Controling Foreign Materials During Shipments

We shipped out 3 pallets of food ingredients to a customer. They received the pallets and 1 of the pallets happened to have loose bolts on top of the pallet. We would never ship anything like that, so I am assuming they accidentally fell on top of the pallet during transit.

The customer said if this happens again the whole shipment would be rejected. 

I talked to our logistics broker and he stated there is nothing the carrier can do to avoid this from happening. We can ship via a dedicated truck but that is costly.

What would a corrective action be for this? There is nothing I can do once the shipment leaves our facility. All I can do is properly secure the pallet and ensure it leaves our faciliy without anything laying on top of it. 

Kristinmaxx,

If stacking is the issue, there are specific cones you can buy and tape that states "do not stack" to ensure that nothing gets put on top of your product. If they continue to do so after the fact, then you should seek out a different 3pl that can fulfill your logistics needs. The response you received from your broker is unprofessional and there certainly can be things done to avoid such problems other than a dedicated truck. 

As for your quality issue, when the trucks we have get open at the border and water enters and damages pallets/product, we notify the carrier and issue a claim. Can't really do much about training or root cause analysis at that point. 

We ship out products with a "do not stack" cone on top of every pallet. I don't think stacking was the issue. Somewhere during the transit of the pallets a few bolts may have fallen on top of the pallet and stayed there until it was received by the customer. I attached a picture of the bolts that were on top of the pallet. 

I don't know how I would resolve that issue since the pallet travels between several different depots before arriving at the destination. 

Check your contract/agreement with your haulier. If they are providing a service to transport your goods, they are responsible for doing so and controlling the goods whilst in transit. Do you put anything on top of your pallets? A plastic film/sheet covering the top may be of use in general and welcomed by the customer, I have one who requested this. The corrective action would depend on the root cause, which IMO the haulier should investigate if goods are not arriving at your customer in the same state they leave your site.

p.s. can't see any attached image

Thats because I never attached the picture  :oops:

Thats because I never attached the picture  :oops:

I can see why your customer would be frustrated with that. However if you have a proper product release program in place, which I am sure you already have, it is not under your control once it leaves your shipping dock. (This was said by one of our SQF auditors).  You do need to check with whoever is transporting your product because they are the ones responsible, inspect the trucks very well and tell them the issue you have and that you will have to look for someone else if this problem persists. 

kristinmax,

It happens. Many customers understand that.

Might not be a corrective action as there is no identifiable root cause - and also the nature of your packaging appears that it also wasn't a food safety risk.

Do you have a agreed specification for transportation service providers?

-Josh Heinrichs