Photographing delivery damage for a supplier review
Three windows arrive with cracked glass. The photographs on the receiver's phone show the cracks but not which shipment, packaging or delivery ticket they belong to. The supplier asks when the damage was first observed.
Photograph the delivery's identity and visible condition as soon as the receiving process safely allows. Connect the load, labels, packaging, damage, observed count and ticket in one dated set. Follow the actual notice and receiving requirements promptly. The set provides a clearer account for the supplier's review; it does not guarantee a paid claim or establish who caused the damage.
Capture the sequence at receipt
- Start with safe context. Coordinate with the delivery and unloading people before taking pictures. From an approved safe position, show the shipment and visible packaging as found. Do not enter a loading exclusion area, delay an urgent safety action or ask someone to move a load merely to improve the photograph.
- Connect the identity. Photograph relevant item labels and ticket references under the project's information rules. Record the time, supplier, vehicle or shipment identifier and number of items actually checked. Keep unnecessary signatures, addresses and personal contact details out of broadly shared copies.
- Describe the damage. Add a view locating each affected item, its packaging and a clear close-up. Use a safe scale if helpful. Note whether damage was visible before handling, discovered during an authorized check or reported later. Do not present an uncertain discovery time as a witnessed fact.
- Retain the receipt account. Record the discrepancy through the approved ticket process. Note what the delivery representative acknowledged, disputed or declined to sign without forcing an endorsement. Preserve originals, receipt notes and communications, then send the authorized notice with an indexed set and a clear requested response.
Separate the record from the decision to accept, quarantine or return the goods. That decision needs the project's authorized receiving and technical review. If an image cannot be taken until after unloading, state that and retain the earlier observations. A candid gap is more useful than staging a damaged item back on the truck as though nothing had moved.
Common mistakes
- Photographing damage without shipment or item identity.
- Staging an image after movement without saying so.
- Assuming a signature or same-day email determines acceptance, fault or compensation.
Checklist
Build the delivery set
- Safe overview and packaging condition.
- Shipment, item and ticket references.
- Count checked and discovery timing.
- Located damage views and receipt comments.
- Originals retained and actual notice process followed.
Check your understanding
Must the driver appear in the damage photograph?
