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Receiving

OS&D receiving for LTL freight

OS&D receiving is catching a shipment that arrives Over, Short or Damaged before it gets shelved unnoticed. LanePilot captures the discrepancy on the same check-in screen used for every receipt, ties it to the purchase order and vendor, and drafts the chargeback letter you review and send to recover the cost. Built for small to mid-sized shippers who run their own inbound dock, not a claims network or a broker standing between you and the vendor.

By Aaron Brown, Founder & CEO · Reviewed by Aaron Brown · Published · Updated

Before, during, after

The same three steps every time, so a discrepancy is a normal part of receiving rather than a special process someone has to remember.

Before

The PO and the carrier are on record

The purchase order is created or CSV imported, with vendor, item, quantity and unit cost attached. If a preferred carrier is set for that vendor in the Receiving Guide, which comes with LanePilot Warehouse, an inbound shipment that shows up on a different carrier gets flagged automatically before anyone opens a box.

During

The discrepancy gets captured, not guessed at

The receiver checks the shipment in against the PO line by line, on the same screen used for every normal receipt. Any line that is over, short or damaged gets marked as such, with a required reason that goes on the record. Nothing about this depends on remembering to fill out a separate claim form later.

After

Stock is honest, and the chargeback is drafted

Damaged or held units post to inventory in that status and stop counting as available stock, with the reason on the movement history. LanePilot drafts the vendor chargeback letter from the discrepancy, showing the PO, the expected quantity, and what actually arrived. You review it and send it to the vendor yourself.

The decision at the dock

Every receipt starts the same way: inspect before you sign. What you find from there decides what gets noted, photographed and captured before the freight moves on.

OS&D receiving decision treeFreight arrives at your dock. Inspect the shipment before signing the delivery receipt. If the count is short, note the shortage and the missing quantity on the delivery receipt before you sign, and capture a reason. If the count is over, note the overage and the extra quantity on the delivery receipt before you sign, and capture a reason. If freight is visibly damaged, note it on the delivery receipt before you sign, photograph it, and capture a reason. If nothing looks wrong, sign for the shipment and inspect fully as you unpack. If concealed damage turns up after unpacking, photograph it, capture a reason, and report it right away: concealed damage carries a much tighter reporting window than damage found at delivery.orororFreight arrives at your dockInspect before you signCount pieces against the bill oflading and check the freight beforeyou sign the delivery receipt.Depending on what you find at inspection:ShortageFewer pieces arrive than the billof lading lists.Required:Note the shortage and the missingquantity on the delivery receiptbefore you sign. Capture a reason.OverageMore pieces arrive than the billof lading lists.Required:Note the overage and the extraquantity on the delivery receiptbefore you sign. Capture a reason.Visible damagePackaging or freight is visiblydamaged.Required:Note the damage on the deliveryreceipt before you sign. Photographit and capture a reason.No visible issues at deliveryNothing looks wrong at the dock.Then:Sign for the shipment, theninspect fully as you unpack.Concealed damage found laterDamage not visible at deliveryturns up once you unpack.Required:Photograph it, capture a reason,and report it right away. Concealeddamage carries a much tighterreporting window than damagefound at delivery.
A general OS&D decision tree for receiving LTL freight, not specific to any one carrier or contract. Inspect before signing the delivery receipt, then note a shortage, overage or visible damage on the receipt before you sign, with a reason captured for each. Concealed damage found after unpacking should be reported quickly, since it typically carries a much tighter reporting window than damage caught at delivery.

A packaging-supply PO, worked end to end

A purchase order for 40 cartons of packaging supplies arrives on a pallet by LTL carrier. The receiver checks it in against the PO: 35 cartons are good, 3 are crushed, and 2 never showed up on the truck. The 3 damaged cartons are marked Damaged with a reason, the 2 missing cartons are marked as a shortage, and both post to the movement history against that PO. The 3 damaged cartons stay in inventory but stop counting as available stock. LanePilot drafts a vendor chargeback letter itemizing the 2 short and 3 damaged units against the PO's unit cost, ready to review and send to the vendor.

