Who should receive a copy of the purchase order when the purchaser authorizes shipment from a vendor?

Who should receive a copy of the purchase order when the purchaser authorizes shipment from a vendor?

• A. The operations receiving personnel
• B. The marketing department
• C. The vendor's sales representative
• D. The accounts payable department

Answer: (A)

Having a copy of the purchase order goes to the receiving staff so they can verify that what arrives matches exactly what was ordered. The receiving personnel use the PO as a reference for item descriptions, quantities, and prices, and they record what is actually received on the receiving report. This helps prevent paying for or accepting incorrect or excessive shipments and sets up a clean three-way match with the supplier’s invoice later. The marketing department isn’t involved in match verification or goods receipt, so they wouldn’t be the right recipient. The vendor’s sales representative already has information about the order and isn’t part of the internal receiving process. Accounts payable does use the PO during payment, but the immediate need for validating shipments is for the receiving staff, who must confirm that the delivered goods align with the PO before payment.

Having a copy of the purchase order goes to the receiving staff so they can verify that what arrives matches exactly what was ordered. The receiving personnel use the PO as a reference for item descriptions, quantities, and prices, and they record what is actually received on the receiving report. This helps prevent paying for or accepting incorrect or excessive shipments and sets up a clean three-way match with the supplier’s invoice later.

The marketing department isn’t involved in match verification or goods receipt, so they wouldn’t be the right recipient. The vendor’s sales representative already has information about the order and isn’t part of the internal receiving process. Accounts payable does use the PO during payment, but the immediate need for validating shipments is for the receiving staff, who must confirm that the delivered goods align with the PO before payment.