Skip to main content
Find Your Account Manager

Central Receiving

> Central Receiving

Central Receiving

The University of Washington has established Creative Communications (C2) as the Central Receiving department for all Academy Workday purchase order packages delivered to the University of Washington.

Central Receiving is one of the University’s initiatives to improve efficiency across the institution. Central Receiving encompasses moving from the UW current decentralized environment where all suppliers ship directly to buildings on campus, to having all suppliers ship directly to initially one primary Central Receiving Hub across campus.

The Central Receiving initiative will capture operational efficiencies by:

  • Standardizing physical and systematic (Workday) receiving practices
  • Eliminating the need for Requisition Requisitioners to perform receiving tasks including Create Receipt and management of packing slips
  • Increasing end-to-end order visibility by including all order and shipment documentation, including POs, Invoices, Receipts, and Packing Slips in Workday
  • Improving financial controls by eliminating reliance on supplier provided Advanced Ship Notices
  • Reducing aged invoices due to delays in receipt creation

C2 Central Receiving Services include:

  • Opening packages with a purchase order (PO) number on the label and verifying contents against the vendor packing slip
  • Receiving the shipped quantity in Workday
  • Scanning and uploading the packing slip to the PO in Workday
  • Returning the packing slip to the package and resealing it, printing a Goods Delivery Receipt Report, and attaching it to the box (the report will include the Deliver-To address from the purchase order)
  • Chain of custody implemented after receipt into Workday and after delivery to the Deliver-To address
  • Delivering packages to the Deliver-To address
  • If not delivering package, notifying requisitioner that the package is ready to pick at Central Receiving
  • Troubleshooting packages with a purchase order number that arrive with receiving issues like short shipment, contents in package not matching purchase order, broken goods, damaged packaging, etc. Communication to requisitioner about these exceptions will be done using the UW Connect Ticket system.
  • If the package is delivered with no PO number, C2 staff will simply deliver the package to the designated delivery location.

Bypassing C2 Central Receiving

Occasionally, a purchase order delivery will need to bypass Central Receiving. The decision to bypass Central Receiving is made by the requisitioner as they create the purchase requisition. Examples of types of orders:

  • Hazardous materials
  • Live Specimens
  • Weapons
  • Radioactive materials
  • Time-sensitive materials

Current Bypass System

The purchase requisitioner will need to over-write the Ship-To address on the requisition, entering the address that the order should go directly to. This will provide the direct Ship-To address to the supplier when they receive the purchase order.

Future Bypass System

A more efficient, automatic system for categorizing purchase orders that require direct shipment, bypassing Central Receiving, is in the works. As this effort progresses, this webpage will be updated.

Notes to C2 Central Receiving

If the purchase requisitioner needs to add a comment or note to the requisition for Central Receiving, this note should be put in the “Internal Memo” field on the purchase requisition.

Chain of Custody

PO Packages received by C2 Central Receiving will be tracked after receipt and after final delivery to the Deliver-To address. C2 will use QTrak, the chain of custody software system currently in use for tracking non-PO packages coming through Mailing Services. Tools are being developed to allow departments to access the tracking information in QTrak. As these tools become available, more information will be provided to purchase requisitioners and this webpage will be updated.

Future plans for upgrades to Workday include adding a chain of custody module that will integrate directly into the purchase order on Workday.

Central Receiving Problems

Central Receiving problems or issues will be addressed by C2 staff through the use of the UW Connect Ticket system. Using the centralreceiving@uw.edu email account, C2 staff will send a UW Connect Ticket to the purchase requisitioner on the purchase order to notify them about the problem or issue. The ticket will provide general instructions to the requisitioner about how to resolve the issue. Anticipated issues include:

Shortship:

Connect Ticket to Requisitioner text:
Your order was delivered to UW Central Receiving. UW Central Receiving has received the quantity delivered but it is less than what is listed on the purchase order. We will deliver items to your location, but you will need to work with the supplier to resolve this short shipment.

Overshipment:

Connect Ticket to Requisitioner text:
Your order was delivered to UW Central Receiving. UW Central Receiving has received the quantity on the purchase order but more items were shipped than what is listed on the purchase order. We will deliver the items to your location, but you will need to work with the supplier to resolve this overshipment.

