What to Do in the First 48 Hours After Your Granite Container Arrives
The container has arrived. You have been waiting ten weeks. The stone you approved in sample form is now sitting in a sealed box at your yard — or at the port waiting for collection. You are relieved. You are also slightly nervous. This is the moment where everything you agreed in writing either holds up or it does not, and you do not want to discover a problem three days from now when you have already moved half the slabs. What to do in the first 48 hours after your granite container arrives is not complicated — but the sequence matters. Miss a step and you weaken your position if a claim is needed. Follow it and you close the accountability loop, protect your investment, and set the right foundation for the supplier relationship going forward.
Quick Answer
In the first 48 hours after a granite container arrives: photograph the exterior and verify the seal number against the Bill of Lading before opening; document the unpacking on video; check for transit damage before moving any slab; compare slabs against pre-shipment photographs and your approved sample; spot-check dimensions on at least 20% of pieces; and contact your supplier within 48 hours if anything does not match. Waiting longer weakens any claim you may need to raise.
Before You Open Anything — The Exterior Check
The most important documentation you can create costs you five minutes and a phone camera. Before the container doors are opened, photograph the exterior of the container on all four sides. Photograph the container seal — the small numbered security seal that should still be intact on the door locking mechanism. Then compare that seal number against the Bill of Lading your supplier sent you. The Bill of Lading lists the container number and the seal number applied at the Indian loading facility. They must match.
If the seal is broken or the numbers do not match, do not proceed. An intact seal means the container has not been opened since it was sealed in India. A broken or mismatched seal is not necessarily proof of tampering — seals can break in transit — but it is a material discrepancy that must be recorded and reported to your freight forwarder and your supplier before you sign any delivery documentation. Signing a clean delivery receipt for a container with a broken seal removes the most powerful element of your claim protection.
What to Record and Where to Keep It
Photograph the container number plate, the seal up close with the number visible, the seal position on the door mechanism, and the overall condition of the container exterior — any dents, rust damage, or distortion that suggests impact during transit. Store these photographs with the timestamp intact (do not edit or recompress the files). You are building a timestamped photographic record that establishes the condition of the shipment at the moment of arrival. This record is your baseline for any subsequent claim against the carrier, your insurer, or your supplier.
Opening the Container — Take Your Time and Film It
Open the container doors slowly. If you have a smartphone or a colleague available, record the opening on video. A continuous video record of the unpacking — from first door opening through to the first visual of the crated slabs — is far more useful as claim evidence than still photographs alone, because it establishes an unbroken chain of observation that is hard to dispute.
Check what you can see before unloading anything. Look at the condition of the outermost crates. Check whether any crates have shifted during transit — movement marks on the container floor, broken strapping, or dislodged foam padding between slabs are all indicators of transit stress. Note anything unusual before a forklift or telehandler touches the load.
Step 3 — Check Packing and Transit Damage Before Moving a Single Slab
Transit damage on granite is usually visible at the crate level — a cracked crate corner, shattered packing foam, or a slab that has shifted against another. Before any crate is extracted from the container, assess the crates that are visible from the door. If a crate is visibly damaged, photograph it in position inside the container before it is moved. Once a damaged crate has been removed and placed on a hardstanding, its original position cannot be reconstructed.
Granite slabs packed correctly in A-frame wooden crates with foam separation are resilient in transit — ocean freight vibration very rarely causes damage to properly packed stone. When damage does occur, it is almost always due to inadequate packing, overloading of individual crates, or significant impact that would be visible on the exterior of the container. Proper pre-shipment packing documentation from your supplier — photographs of the loaded crates before the container was sealed — gives you the reference point to distinguish between packing failure (supplier responsibility) and transit impact (carrier or insurance claim).
Step 4 — Compare Against Pre-Shipment Photographs
This step is why the pre-shipment photographs your supplier sends before dispatch matter so much. A supplier running a proper quality process photographs the finished, packed slabs inside the open container before the doors are sealed in India. Those photographs show the colour, finish, and packing condition of every visible slab at the moment of dispatch.
When you open the container at your end, compare what you see against those photographs. The colour under natural light should match. The packing arrangement should look the same. If the pre-shipment photographs show mirror-polished slabs of uniform deep black, and what is in front of you shows visible tonal variation or a duller finish, you have a discrepancy that needs to be addressed now — not after you have started cutting.
