Double ordered for over £40k - can the world swallow me please

[thepenguinsaysno]

NC as I if my boss is on here she'll know it's me, HI!

AWWWWW Crab cakes. I duplicated a really large purchase order. My 'big' boss emailed me asking for a purchase order for '20 pieces of stuff we need" to be sent to a supplier for about 40k, I did it that day.

A week later my manager send me another email saying don't forget this PO. And it was a different email thread with the words "new order as follows: 20 pieces of stuff we need"

I didn't cop it was the same stuff so sent it to the supplier, who has now made both order.

To make it worse big boss asked me a few weeks ago, was there a duplication. He asked both me and the supplier. Neither of us replied. Which is very unlike me and I can't remember why.

I haven't liked and admitted I made a mistake with doing both order. It's the first big mistake I've made in this job, been here over 2 years. I hope big boss doesn't lose all faith in me

£40k is a lot to shell out twice

This isn't all on you, it highlights a weakness in the ordering system as duplications shouldn't be able to happen.
Perhaps the system needs to be improved?

The OP has said it is not perishable and will be used in a few months anyway. So basically a strain on the cash flow and a potential storage issue. In the scheme of work place mistakes this is not a biggy. It is also a chance to learn and look at a better purchasing system. I think OP can salvage this by reviewing the systems and suggesting improvements. The not responding to the email would be a little more concerning.

Ha ha

Don't worry too much if it's something that will get used. Our reception lady once thought she ordered 25 rolls of tape she actually ordered 25 boxes of tape each with 72 rolls in. 1800 rolls we are still using them 5 years on

About five packets from the Co-op at today's prices, isn't it?

Depends on the company really. For some that might be a disaster, for others it might be barely noticeable..!

When I was in my early twenties I worked for the Personnel Director as his Secretary.

He wrote up a company wide questionnaire which got sent to the printers. They sent a draft and he asked me to proof read it. I found a few errors. They then sent back a final draft. I checked the errors had been corrected and he ordered a thousand copies.

When the boxes arrived I opened them up. To my absolute horror, I realised that between the first draft and the final (second) draft the printers had made new errors. I didn’t spot them because I was only looking for the mistakes made the first time. I hadn’t proof read the whole thing.

At the time I felt it was entirely my fault and I was wracked with guilt and worry for at least a week while the boxes sat in the Directors office. I finally told him, and he hardly cared. I realise now that he knew he probably should have checked it over. I was so, so relieved.

I know the cost of printing a thousand questionnaires for them to go in the bin is not the same as a £20k order, but I hope it goes well with your boss and he either takes the blame on himself for sending ambiguous instructions, or blames the suppliers for not raising a query.

Maybe one day, this will be the story you tell when you are confessing ‘fuck ups” with your friends.

May be worth working out if you supplied on your terms of purchase or the seller's terms of sale and then check what that contract says. Terms of purchase often give the buyer rights to cancel before delivery. terms of sale never do.

What the fuck is crab cake?!!

purchases of a certain amount should require a purchase order with a manager signature. Yes, it is annoying bureaucracy, but it exists for precisely this scenario. Small purchases can go through automatically and electronic signatures can help facilitate the process.

There really should even be a database somewhere that the purchase order gets entered before it is processed and it should show when the last time you ordered crab cakes. The ideal system will warn you that there are 72 about to hit their expiration date, but even just something that says, hey, just a reminder, you ordered crab cakes last week would be helpful. There are sophisticated softwares out there for this, but you can set something rudimentary up in excel really easily and if you are a small operation that has previously operated casually, that may be enough for now.

the main thing is to realize the problem is not the humans. The problem is the system not recognizing that humans are flawed and are going to lose track of complex details.

Shell... crab...? 😂😂

I was thinking they must be left over from Donnie and Daphne’s non-wedding! 😆

Beg the supplier for an extra 30 days on the invoice before you go back to your manager... to soften the blow :-)

Now I want crab cakes

dis u penguins? 🤣

Can you not speak to the Supplier, advise the error and ask them to stock until required and then call in the stock on call off to suit your business requirements? This can extend your payment terms and assist with TWC. If the supplier sees you as a valued customer they generally will accommodate mistakes and help where possible. Also agree with Brainstorm23 have you no process for Purchasing?

Is there a cancellation fee?

I think it's reasonable to make the error when there's been two separate emails

I’m hosting a small event next week and need £40k worth of crab cakes. Can anyone recommend a supplier please?

Just own it OP. Explain that the second order came as a new order and so your processed it as so. You’re really sorry and it won’t happen again

Oh God I’m crying at the first page of crab cake related confusion and the THERE ARE NO CRAB CAKES STAND DOWN comment 🤣🤣

OP.. just say FUCK. The situation merits it, you’ll feel better and we’ll all be less confused 🤷‍♀️

🦀

I haven't had Thai crab cakes for years but I'm craving them now.

You just need some big freezers now to store the surplus crab cakes!

Just come clean asap OP it’s human error and not entirely down to you but duplicate chains of command which they need to better organise.

This is like a very crabby version of "is it cake"?
I think, this time, it isn't cake. But is it even a crab?
I can see why 40K worth of crab flavour fondant icing could be hard to shift though

I've just had a Shephard's Pie but I'll certainly take £20,000 of crab cakes