Obtain the supplier’s return instruction first

Ask the supplier to authorise the return and identify the correct receiving location. Obtain its return reference and instructions about the goods being sent. WTM should not arrive at a warehouse with stock that its receiving team has not agreed to accept.

Describe the condition and reason for return accurately. A routine surplus-stock return, a quality concern and a recalled consignment are different situations. Where special controls apply, disclose them for review before transport is accepted; this article does not determine whether food may be resold or reused.

Recount and repack the actual consignment

Use the current carton or container count, weights and external dimensions. The outbound order may have been partly used or redistributed. A copy of the first invoice cannot establish the size of the remaining return load.

Retain the product references the supplier requests and package the goods according to its instructions. Identify damaged containers or leakage before collection. The shipper and supplier decide what can be released and how it should be contained; the driver is not a food-quality assessor.

Confirm the required conditions for the return

Provide the approved temperature range, handling instructions and any requested records. WTM reviews equipment suitability against those requirements. GPS tracking follows location and must not be described as a substitute for the agreed temperature evidence.

CFIA guidance addresses conveyance conditions and loading that protects food from contamination. Consult its preventive-controls material together with the supplier’s return instructions and the food businesses’ own controls.

Connect the transport record to the commercial return

Use the supplier’s return reference on the booking and packages. After delivery, the POD can help locate the handoff to the authorised Calgary receiver. A signed delivery record does not by itself approve a credit note or settle a quality dispute.

For example, a retailer returning an agreed unopened surplus order can keep its supplier authorisation, transport reference and later credit document together. Each record answers a different question: permission to return, completed transportation and commercial settlement.

Refrigerated-return questions

Can the same cartons used on the original delivery be reused?

Only where they remain suitable and comply with the supplier’s current packing instructions. Describe the actual return packaging.

Can WTM collect before the supplier authorises the return?

Arrange authorisation and the receiving plan first. That avoids moving a consignment without an agreed destination handoff.