's terms. Hence the arrival condition.
›Can I release goods on a phone call?
That is exactly where problems enter. Agree the procedure.
›What if a client vanishes?
With nothing written, a long problem. Agree it at the outset.
A real case
The situation
A damaged pallet comes in and the receipt is signed with nothing recorded.
What you do
- Records condition on arrival, with a photo, and accepts under reservation
What you get
The damage does not move inside the custody period.
The situation
Goods are released on a phone call from someone claiming to be the client.
What you do
- Agrees in writing who may order despatches and how it is verified
What you get
Releases stop depending on the judgement of whoever answers the phone.
The situation
A client claims product was short and there is no record of exactly what came in.
What you do
- Logs intakes with quantity, condition and accompanying paperwork
What you get
The claim is settled with the record instead of two versions.
The situation
Two owners share racking and goods get confused.
What you do
- Records what occupies each location
What you get
Identity is preserved by location.
The situation
An owner 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
One owner's goods are despatched to another by mistake.
What you do
- Checks the owner before every despatch
What you get
The error is avoided at the bay.
This article answers
- logistics warehouse third party goods
- what a logistics operator is liable for
- stock control for several clients
- documentation for goods on deposit