Goods receipt is the process by which delivered stock is accepted, counted, checked and booked into the WMS at the warehouse. Only after booking is the stock sellable in your shop. German fulfillment providers usually bill goods receipt (Wareneingang) per pallet, per carton or per hour.
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What is goods receipt?
Goods receipt, also called inbound or receiving and known in Germany as Wareneingang (often abbreviated WE), is the first physical process in the warehouse. Stock from your manufacturer, importer or previous warehouse is accepted, matched against the announcement, counted, checked and booked into the warehouse management system (WMS). Only from that moment does an item count as available and sellable in your shop.
Goods receipt is distinct from the put-away that follows, in which the booked stock is moved to its storage location. In practice the two steps flow into each other, but they are separate bookings in the WMS: goods receipt creates the stock, put-away gives it a place. A special case is cross-docking, where goods are shipped onwards straight after acceptance without being stored. For Amazon sellers, FBA prep builds directly on goods receipt.
How goods receipt works in practice
- Advance shipping notice: You announce the delivery in advance with supplier, arrival date, number of pallets or cartons, SKUs and quantities. The provider schedules dock and staff.
- Acceptance at the dock: The driver hands over the freight documents and warehouse staff check the number of packages and their outer condition. Visible transport damage is noted on the consignment note and photographed immediately.
- Identification and counting: Each line is scanned by EAN or SKU label and counted, either at carton level (cartons multiplied by contents per label) or as a piece count, depending on the agreement.
- Quality and master data check: Spot checks for damage, comparison of dimensions and weight with the item master, and recording of best-before dates and batch numbers if you track them.
- Booking: The counted quantity is booked in the WMS and reported to your shop or ERP through the integration. Deviations from the notice appear in a discrepancy report.
- Handover to put-away: The stock is assigned a storage location and is ready for order picking.
Have your supplier pack single-SKU cartons with an outer label showing SKU, EAN and quantity. A mixed carton without a contents list has to be unpacked completely and counted piece by piece. That costs many times the carton fee and delays availability in your shop by days.
Shipping stock to Germany from abroad
If your stock comes from the UK, the US or Asia, a few extra points decide whether goods receipt runs smoothly. Goods from outside the EU must be cleared through customs before they reach the warehouse; a fulfillment warehouse receives goods, it does not act as importer unless that has been agreed. Containers with loose cartons take far longer to unload than palletised freight, so ask for Euro pallets where possible. Make sure barcodes on the units match the item master you have sent. The wider framework is described under cross-border fulfillment.
Why a clean goods receipt matters for online sellers
Almost every stock discrepancy that surfaces later started at goods receipt. If one carton too many or too few is booked, the shop sells stock that does not exist, or leaves stock unsold that arrived long ago. Inventory accuracy is decided at the dock, not at the annual stocktake.
Then there is cost. Goods receipt in Germany is typically billed at €4 to €15 per pallet in 2026, with piece counting and relabelling charged by time or per unit. Well-prepared deliveries land at the lower end; badly prepared ones create extra work that appears on the next invoice. How inbound fees fit into the whole bill is covered under fulfillment costs. Finally there is time: pre-announced stock usually becomes sellable 24 to 48 hours after arrival, unannounced stock considerably later. A good service level agreement fixes that inbound lead time in writing.
| Delivery type | Effort in the warehouse | Typical billing |
|---|---|---|
| Single-SKU pallet, announced, labelled | low | per pallet |
| Single-SKU cartons by parcel carrier | medium | per carton |
| Mixed cartons without contents list | high | per hour or per unit |
| Container without pallets (loose cartons) | very high | per hour plus palletising |
Stock is sent straight from the manufacturer to the warehouse without the provider knowing about it. Without an advance notice there is no target quantity to check against, the delivery waits in the receiving area, and if units are missing you have no proof towards your supplier.
How LogYou handles it
LogYou receives stock in Butzbach, central Germany, and books it into its own platform LogShip. Best-before dates, batches and serial numbers can be tracked, and a climate-controlled area is available for sensitive products. You see live stock levels in the client portal as soon as the goods are booked. Goods receipt is also the key milestone of every onboarding. Details are on the warehousing page; to discuss a first delivery, use the contact form.
Frequently asked questions about Goods Receipt
How long does goods receipt take at a fulfillment provider?
What does goods receipt cost in German fulfillment?
What happens if the delivered quantity does not match the delivery note?
Questions about Goods Receipt for your shop?
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