Receiving Shipments

Congrats! The Lithium batteries the you ordered have finally arrived at your door. You excitedly sign for the shipment and begin gleefully opening the boxes (like a kid on Christmas) to admire your new stuff. Then maybe you call your spouse or a friend with the news and afterwards visit your project and carry the boxes over to it and begin staging and positioning the battery system components. An hour or so later you notice there are no busbars to be found. Or maybe you are missing four cells. Stepping back, you notice one of the crates appears damaged and it missing a foot/leg. Or one or more of the cardboard boxes appear repaired or are visibly damaged in some way (tears, holes, crunched corners, etc.). This situation just occured today and prompted this article.

In the situation above we shipped eight crates and one cardboard box, all strapped securely with metal banding to a pallet, to a customer across the country. At each stage of shipping, the drivers noted to timely exchange and the great condition of our palletized goods. Our customer gratefully recieved the shipment on time, signed the shipper document and later called to ask why we forgot to send him four cells and all the connecting hardware. We learned the pallet he recieved:

1. Had no metal banding

2. Was shrinkwrapped

3. Two of the wood crates were each missing a foot/leg

4. The cardboard box containing four cells, 75 copper busbars, and 400 bolts, washers, etc., was entirely missing 

From the freight company's view, they recieved the pallet in good condition and supposedly sometime shrinkwrap pallets for customers to make shipping easier. Each driver carefully documented the pallet in great condition in transit. Ahnd finally, it was delivered and signed for with the shipper document stating the pallet contained nine boxes. Total success. Any claim otherwise is assumed to be fraud.

From the customer's view, they made an innocent mistake in the excitement of the moment and they just want the missing system components (valued around $1200)  to complete their project.

We're working to find an agreeable solution for all parties, but you see it can get complicated. Know the the driver is obligated to wait for you to confirm the shipment before you sign anything. Be efficient with his/her time so they can stay on schedule, but don't let that pressure you from some simple tasks:

1. Give the shipment a quick external examination. You may notice box repair work or what appears to be light damage, but the freight may have shipped that way from the start. If anything looks suspect, take pictures of those areas. Then take pictures of each side to establish the pallet as a whole and take a picture of the address label to identify it.

2. Count how many boxes are on the pallet and confirm that matches the quantity listed on the shipper's document (Bill of Lading/BOL). If the count does not match, this must be noted on the document before signing, and you should call us immediately.

3. Later in a clear space, open each of the boxes and inventory the contents. If any items or quantities are missing from those listed on the invoice, notify us immediatly. Also make note of the conditions of the boxes recieved and whether there are holes, tears, etc. through which items could have fallen out during the shipping transit.

This is a big purchase and exciting technology to work with. We here at Lithium Storage want you to be succesful and have the best experience with our products. Following a few simple checks can help ensure that. Thanks for your business!