6.1.39 Central Receiving Policy and Procedures

Policy

Central Receiving is located at 2016 Warehouse Road, off of Northtown road and Main Street. The hours of operation are 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

The Illinois State University Central Receiving Department processes and redistributes incoming material for University departments and affiliated organizations. Incoming material deliveries include but are not limited to: UPS, Overnight and airfreight. Delivery to a central location increases property accountability, customer satisfaction and eliminates unnecessary truck traffic on campus, making the campus safer for students, faculty and staff.

US Mail

Central Receiving does not deliver merchandise that is classified as U.S. Mail. All U.S. Mail is delivered by the Mail Service Department.

Central Receiving’s goal is to deliver all incoming material to its final destination on the same day that it is received. Exceptions to Central Receiving’s “same day” deliver goal are:

1. Material requiring processing through ISU’s Property Control Department.
2. Freight requiring special delivery arrangements (i.e. – large pieces, large quantities). Deliveries will be coordinated with the end user of the respective department and an appropriate delivery date and location will be determined at that time.

Personal Packages

The Central Receiving Department prohibits the use of its resources for receipt or delivery of personal material. Personal material should be sent to the individual’s home address or Post Office Box. If personal packages are received at Central Receiving, the recipient will be contacted and directed on the proper procedures for receiving personal property. Neither Central Receiving nor the University will be responsible for the material if it becomes delayed, damaged or lost. Personal packages ordered through approved University agencies such as “Tech Zone” or are part of an approved department “group buy” will be delivered to that agency or department.

Vendor Delivery Instructions

Departments coordinating delivery of material with vendors will instruct the vendors to deliver shipments to ISU’s Central Receiving Department. The vendor must be instructed to label all packages with the following delivery information:

Illinois State University
END USER’S DEPARTMENT NAME
END USER’S BUILDING AND ROOM NUMBER
Purchase Order Number or Requisition Number

Department Responsibility

It is the responsibility of the ordering department or the end user receiving the material being delivered from Central Receiving to verify the delivery. Verification of a shipment consists of the following:

1. Verify that your department has received the correct quantities.
2. Verify that the correct merchandise has been received, meets your specifications, and is not damaged.

Direct Deliveries

In certain instances, it may be necessary to have merchandise delivered directly to the department, without first processing it through Central Receiving. In these cases, the Purchasing Office and Central Receiving must be notified immediately so the property can be properly processed. Examples of appropriate Direct Deliveries include but are not limited to:

1. Extremely delicate property requiring professional handling by the vendor.
2. The purchasing agreement requires assembly and installation by the vendor.

Notify Central Receiving and the Purchasing Office immediately when the need for a direct delivery has been identified. When placing a Direct Delivery order, any special handling or shipping instructions should appear on the Purchase Order (if applicable). The street address of the department is required on direct deliveries. The building and room number of the end user is still necessary to ensure a timely delivery.

Approval for Payment of Material

If the shipment is defective in any way, or does not meet specifications, notice should be given to the Purchasing Office. If the shipment is reported to be complete and satisfactory, the Purchasing Office will approve the vendor’s invoice and send the invoice to the business office for payment. No further certification or approval will be sought for the requisitioning department before payment is made.

Overnight Freight

Incoming Overnight Freight must be addressed completely and correctly. Omitting any part of the delivery information from an Overnight Freight package will result in a delay in delivery from Central Receiving. When a department request next day air (overnight air) services, the Overnight package will be delivered by Central Receiving to the department by the next business morning.

When a department or an end user is omitted off of the Overnight package’s delivery information, Central Receiving will make every effort to locate the recipient and delivery package by the end of that business day. If the overnight package is required in your department by a certain time, Central Receiving can be contacted and a request to expedite the delivery can be made.

Returning Merchandise

When material must be shipped back to the vendor it is referred to as “returning merchandise”. When returning merchandise, the department should first contact the vendor for return authorization. The vendor will provide a “return authorization number” for the material to be returned. The procedure for the pick up and return of material is as follows:

1. Contact Central Receiving when the material to be returned is “ready for shipment”. Ready for shipment means the merchandise must be repackaged, taped and labeled ready for immediate shipment.
2. All packages being shipped out must have an “UPS or Overnight Charge Slip” form filled out completed. All lines of the “charge slip” form must be completed – address of package, account number, department name, phone number, date authorized signature, how to ship package(s) and the amount to insure the package for.
3. The actual shipping method of the material will be determined based on the size and weight of the package.

Call Tags

To initiate the issuance of a Call Tag, the department must either contact Purchasing or the vendor of the material. When making arrangements with the vendor for material pick up the following procedure MUST be followed:

1. Initiating Department’s name
2. Contact Person from the initiating Department
3. DO NOT USE “ISU” Central Receiving as your initiating department
4. DO NOT USE Central Receiving personnel names for Call Tags

The vendor will contact the appropriate freight lines company authorizing the freight company to pick up the merchandise. The freight line will then complete a Call Tag, which will be left at Central Receiving to be placed on the material being returned. Once Central Receiving has received the Call Tag, the department will be notified and Central Receiving will coordinate the pick up. The material will remain in the possession of the initiating department until a Call Tag has actually been issued.

Note: A Call Tag is only valid for three (3) days. If the process is not completed during this time period it is returned to the vendor and a new Call Tag must be initiated.

Cash On Delivery (C.O.D.’s)

Arrangements for C.O.D.’s must be coordinated with the vendor and the freight company delivering the material. After appropriate arrangements have been made with the freight company, the C.O.D. payment will be brought to Central Receiving.  When the freight line delivers the material Central Receiving will pay for the shipment with the money brought by initiating department.  Central Receiving will then deliver the C.O.D. material received to the end user.