The customer does have an inventory, but the problem is that the
inventory list doesn't always match the physical inventory. We only
found that some of our boxes were missing once we needed them and placed
the order. The vendor comes back and says "it's not here" or "it's
checked out" or something. Often that is the first indication the
customer has that a box has gone missing.

When we closed the account at a local vendor to move the boxes to our
national account (this is a different situation than when the national
vendor bought out another local vendor), we were given a list of what
was to be transferred. As far as we knew, all those boxes were correct.
Then once they were transferred over, the new vendor let us know that
the number of boxes transferred didn't match the number in the
inventory. It was eventually resolved, but I can't recall how off the
top of my head.

The big thing I've noticed in our divisions is that the local offices
didn't use any sort of a tracking system in-house. They just checked the
boxes out from the vendor and eventually someone would send it back. So
we really had no proof that we sent a particular back or who the last
person to have a checked-out box was. We've had instances where we send
20 boxes back, but only 18 checked checked back in. Without close
monitoring of every order, the errors may not be caught for months or
perhaps not caught at all.

I've insisted that each division now track all comings and goings. One,
so we know what is out, and when it was returned and on what order
numbers, but also to reconcile against the vendor's invoice which we
have to watch very carefully. I have a feeling many companies just rely
on the vendor to move things in and out properly.


Nolene Sherman | Director of Records Management | Standard Pacific Homes
| 949-727-9360 | FAX 949-789-3379 | [log in to unmask]

-----Original Message-----
I don't understand how the second vendor would become aware of a missing
records situation before the customer/client. Wouldn't the
customer/client have an inventory of what the vendor has as well as what
is being transferred & also be included, in the loop, before the
physical transfer actually takes place?

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