What arrives in the box

An order from Dohrna arrives as one tracked, signed-for consignment. This page describes what is in it, item by item, so that the person opening it knows what to expect, what each document is for, and which one to keep with the vial. Nothing here is a promise about delivery time — that is stated in the delivery policy, and where this page and that policy differ, the policy governs. This page describes the packaging and the paperwork.

Where it comes from

Two routes, stated in the delivery policy. Boxes of ten are shipped direct from the manufacturer to the delivery address. Single vials held as stock are dispatched from Dohrna's hub. An order can therefore arrive as more than one consignment, each tracked, and the dispatch notice for each carries its own tracking reference.

The outer carton

A cardboard carton addressed to the institutional delivery address on the order. It carries the carrier's label and, on the outside, the research-use statement and the CLP hazard labelling for the contents, in type no smaller than 8 point, placed so that it can be read without opening a flap. That labelling is a legal requirement for a hazardous material in transit, and its presence on the outside of the box is deliberate.

The vials

Each vial is a small glass vial with a crimped cap and a rubber septum, containing the lyophilised material as a dry powder. The label carries:

• the compound name and the catalogue number;
• the lot number and the expiry date;
• the nominal quantity, in milligrams;
• the research-use-only statement; and
• a scannable code that opens dohrna.com, where the product page for the line carries the certificate for the lot.

Five vials of a line means five labelled vials of that line from the stated lot. Where a line is ordered in two sizes, the catalogue number is the same on both labels and the fill differs.

Lyophilised peptides ship at ambient temperature, which the material tolerates for the days of transit. Where a line requires cold-chain carriage, the product page says so and the consignment is carried accordingly.

The documents

Each consignment contains the following, as listed in the delivery policy. Each has a job.

Certificate of Analysis. Batch-specific, issued by the testing laboratory, with a lot number matching the vial label. This is the document to keep with the vial. The guide Reading a Certificate of Analysis explains its contents.

Safety Data Sheet. The 16-section document for each line, in an official language of the destination, stating the hazard classification and the precautions that apply to handling the material. Supplied free of charge, no later than first supply.

Commercial invoice. States the compound, the sequence, the CAS number, the tariff classification, the country of origin, the quantity, the net weight and the price for each line. It is the document customs reads, and it is the record of the transaction for the buyer's own files.

Packing list. Line by line, what the consignment contains, so it can be checked against the invoice and against the order.

Where a consignment crosses a customs border it also carries the air waybill, Dohrna's EORI number, and the signed end-use research declaration on institutional letterhead — the declaration recorded on the account, which states to the carrier and to customs what the material is for. Import duties and charges at the destination are assessed by the destination authority and are the buyer's responsibility; the delivery policy sets out why.

Hazard information — the pictograms, the signal word and the statements — is shown on the product page itself as well as in the Safety Data Sheet, so it can be read before the consignment arrives.

What is not in the box

There is no solvent, apparatus or accessory of any kind unless it was a separate line on the order. There is no leaflet describing use, because the material is supplied for laboratory research only and the laboratory's own procedures govern what is done with it. There is no promotional material.

On arrival

Three things are worth doing on the day the consignment arrives:

1. Match the vials to the packing list and the invoice. Each line, each size, each quantity.
2. Match each vial to its certificate. Lot number on the label, lot number on the certificate. The guide Verifying a lot sets this out.
3. Move the vials to storage. The storage condition for each line is stated on its product page; Storage and handling covers the general practice.

A discrepancy — a missing vial, a damaged carton, a label that does not match its certificate — should go to support@dohrna.com with the order reference and the lot number. The refunds and returns policy states how it is dealt with, and the delivery policy states what happens when a tracked consignment does not arrive.