What to Do If You Did Not Receive Pre-Shipment Photographs
If your supplier did not send pre-shipment photographs before dispatch, that is a gap in their process — and a gap in your claim protection. Without them, you have no documented baseline of the goods’ condition at the point of loading. You still have recourse through the Commercial Invoice specifications and the approved sample, but the strength of your claim depends entirely on what was written in your purchase order. This is one of the most practical reasons to work with a supplier who provides pre-shipment photographs as standard rather than on request. For context on how StoneCrest’s export process handles pre-shipment documentation, the approach is to send photographs before sealing on every order — not just on request.
Step 5 — Spot-Check Dimensions Against the Purchase Order
Measure a minimum of 20% of pieces against the dimensions specified in your purchase order. If you ordered 60 upright tablet blanks at 610 × 457 × 102mm, measure at least 12 pieces from different positions within the container. Thickness is the dimension most commonly outside tolerance — a slab specified at 102mm (4 inches) that arrives at 95mm is a commercial and practical problem for a mason cutting to finished headstone dimensions.
Acceptable dimension tolerance for export-grade polished granite is generally ±2mm on width and length, ±3mm on thickness for sawn faces. If pieces are consistently outside this range, it indicates a production issue rather than natural variation, and it should be documented and reported. Measure with a metal rule or digital calliper — tape measures on stone are unreliable because the measuring tape flexes. Record measurements on a simple log: piece reference, specified dimension, actual measurement, and the difference.
Step 6 — Check Polish Quality Against Your Approved Sample
Take your approved sample out of wherever you stored it and hold it next to a slab from the container in natural daylight. The mirror polish should match in depth, reflectivity, and surface character. Check three or four slabs from different positions in the container — not just the ones on top, which may have been selected as the most presentable. The consistency across the load is what matters, not the best individual piece.
If the polish is visibly duller, or if the surface shows micro-scratches, buffing marks, or a satin rather than mirror finish, document it with close-up photographs alongside your approved sample in the same frame. A single photograph showing both the approved standard and the received piece under the same light is the most efficient evidence for a supplier claim.
Checking Colour Uniformity Across the Load
For UK masons working with Absolute Black, set five or six slabs from different crate positions vertically against a wall and step back. View them from five metres under natural light. Any tonal variation that would be visible to a family standing at a cemetery will be visible to you here. If you see variation, check the block reference against your order confirmation — if a single block reference was specified and the colour varies, production deviated from the agreed specification. Document it and raise it with your supplier immediately.
Step 7 — Check Edge Finish on a Sample of Pieces
Run a gloved hand along the cut edges of 10 to 15 pieces. Export-grade sawn or cut edges should be clean and consistent — no chipping, no severe saw marks that extend into the polished face, no crumbling at corners. Sawn faces are not polished and will have natural saw texture, but the edge quality affects how cleanly you can cut and finish the piece in your own workshop. A rough or inconsistent edge finish that was not present in the sample is worth recording.
Step 8 — Document Everything That Does Not Match
Discrepancies should be documented in a consistent format: a photograph showing the issue, a photograph showing it alongside the approved sample or the specification document, a written note of the specific piece (crate number, slab reference if marked), the specified standard, and what was received. Keep the documentation in a single folder — email thread, shared folder, or physical file — that is timestamped and can be presented to the supplier as a coherent record.
Do not discard, cut, or use any piece you intend to claim against. A supplier who receives a claim for a piece that has already been engraved and installed has a legitimate basis to dispute it. Keep discrepant pieces in their original state until the claim is resolved or the supplier advises otherwise in writing.
Step 9 — Contact Your Supplier Within 48 Hours If There Are Discrepancies
Most suppliers operate a claims window — a period after delivery within which discrepancies can be raised and will be taken seriously. This window is rarely stated explicitly in correspondence, but in practice it is 48 to 72 hours from confirmed delivery. Raising a discrepancy after a week, after pieces have been moved, cut, or sold on, puts you in a progressively weaker position. Contact your supplier the same day or the following morning at the latest. Send your documentation in a single email: photographs, measurements, a clear statement of what was specified and what was received, and a request for their response. Keep it factual. A claim that presents clear evidence is resolved faster than one that expresses frustration without specifics.