Contents do not match packing slip:

Connect Ticket to Requisitioner text:
Your order was delivered to UW Central Receiving. The package cannot be received because the contents do not match the packing slip. We will not deliver this package to your deliver-to address but will hold the package awaiting further instructions from you. It is the purchaser’s responsibility to contact the supplier for this order if a return needs to be made. If you want us to receive the order in Workday and/or deliver it to you as is, please respond to this email with that information.

Contents have been damaged:

Connect Ticket to Requisitioner text:
Your order was delivered to UW Central Receiving. The package cannot be received because the contents are damaged. We will not deliver this package to your deliver-to address but will hold the package awaiting further instructions from you. It is the purchaser’s responsibility to contact the supplier if a return or credit needs to be made. If you want us to receive the order in Workday and/or deliver it to you as is, please respond to this email with that information.

Purchase Order Number is not valid and/or is closed:

Connect Ticket to Requisitioner text:
Your order was delivered to UW Central Receiving. The package cannot be received because the purchase order number is either not valid and/or closed. We will not deliver this package to your deliver-to address but will hold the package awaiting further instructions from you. It is the purchaser’s responsibility to contact the supplier to correct the purchase order number issue. If you want us to receive the order in Workday and/or deliver it to you as is, please respond to this email with a valid purchase order number.

Packaging indicates hazardous material or is non-standard protective packaging:

Connect Ticket to Requisitioner text:
Your order was delivered to UW Central Receiving. The package cannot be received because the packaging indicates hazardous material or is a non-standard protective packaging. We will not deliver this package to your deliver-to address but will hold the package awaiting further instructions from you.

Deliver-To Address is wrong or incomplete:

Connect Ticket to Requisitioner text:
Your order was delivered to UW Central Receiving. The package cannot be delivered because the deliver-to address is wrong or incomplete. Please respond to this email to let us know how you would like to proceed or to provide us additional delivery information.

C2 Central Receiving does not have access to Deliver-To location:

Connect Ticket to Requisitioner text:
Your order was delivered to UW Central Receiving. The package cannot be delivered because we do not have access to the location. Please respond to this email to let us know how you would like to proceed.

Order is large and will need planning and scheduling for delivery:

Connect Ticket to Requisitioner text:
Your order was delivered to UW Central Receiving. Because the order is large and will need planning and scheduling for delivery, we are not able to deliver it without your help. Please respond to this email to let us know how you would like to proceed.

Changes to Requisition Process

Central Receiving Requisition

Workday Requisitions

  • There is NO operational change in the requisitioning process.  Selecting the appropriate Deliver-To when creating a requisition will still auto-populate the Ship-To address.
  • However, the official “ship to” address for your building will be changed in Workday from your current ship to address to the address of the Central Receiving Hub, the Publications Services Building (3900 7th Ave NE).  You will see this change on the Create Requisition screen (see example to the right).
  • This ship to address will be sent to the supplier and will be on the supplier’s shipping label to ensure delivery to the Central Receiving Hub

Job Aids

How to Bypass Central Receiving

How to Include a Note in Purchase Order

Building Go-Live Schedule and Contacts

UW Tacoma is currently operating with Central Receiving services from C2.

Central Receiving will be implemented building by building across the Seattle campus starting April 2026.

Seattle Campus Wave 1 – April 2026
Bill & Melinda Gates Center for Computer Science & Engineering
Dempsey Hall
Founders Hall
PACCAR Hall
Bank of America Executive Education Center
Kane Hall
Student Union Building
Communications Building
Miller Hall
Social Work/Speech and Hearing Sciences Building
Gerberding Hall
Gould Hall
Architecture Hall
Fishery Sciences
Graves Hall

Central Receiving Overview Resources

Central Receiving is part of the Driving Operational Impact in the Together We Thrive Program.

Driving Operational Impact | Finance, Planning & Budgeting

A slide deck has been developed and used to onboard the first wave of buildings to Central Receiving at UW Seattle

View Slide Deck

View Central Receiving Overview

C2 Central Receiving Dock Hours and Location

UW Receiving
3900 7th Ave NE
Seattle, WA 98195

Monday through Friday
7:00 AM – 5:00 PM

Communicating with C2 Central Receiving

centralreceiving@uw.edu | 206-543-8757