What is built, what needs Warehouse, what is not built

A capability list is only useful if it says where the line actually is. Here is the line.

Built today

  • Included with Warehouse Essentials ($79/mo) or the 37-day free trial. None of it needs the full $119 Warehouse tier
  • OS&D capture at the point of receiving: overage, shortage and damage, each with a required reason
  • Receiving tied to the purchase order, with full receive, undo, and a printable receiving sheet
  • Damaged and held stock excluded from available inventory automatically, with reason-coded movement history
  • Pending carrier ratings on inbound shipments, held for Teammate Lead approval before they count on the scorecard

Needs Warehouse

  • Receiving Guide: preferred carriers per vendor, with inbound carrier-mismatch flagging (rule based)
  • The vendor chargeback letter drafted from a discrepancy. LanePilot Warehouse is $119 a month, its own line item, additive to any freight plan and never a replacement for one
  • The visual warehouse map for slotting the good stock once it is checked in
  • LanePilot Warehouse carries no freight allowances of its own, quote credits and invoice audits still draw from whichever freight plan it is added to

Not built, do not assume it

  • LanePilot does not audit inbound freight invoices automatically today. The audit engine runs on outbound freight; on inbound, cost is entered manually and recovery runs through the discrepancy you capture at receiving, not an automated line-by-line invoice comparison
  • LanePilot does not send, file or negotiate the chargeback with the vendor. It drafts the letter; you send it
  • Serial numbers are captured during receiving on serial-tracked SKUs, but an OS&D discrepancy is recorded against the line and its quantity, not against the individual serial

See the rest of the platform

LTL TMS + WMS for small to mid-sized shippers sees the whole platform, quoting and booking outbound freight in the same system that receives inbound freight at the dock.

How LanePilot works covers outbound invoice auditing, dispute letters and freight claims management for freight you ship.

Pricing has the full breakdown of LanePilot Warehouse, dock seats, and what receiving and inventory include at each level.

LanePilot vs a traditional TMS compares the whole product to a booking-only setup, including where a traditional TMS still wins.

Common questions

What does OS&D mean in freight receiving?

Over, Short and Damaged: the three ways a shipment can arrive not matching what was ordered. Over means more arrived than the PO called for, short means some never showed up, and damaged means it arrived broken or unusable. Catching which one happened, and on which line, is what makes a vendor chargeback or carrier claim possible in the first place.

Do I need LanePilot Warehouse to use OS&D receiving?

You need a LanePilot Warehouse subscription, but not the full $119 tier for the capture itself. Every warehouse account starts with a 37-day free trial, no card required. After that, receiving against the PO and OS&D capture, marking a line over, short or damaged with a reason, are included in Warehouse Essentials at $79 a month. LanePilot Warehouse, at $119 a month, is what turns that discrepancy into a drafted vendor chargeback letter, plus the visual warehouse map. Bin locations and bin-level putaway are included in Essentials. Both sit additive to any freight plan and never sold instead of one.

Do I need to buy a dock seat to receive freight?

No. Any role in your organization can check in a shipment once Warehouse is active. Dock seats, $25 a month each, only govern how many dock-only workers you can invite to log in on their own account; they are not a requirement to receive.

Does LanePilot file the vendor chargeback for me?

No. LanePilot drafts the chargeback letter from the discrepancy it captured, itemized against the PO. You review it and send it to the vendor. LanePilot does not contact, negotiate with, or act on your behalf with a vendor or a carrier.

See LanePilot catch a billing error

Send a real outbound freight invoice and the original quote for that shipment, and LanePilot shows you what it finds. Free, no account needed. Warehouse and receiving open up with a free account.

Run a free invoice audit

Want the receiving workflow first? See how it works or see LanePilot Warehouse pricing.