Checking inbound goods
Once it is signed for clean, everything after is a dispute. The check happens before the signature.
Verify
Delivery note against PO — part number, revision, quantity · packaging condition, before opening · certificates required by the order: material, test, conformity, calibration · shelf life and remaining life on anything dated · labelling and traceability marks present and legible · temperature record where the material is controlled.
Record before signing
Photograph any damage while the vehicle is present. Annotate the delivery note with the specific discrepancy — "2 of 12 cartons crushed", never "damaged" — and have the driver acknowledge it.
Quarantine
Anything short, damaged, undocumented or unexpected goes to quarantine, not to stores. Material that reaches a bin has effectively been accepted.
Never
Sign clean to save time, accept a substitute part without engineering approval, or book in material whose certificate has not arrived.