Purchasing & Receiving Orders

While there are friendly and helpful suppliers, there are some who are not as honest as they appear to be. Sometimes it isn’t your employees you need to watch, it is your suppliers. Implementing the proper controls can encourage suppliers to be more honest and to participate in fair practices.

Purchase Order Form

One of the best ways to keep track of what you have ordered is to create a purchase order form. A purchase order form allows you to record the number of cases or pounds of an item that has been ordered, the description of the item and the cost per unit. The order form should also include the name of the supplier, contact number, salesperson’s name and date of order. You should have a purchase order form for each supplier which will allow you to easily keep track of everything.

Quality Checks

Whether it is your chef, receiver or you as the manager/owner, all deliveries should be checked. Therefore keeping your purchase order forms on a clipboard near your delivery area is highly recommended. Conducting quality checks is a smart way of preventing drivers from skimming your account. Making them aware that you have proper controls in place will encourage them to be honest. A common problem among suppliers and drivers is skimming which is delivering an order that does not meet the restaurant’s quality standards or delivering the wrong quantity. Using your purchase order form is a great way to check if the right items ordered were delivered as well as if the quantity and price matches with what is outlined by the supplier’s invoice. Only you can identify if there is a price discrepancy. A driver can only follow what has been given on the invoice.

Sometimes the price terms you have negotiated with your supplier has not been inputted correctly therefore your price has not carried over onto the invoice.

Another important practice is to check the weight of the items. Therefore, you should have a heavy duty scale nearby. Be familiar with the packaging of the items. For example, a case of green peppers weighs 25lbs, green zucchini weighs 15lbs and a case of lemons contains a 130 count. The more you know, the faster you will be able to check your items. You will also appear much more knowledgeable and confident to your driver when you spot discrepancies within the delivery order.

For non-related food products, you would follow the same procedures in verifying all deliveries to ensure everything is consistent with your purchase order form.

Credit Note

A credit note is offered when a product has to be returned. Most suppliers should have their own credit notes whereby the driver is responsible for recording the amount credited to you. Through my experience it is best to be prepared and to create your own company credit note. Similar to a purchase order form, a credit note should include the following sections; quantity, description, weight and price per unit. You should also include the name of the supplier, date, contact number, receiver name (print), signature line for the receiver and signature line for the driver. Receiving a driver’s signature is crucial since it is the only proof that the credit was approved. It doesn’t necessarily mean you cannot receive a credit without a driver’s signature, but it will be much more difficult and you better be prepared to have a good explanation.

Credit notes are not only given for products that were damaged or spoiled. Errors on behalf of the supplier may really be an attempt to take advantage of you. An item that has been charged correctly may have been purposely shorted or a wrong product case may have been delivered. A manager or receiver may have been distracted and unknowingly signed off on the invoice not realizing the problem.

In these two scenarios, both cases would require a credit note. A copy of the credit note should always be given to the driver while the other copy should be stapled onto the invoice.

Maintaining a Relationship

Keeping in touch with your account manager or the owner of your supplier is an excellent way of maintaining a strong relationship. A supplier not only wants to hear about problems in your recent delivery, they also want to hear the good comments. This gives them reassurance that they are doing their job and that you care. Developing a relationship is to your advantage. Delivery times can improve and so can quality.

Through my experience, treating your drivers with respect can go a long way. Don’t carry an attitude of “he’s just the driver,” instead treat them like they are part of the company. Occasionally, I have awarded honest drivers with free coffee and muffins. I found the rewards are high. They look out for your restaurant’s best interest and can warn you of poor quality products or even missing items within a delivery. When the boss is happy and the company’s drivers are too, everyone benefits.

Photograph by: kamshots

Thanks for visiting The Restaurant Blogger. If you're new here, you can read my introduction here . If you enjoy my articles and would like to keep up with the daily updates you can subscribe to the RSS feed via reader.

If you enjoyed this article, get free restaurant tips via RSS Reader or delivered to your inbox!