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  2. Order Fulfillment
  3. Fulfillment Partners
  4. Receiving Inbounds

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The following instructions cover how to Receive Inbound Shipments, including what to do if units are delivered damaged, barcodes aren't matching expected values, units are missing, or extra unexpected units are received, and includes best practices accordingly. This process is necessary to ensure data integrity and helps to provide a more accurate basis for Cycle Counts.  

 

Note: It is extremely important that inventory is accurately weighed and measured so that all the Cahoot automations work together properly. Please review How to Weigh and Measure Products BEFORE reviewing the content below. You must also be sure to accurately count and input the SKU quantities received. 


Video Walkthrough



Video Timestamps
Jump directly to a specific part of the Video:

0:00 Mark as Arrived
0:38 Upload Shipping Documents
1:36 Receiving Good Units
6:38 Receiving Damaged Units
8:25 Receiving Discrepancies
9:15 Confirming Issue Details
9:57 Submitting Invoices
IMPORTANT: If you allow the Receive Inbound page to remain idle for too long you may experience a session time-out. To avoid this, it's best to have all the necessary information gathered in one place before starting. OR, save your work periodically for larger Inbound Shipments (i.e. a Partial Receipt) by clicking Save Changes, followed by Receive Inbound (again).

 

Step-by-Step Guide 

1. Navigate to Work Orders > All Inbounds. On the Assigned to Me tab, click the Inbound ID for the shipment you are Receiving.

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2. Click the Mark as Arrived button at the top of the page after uploading the Required Shipping Documents and entering your name & date in the Completed By and Date of Arrival at Warehouse fields down below. Then click Yes to confirm.

Note: In order to Mark as Arrived, you first must upload the Signed Bill of Lading (if LTL/FTL) and Pictures of Pallets/Parcels. Please take thorough pictures of exactly how the shipment arrived and attach them using the respective Upload link.

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3. When an LTL shipment is delivered, you must visually inspect the shipment briefly and make note of any damages you observe on the Bill of Lading. Be sure to have the driver sign it and take a copy. Attach the Signed Bill of Lading to the Shipping Documents section using the Upload link.

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VERY IMPORTANT: This documentation is very important to avoid taking responsibility for inventory damaged while in transit.

 

4. Click the Receive Inbound button at the top of the page.

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Note: Enter the Warehouse Arrival Date if the items you are receiving arrived later than previous receipts. This is typically needed when parcels deliver on separate days. If the shipment all arrived together then you do not need to adjust this date, just click Confirm.
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5. On the Receive Inbound screen, click into the Barcode field and Scan the first barcode. The product row will get selected automatically based on the barcode scanned (You can also manually activate rows using the checkbox in the Receive column.)

Important: Every unique SKU must have its own scannable Barcode Label. If any item is missing a barcode label, please send a picture of the item to Cahoot Support in the Conversations panel so Cahoot can advise on next steps. Do not attempt to receive such items without the barcode.  

 

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6. Next, enter the actual Quantity Received in Good (New) Condition and the UNIQUE Bin Location where this product will be stored. It must be a unique location unless the quantity received requires more storage space than your Bin Locations will allow. In this case, add multiple Bin Locations to this same field and comma separate them (C-21, C-22).

Note: The Quantity Received will sometimes differ from the expected Quantity Sent. Also, do NOT count and enter damaged units as Good Qty. If you receive any damages, follow the instructions, here.

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7. Enter the Item Dimensions and Weights for each SKU. Measure the Product Dimensions to the nearest quarter inch (erring on the side of rounding up, not down), and Weigh the Product to the nearest tenth of a pound or ounce (one decimal place like 0.5 lbs or 8.4 oz). Make sure you select the correct Unit of Measure in the drop down (lbs or oz) depending on what your scale reads. 

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CRITICAL: Learn more about How to Measure and Weigh Products.

 It is very important NOT to round to whole numbers. We rely on the accuracy of your numbers so Cahoot can automatically select the best packaging and create the shipping label accordingly. Inaccurate numbers mean more communication with Cahoot Support about an order that doesn’t fit in an assigned box. This leads to voiding and recreating shipping labels, among other unnecessary work for all involved.

 

8. Select your Suggested Packaging in the drop down. This is the packaging you would ship this product in if it were your own SKU.

Note: Hover over the Tool Tip icon for more information about each Suggested Packaging type. For example, a product that is “Ready to Ship” does not require any overpacking. You can simply put the shipping label directly on the "as-is" packaging, and you would expect it to ship and deliver safely.
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9. If you scan a barcode for a replenishment SKU, Cahoot will pre-populate the Barcode Value, Bin Location, Product Dimensions & Weights, and the Suggested Packaging that was entered the first time the product was received. 

There will be no need to enter the data again unless they are noticeably different, such as, if retail packaging has changed. This is rare, but if it does happen, please contact Cahoot Support using the Inbound Conversation for help with the next steps.

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9A. Cahoot will pre-populate the Bin Locations based on what was entered previously. If there is existing inventory still in that location, you wont be able to change the Bin from the inbound page. But if the SKU is out of stock, the Bin Location field will become editable so you can add a new Bin, if it's needed.
If it’s not possible to add new inventory to the existing Bin Location, you may put it in a separate unique Bin Location, but you’ll have to update the Bin in the Product Editor, which you can get to via the Products menu. Learn more about Adding Bin Locations.

