Incoming shipments will be received and inspected by Central Receiving personnel immediately after receipt.
The receiving inspection performed will include the following:
A careful comparison of the number of pieces received with the number listed on the freight bill.
Examination of the cartons for any evidence of damage.
Examination of the contents for obvious damage if cartons show any evidence of possible damage.
Notation of any shortage or damage will be made on the freight bill before it is signed and the carrier released.
If the receiving inspection has revealed any reason to suspect concealed damage, the requisitioning department will be notified and arrangements will be made for a thorough examination of the equipment by qualified personnel.
If either obvious or concealed damage is discovered in the inspection, Central Receiving personnel will arrange for a damage inspection report to be completed by the carrier.
If concealed damages are detected after the shipment has been delivered by Central Receiving, departments should notify the Central Receiving Office immediately. Remember, concealed damage claims must be filled with the carrier within 15 days of receipt of the freight in the Central Receiving Warehouse.
A receiving document called a "Key Rec" will be completed which will record all information pertinent to the shipment, including shortages or damages. Normally three copies of the Key-Rec will be prepared and distributed as follows:
Central Receiving Office; permanent file arranged sequentially by the Key-Rec number.
Requisitioning Department; attached to the package(s) being delivered.
Requisitioning Department; for signature and return to Central Receiving for the "acknowledged delivery" file. This file will be arranged alphabetically by requisitioning department.
In addition to the normal distribution of the Key-Rec, whenever damage is involved Central Receiving will forward to the appropriate Buyer in the Department of Procurement Services a fourth copy of the Key-Rec, the carrier's damage inspection report and the freight bill. The Buyer should promptly notify the vendor of the damage and will provide the vendor with the necessary documentation to support a claim against the carrier. It is the responsibility of the vendor to settle damage claims with the carrier whenever shipments are made "F.O.B. Destination".
"Collect" freight bills will be handled in one of the following manners, depending on the "F.O.B." terms.
If the terms of the purchase order authorizing the shipment are "F.O.B. Destination", Central Receiving personnel will notify the department by phone that the shipment has arrived "freight collect" and if they want to accept the shipment, they should notify the vendor requesting that freight charges be reversed.
If the terms of the purchase order authorize the shipment are "F.O.B. Shipping Point", or if there is no record of any purchase order pertaining to the shipment, the department will be notified of the collect shipment. It will be the department's responsibility to either pay the collect charges or provide Central Receiving with a purchase order number against which the freight can be charged.
After the receiving inspection has been performed and the receiving report prepared, delivery specialist will redeliver small parcels to the recipient's specific campus address within 1–2 days of receipt and LTL deliveries will be held for up to 7 days for departmental pickup.
Delivery to the requisitioning department will include moving the material to the on-campus location designated by the procurement requisition and obtaining the signature of a representative of the requisitioning department on the Key-Rec to acknowledge that the delivery has been satisfactorily accomplished.
The requisitioning department is responsible for making final inspection of their merchandise.
Exceptional shipments will not be received at Central Receiving when addressed to a Texas A&M department or System member. Examples of such shipments are live animals, radioactive materials, refrigerated items, large loads for a single destination for which unloading and reloading would be impractical, shipments that are to be installed by vendor, and shipments that read "inside delivery".