According to guidance from the National Association of Memorial Masons (NAMM), documentation of material discrepancies at point of receipt is the primary protection a UK mason has when pursuing a supplier claim for non-conforming stone. The same principle is reflected in standard international trade terms — under most Incoterms, the buyer’s responsibility to inspect and notify begins at the point of delivery and is time-limited.
Step 10 — If Everything Matches, Confirm Receipt to Your Supplier
This step is as important as any of the others, and it is the one most often skipped. When the container checks out — colour matches, dimensions are within tolerance, polish meets the standard, packing was intact — send your supplier a confirmation. A short email: “Container received in good order. Everything matches the specification and the pre-shipment photographs. Thank you.” That is enough.
This closes the accountability loop in the right direction. It tells your supplier that their process worked, that their quality controls produced the result you needed, and that you are the kind of buyer who acknowledges it when things go right. It is the foundation of a supplier relationship where your next order gets treated as a priority, where your block reference is managed carefully, and where problems — if they arise in the future — are resolved faster because the baseline of the relationship is mutual respect rather than mutual suspicion.
For further context on international trade claim procedures and buyer responsibilities at delivery, Trade Finance Global’s Incoterms 2020 guide sets out how FOB and other terms affect the point at which risk transfers and inspection obligations begin — useful background if you are dealing with a disputed claim.
Frequently Asked Questions
What if the container is delivered to the port rather than my yard — does this checklist still apply?
Yes, with one adaptation. If you are collecting from a port depot or having the container stripped at a port facility rather than at your yard, you may have limited time and space to conduct a thorough check before the container is returned to the shipping line. In that scenario, prioritise the exterior seal check, a video of opening, and a broad visual scan for obvious damage or colour variation before the container is emptied. Take as many photographs as you can in the time available. A port strip is not ideal for a careful 20% dimension check — if you have any concerns, ask your freight forwarder whether you can retain the container for a longer inspection period before returning it. There is usually a daily demurrage cost for extended container retention, but it is small relative to the cost of a disputed claim with inadequate documentation.
What does a valid claim against a granite supplier look like — and what are the likely outcomes?
A valid claim is one where you can show, with documentation, that what was received does not match what was specified in the purchase order and confirmed in the pre-shipment photographs. The most common resolutions are: credit against a future order for the discrepant pieces, replacement pieces included in the next container at no additional charge, or in more serious cases, a partial refund for the non-conforming portion of the order. Outright returns of shipped granite are commercially impractical — the cost of shipping stone back to India is prohibitive. The practical resolution almost always involves the next order. This is why the supplier relationship matters: a supplier who takes responsibility for discrepancies and resolves them through the following order is worth continuing with, even when a problem occurs.
How do I handle a situation where some slabs are fine and others are not — do I have to claim for the whole container?
No. Claims can be raised for specific pieces or a specific proportion of the order. Document the discrepant pieces individually, with photographs and measurements, and present the claim as a line-item list: piece count, specified standard, actual condition, and the proportion of the total order affected. This approach is more credible than a general claim against the whole container and is more likely to be resolved quickly. It also signals to your supplier that you are measuring accurately and know exactly what you agreed — which focuses the conversation on resolution rather than dispute.
Is there a difference between a transit damage claim and a quality claim, and who do I raise each one with?
Yes, and the distinction matters. Transit damage — physical breakage, cracking, or damage clearly caused by impact or movement during shipping — is a claim against the carrier or your marine insurance, not against your supplier. Your supplier’s responsibility ends at the port of loading under FOB terms. Quality claims — wrong dimensions, wrong colour, wrong finish, insufficient polish — are raised with your supplier because they relate to what was produced and packed, not what happened in transit. In practice, the pre-shipment photographs are the dividing line: if the photographs show intact slabs that arrived broken, it is a transit claim. If the photographs show slabs that look different from what arrived, or if the photographs were never sent, the quality claim sits with the supplier.
Every StoneCrest order includes pre-shipment photographs sent to you before the container is sealed, and a follow-up after confirmed delivery to make sure everything arrived as it should. That is the standard, not a premium service. If you want to understand what that process looks like in practice before placing an order, contact us directly — or start with a sample through our standard export and sample process and see the documentation approach for yourself before committing to anything larger.