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10. When you’re done receiving (for now), sign your name in the Completed By field, click Save Changes.

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10A. Cahoot will then create an Inbound Receipt, and these SKUs will move to the Received status once the Qty Received matches with the Qty Sent. You can also edit your entries by clicking into the Receipt and selecting the Edit Inbound Receipt button.

Note: You can only edit Receipts that are in Partially Received or Received status. Once the SKUs are live and inventory is committed, the Inbound Receipts column will be updated to Completed status and will no longer be editable. Learn more about how to Edit Inbound Receipts.

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11. To receive more inventory, click the Receive Inbound button to resume receiving.

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If you didn’t receive all the units expected, enter what you did receive, and Cahoot Support work with the Seller to figure out where the missing units are. Learn more about how to handle and complete inbounds that have quantity discrepancies, here. 

 

Note: Please take note of any Special Handling Instructions when you see the “comment” icon. This means there may be some prep or special shipping supplies required (e.g. bubble wrap), or special storage requirements.

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Learn more about Work Orders.

 

Receiving Damaged Units

When receiving an inbound, your team will unbox and inspect all inventory as you place the SKUs in their unique Bin Locations. When you come across damaged units during receiving, you are required to take pictures and upload them under the Damaged section for the respective line item(s). We suggest you set those damaged units aside until you’re done receiving all the Good units. You can then come back and receive all the damaged units together when you have the pictures available to easily attach/upload them. Damaged units should be documented as follows:

 

12. Be sure you are on the Receive Inbound page.

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13. Scan the Barcode or check the box next to the SKU you are receiving damaged units for, and enter the Quantity of damaged units in the DAMAGED (yellow) section.

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15. Enter a unique Bin Location for the damaged units.

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Tip: You may store damaged units in a common Bin Location set aside for this purpose, but damaged units should not be co-mingled with Good units. Damaged units should have their own unique Bin Location separate from Good units.

 

16. Click the Upload link in the Pictures column of the DAMAGED section and attach the pictures of damages for that item (You won’t be able to save the inbound without pictures attached).

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Note: It is important that the pictures show exactly what was damaged. You can upload more than 1 picture, if needed. Please make sure you take pictures of the outside packaging if it was also damaged so we can create a claim with the carrier.
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17. After filling out the DAMAGED Section (damaged Qty, Bin Location, and Pictures) enter the rest of the information as previously discussed, then enter your name in the Completed By field at the bottom of the page and click Save Changes.

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18. After all units are received and the Item Receipt status is updated to Received or Completed, go back into the Inbound and print any barcode labels needed to barcode the inventory, whether Good or Damaged. This can be done by clicking the Other Actions drop-down arrow next to the Submit Invoice button in the upper right corner, then clicking Barcode Labels.

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Learn more about Printing Barcodes.

 

Note: If you receive a SKU with a different barcode than what’s shown in your inbound, you can overwrite it by clicking into the barcode field and scanning the barcode, PLEASE DO NOT MANUALLY TYPE IT IN. The system will flag the barcode change and add the new barcode as an alternate barcode so that it can be used in Scan Verification.

Again, please DO NOT manually enter the barcode unless it’s not scannable. Even then, make sure to notify Cahoot Support to have the product re-barcoded with a scannable barcode.

 

VERY IMPORTANT! You must make sure that the products are identical when you’re entering a new barcode for a product. An error here means you could start fulfilling orders using the wrong product. TRIPLE CHECK that the alternate barcode you’re entering is accurate for the product in hand.


Inbound Discrepancies

The following steps only apply if you encountered any discrepancies from what was expected. After triple counting the actual Qty Received vs. the Qty Sent, the following process will confirm the issues and allow you to mark the inbound as fully Received.

 

19. After triple checking the Qty you entered is correct, select, No More Items to Receive under the Other Actions drop down at the top of the page.

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20. Next, it will ask you to Confirm the quantity Discrepancies. On the Confirm Inbound page, verify the Qty Received and review the Issue Details to make sure it aligns with the issues observed. Enter your name in the Confirmed By section, and click Confirm. This will move the inbound status from Partially Received to Received.

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Edit Inbound Receipts

Follow the steps below if you need to make changes to the Qty Received or any SKU Data that was previously entered. 

 

20. Click into the Receipt Number on the inbound page. This will bring you to the Receipt page, where you can click Edit Inbound Receipt to make the necessary changes.

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21. Change the Qty Received and add/update Damaged Qty, if needed. You can also delete individual line items and start over by selecting the trash can icon under the Action column.

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NOTE: To delete a Receipt that only contains 1 line item, you must click Delete Inbound Receipt under the Other Actions drop down.

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Submitting Invoices

Once the Inbound is fully Received, the Submit Invoice button will appear at the top of the page next to the Other Actions button.


1. Click the Inbound ID to go back to the Inbound page.

2. Click Submit Invoice at the top of the page.

3. Enter your 6-digit PIN#. (if you don’t have one, create a Support Ticket, and Cahoot Support will make sure to create one for you).


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Tip: If you have damaged units in this inbound, make sure to include the re-barcoding fee to your invoice along with your Receiving time. Learn more about how to Submit Invoices to Cahoot.

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