Warehouse quality control with a PDA: receiving, blocking stock and returns

November 13, 2026 · 7 min read

Quality control in a warehouse is not a laboratory: it is three or four moments when someone looks at the goods and decides whether they can be sold. What almost always fails is not the look, but what happens afterwards: the broken box is left in a corner with a note, nobody deducts it from the stock and one day it is sent to a buyer. With a PDA, the warning and the setting aside happen at the same time. This article goes through where quality is checked in a warehouse and what the PDA has to do at each point.

Where quality control is done in a warehouse

Swipe the table sideways to see all the columns →

Moment	What is checked	What is done if it fails
Receiving	Broken or wet parcels, units over or short, batch and expiry date	The difference is noted and what is damaged or surplus is set aside, blocked
Stock already put away	A batch with an incident, a fallen pallet, deteriorated goods	The bin or the whole batch is blocked until a decision is made
Before packing	That the item is the one ordered and is in good condition	The box is not closed until it has the go-ahead
Returns	The condition of the parcel and of each item	Each item gets a grade: back into stock, outlet or scrap

PDA for quality control at receiving: damaged and excess, set aside

Receiving is the best place to stop a problem, because the driver is still there and the goods have not yet been mixed with the good ones. With the PDA, the operator scans each unit or box against what was expected and the count goes up by itself. What does not match shows up right away:

→Shortages: less arrives than was announced. It is noted on the inbound delivery, so it can be claimed.
→Excess: more arrives than was ordered. The surplus should not go into sellable stock without someone accepting it: it is set aside, blocked, until it is decided whether it stays or is returned.
→Damaged: they are marked as such, with a photo, and go to a separate area, blocked.
→Batch and expiry date: they are read from the product itself, not from the delivery note. If the box carries a GS1 code, the scan fills them in automatically.

The photo taken at the dock, with the date and time, is what later backs up the claim to the supplier or the carrier. And what has been set aside is not put away with the rest: it waits for its decision.

Blocking and releasing stock

Blocking is telling the software “this is here, but do not touch it”. Blocked stock still counts in the inventory, but it is not offered for sale and nobody is sent to pick it. A good block has three things:

→Clear scope: a bin, an item or a whole batch in every bin where it is.
→A written reason: in a month nobody will remember why it was set aside.
→A decided way out: everything blocked ends up going through one of four doors.

Decision	What happens to the stock
Accept and release	It is available for sale again
Return to the supplier	It stays held until the supplier collects it; then it is removed from stock
Rework	It is relabeled or repacked; it stays blocked until a new decision
Scrap	It is destroyed and removed from stock

Two details from a real warehouse. The first: when you block, there may be operators picking orders with those goods at that very moment; the software has to say so and send those orders to another bin if good stock is left. The second: if you keep batches, blocking by batch is what lets you withdraw a whole consignment in minutes; we cover it in FIFO, FEFO and LIFO and in warehouse software for food.

Inspecting returns item by item

A return is goods of unknown quality until someone opens it. The order that works:

→Scan the parcel to find out which order and which client it belongs to.
→Photograph the parcel before opening it if it arrives broken, wet or open.
→Count what it contains against what was announced.
→Look at each item separately: what is wrong with it (broken box, used, a part missing) and which grade it gets.
→Send each item to its place according to the grade: stock, outlet or scrap.

What has not been inspected does not go back into stock: it stays in its area until it is looked at. The full process is in how to handle an online store's returns.

What a PDA needs for quality control

→A barcode scanner (or the phone's camera, for low volume): the check starts with knowing which item and which batch it is.
→A camera for the damage photos, so that they are saved on the inbound delivery or on the return, not in the gallery of someone's phone.
→A simple screen, with large buttons: “Damaged” has to be one tap, not a form.
→A live connection to the warehouse software: what is set aside must stop being available instantly, not at the end of the shift.

No special device is needed for quality: the same PDA used for receiving and picking will do. What that terminal is like is in warehouse PDA: what it is and how to use it.

How we do it at Ubika

In Ubika, receiving is done with the PDA against the expected delivery note. What arrives broken is marked as “Damaged”, with an optional photo, and goes into blocked quarantine; what arrives in excess of the purchase order is also left in quarantine, with its return to the supplier opened. Who received it and when is recorded.

In the office, the Quality control screen shows all the held stock and lets you block a bin or a whole batch —in every bin where it is— with its reason. When you block, it warns about the orders that were picking that product and, if good stock is left in another bin, it reroutes them by itself. Each block is closed with one of four decisions: accept and release for sale, return to the supplier, rework or record the scrap. Blocked stock also appears in the incident center.

For returns, the PDA identifies whose parcel it is, saves up to four photos and asks for the grade of each item: A goes back into stock, B goes to outlet, C is scrap and CAD is expired. What is noted can be seen by the warehouse manager and by the client in their portal. And if a client needs it, their workflow can carry a quality control step before packing: without the go-ahead, the box is not closed.

You can ask for the demo with your data or see more in stock control with a PDA.

Frequently asked questions

What is a PDA for in warehouse quality control?

For noting the problem at the moment and in the place where it is seen: when unloading, when inspecting a return or in front of the rack. The operator scans the item, marks what is wrong with it, takes a photo and the affected stock is set aside in the software, with no paperwork to write up later.

What is blocked or quarantined stock?

It is goods that are physically in the warehouse but that the software does not allow to be sold or picked until someone decides what to do with them: damaged goods, a batch with an incident, an excess that had not been ordered or a return that has not been inspected.

What do you do with goods that arrive damaged?

They are counted separately, photographed before being moved, noted on the receipt as damaged and left in a separate, blocked area. Then a decision is made: return them to the supplier, rework them, accept them or write them off as scrap.

How do you block a whole batch?

In software with stock by batch, you look up the batch and block it in one go in every bin where it is. From that moment it cannot be picked, and the orders that needed it are served from another batch if there is one.

Who should release blocked stock?

It is best that it is not the same person who blocks it: the operator sets it aside and a manager decides. That way it is clear who passed the goods as good and for what reason.

How do you inspect a return item by item?

You identify which order it comes from, photograph the parcel before opening it, count what it contains and look at each item separately: what is wrong with it and which grade it gets. Depending on the grade it goes back into stock, goes to outlet or is scrap.

Keep reading

What Ubika does: warehouse management software · software for 3PLs · WMS for e-commerce