Writing a Discrepancy Report at Receiving: Structure and Wording

A discrepancy report is the short document that says what was expected, what was found and where the difference lies. It is usually the first thing a supplier, a carrier or an insurer will ask for, and often the only one they read in full. A report written in a hurry and full of opinions gets set aside. One that states plain facts with numbers and photograph references gets answered.

What the report is for

Its job is narrow. It does not say who is to blame, it does not demand anything, and it does not estimate compensation. It records the facts of the moment of receiving, in an order that anyone can check. Everything that follows (a claim, a credit note, a notice to an insurer) is built on it, so a calm report is worth more than an angry one. And when the other side disagrees, a report like this lets the discussion start from the same numbers.

A structure that works

1. Heading: the shipment reference, date and time, place, container and seal numbers, and the documents compared, with their numbers and dates.
2. People present: names and roles, such as inspector, site manager and driver.
3. Method: what was counted and how (for example, "all packages counted twice"), how many cartons were opened and how they were chosen.
4. Findings: a table with the item, the value on the document, the value found, the difference and the photograph references.
5. Condition remarks: damage, damp and torn wrapping, with their positions.
6. Attachments: the photograph album, the count sheets and copies of the documents.
7. Acknowledgement: whether the driver or the site manager saw the findings, and what they wrote or declined to write.

The document does not need to be long. Two pages plus the table and the photographs are enough for most shipments.

Wording that holds up

Choose numbers over adjectives, and observations over explanations.

• Instead of "the supplier shorted us by 20 cartons", write "the packing list shows 120 cartons; 100 were counted twice; see photographs 14 to 22".
• Instead of "badly packed", write "6 cartons with crushed corners in the bottom layer of pallets 3 and 4; photographs 23 to 28".
• Instead of "probably water", write "dark stains on the lower edge of 9 cartons; the container floor was damp; photographs 30 to 36".

A reader who wants to draw a conclusion will draw it from the facts. One who sees conclusions with no facts behind them will discount the whole report.

Three small habits help as well:

• Use the item names exactly as they appear on the packing list, not your own shorthand.
• State the unit every time (cartons, pieces, kilograms), and write the date in a form that cannot be misread, with the month in words.
• Mark every statement as counted, opened or assumed, so the reader knows how firm each figure is.

A conditional example of findings

• Item A: packing list 120 cartons, counted 100, difference minus 20 (photographs 14 to 22).
• Item B: packing list 80 cartons, counted 80, no difference; 6 cartons with crushed corners (photographs 23 to 28).
• Item C: packing list 40 cartons, counted 40, no difference, no remarks.

Note that item C is there on purpose. Lines that agree show that they were checked, and they protect you if the supplier later says that the shortage was somewhere else.

Timing and mistakes

Write it the same day and send it quickly. Supplier contracts, carrier conditions and insurance policies usually set time limits for giving notice of a problem, so read them when you sign and not when the problem appears. The usual mistakes are speculating about causes, leaving out the lines that agreed, using vague quantities such as "about", and changing the numbers after the supplier replies. If a figure must be corrected, issue a numbered second version and say what changed. Never overwrite the first one. Send the report to all the parties at the same time and in the same form, and keep proof that it was sent.

In short

A good discrepancy report is short, numbered and checkable. CargoChek prepares a remarks record of the facts visible at the moment of receiving, together with the quantity table and the photograph album, ready to attach when you write to your supplier or the freight company.