Supplier Says It Shipped, Your China Warehouse Says It Didn't: The Inbound Evidence Chain (Photos, Weights & Counts) and How to Handle Shortages Before They Become Write-offs

If you sell through Amazon FBA, Shopify, or WooCommerce and buy from multiple Chinese suppliers, you have probably seen this pattern: the supplier's tracking number shows 'dispatched,' but your China warehouse's receiving report shows a shortage. At that point, the dispute is no longer about whether the supplier shipped; it is about whether you can prove what actually arrived. That proof has to be captured before goods leave the China warehouse. Our inbound photo evidence page explains what records the platform can keep at receiving.

This guide explains how to build an inbound evidence chain with photos, weights, and counts, and how to handle short-shipments while your supplier is still within reach. It is written for merchants who run their own procurement and pay suppliers directly. WooliiPorter receives, documents, inspects, consolidates, and forwards your parcels from our China warehouse; we never take payment from your customers or suppliers for goods.

Why the inbound evidence chain is your first line of defense

International parcel insurance and carrier claims usually apply after a parcel is in transit. Before that, the supplier is the party responsible for quantity and packing. Most suppliers treat the receiving warehouse's signed receipt as the boundary. If you sign or accept a shipment without noting a shortage, the supplier can reasonably say the goods were complete at dispatch. The longer you wait, the harder it becomes to prove that a shortage happened at the China warehouse and not on the ocean or in a local delivery van.

The inbound evidence chain moves the verification point earlier. Instead of discovering a shortage after the carton is in FBA or on a customer's doorstep, you match the physical shipment to your PO while it is still in China and the supplier's dispatch records are still fresh.

The three-part receiving SOP: photo, weigh, count

When a parcel arrives at the China warehouse, the receiving operation should capture three types of evidence for every carton.

Each exception should be flagged immediately: short count, cross-shipment (wrong SKU), damaged packaging, or packing that does not match the PO. The receiving record should include a timestamp and the warehouse operator's ID, and it should be associated with the parcel number or tracking number.

How to reconcile a shortage before it becomes a write-off

When the count does not match the PO, follow a simple sequence before contacting the supplier.

1. Compare the shipping weight. If the waybill weight is roughly the same as the received weight but the carton is lighter than the packed quantity should be, the shortage may have happened at dispatch.
2. Compare the packing list to the actual items. Identify the exact SKU and quantity that is short. Do not rely on a total carton count; a mixed carton can hide a missing SKU.
3. Prepare the evidence folder. Include the shipping label, warehouse receiving photos, weight record, timestamp, and the exception report. Send it to the supplier in a single message with the PO number.

The key is to do this while the parcel is still in China. Once a carton is consolidated, repacked, or forwarded, the original outer packaging and label may be gone. The evidence chain must be completed before any value-added service changes the physical state of the shipment.

Multi-supplier consolidation: keep evidence separated by supplier and PO

Consolidation is a common first-mile operation, but it also creates an evidence problem. If you receive ten cartons from four suppliers on the same day and merge them into two export cartons, you will not be able to say which supplier shorted you unless the receiving evidence was captured per supplier and per PO before merging.

Each inbound parcel should be documented independently. The warehouse operator should photograph and weigh each carton with its own label, and the count should be recorded against the PO. Only after the inbound check is complete should consolidation and repacking begin. That is why the checking step comes before, not after, consolidation. Our consolidation service follows the same order: verify first, then merge.

Make inbound checking part of your PO and supplier terms

If you only check inbound shipments after a problem appears, you are relying on memory and goodwill. A better approach is to make the acceptance standard part of the purchase agreement or supplier onboarding document.

• State that the receiving warehouse will count and weigh every carton.
• Define the acceptable weight tolerance and packing requirements.
• State that shortages or damages must be reported within a fixed number of days of receiving at the China warehouse.
• Attach the receiving record as the basis for any supplier claim.

When the supplier knows in advance that you use a documented receiving process, they are more likely to pack and count carefully.

What you can do with WooliiPorter

With a WooliiPorter Merchant account, you can request photo evidence, weight records, and item counts as part of the inbound receiving workflow at our China warehouse. These records are kept per parcel and per PO, so you can reconcile supplier deliveries before consolidation. The same receiving documentation supports your own evidence chain if you later need to dispute a carrier claim on the international leg.

If you want to put this SOP into practice, start with a Merchant account and choose the receiving documentation option. For an existing workflow, request a workflow review and we can map your current supplier approval terms to our receiving checks. WooCommerce merchants can also connect through our plugin listed in the WordPress.org directory; the receiving workflow itself is channel-neutral and applies to Amazon FBA, Shopify, and WooCommerce orders alike.