A supplier delivery is booked for the days your premises are closed
Manage inbound delivery receiving obligations during a holiday closure, including authorised acceptance, storage and redelivery costs without assuming dispatch cancellation.
Corporate Recovery Partners
01 / 06
The delivery calendar may still be running
Your workshop closes for the holidays, but a supplier has a delivery booked during the break. Check the arrangement before staff leave. An unavailable recipient can create storage, redelivery or project difficulties depending on the actual terms. The purchase may already be committed even though nobody expects to use the materials until the business reopens.
Identify the purchase order, dispatch status, address and planned delivery window. Ask whether the supplier has accepted any proposed change. Do not assume an email announcing your closure has rescheduled an order. Keep the goods description and quantity clear, especially where several deliveries are expected from the same supplier before and after the break.
Business.gov.au recommends clearly describing contractual work and responsibilities. Ask what the supply and transport arrangements require concerning acceptance, access and failed delivery, obtaining advice where unclear. This article does not determine when ownership or risk passes or whether a particular redelivery charge is payable. The actual documents need assessment rather than an assumption that a locked gate ends the delivery obligation.
Imagine a carrier arriving with bulky equipment while the workshop is unattended. A neighbouring business offers to sign for it. Before relying on that arrangement, confirm suitable authority, secure space and the agreed receiving process. Do not expect a neighbour to assess damage or accept responsibility for equipment simply because they were willing to answer the driver.
Ask the supplier about an agreed later delivery, authorised receiving arrangement or other practical option. Identify the actual cost and any effect on the first job after reopening. Keep a requested change labelled as pending until confirmed. Do not promise the customer that the equipment is safely received based only on a delivery notification showing an unfamiliar signature.
Record who will receive, inspect and securely store the consignment under the agreed process, and how exceptions reach an authorised person. Retain the supplier's confirmation and relevant delivery evidence. The holiday plan should include the goods still moving while staff are away, so an overlooked receiving task does not create an unexpected cost or an uncertain inventory when the workshop opens again.
