Disputing Retail Deductions and Chargebacks with Knowledge
About Guest Author SupplyPike
SupplyPike is a leading supply chain software solutions company helping CPGs increase their retail intelligence and profitability with analytics applications, machine learning, and deductions management. SupplyPike’s team helps empower CPGs and brokers to create solutions to the biggest headaches in the supply chain business. Schedule a demo to see how we can save you time and money!
Retail deductions reduce a supplier’s bottom line and strain the trading relationship. Suppliers are understandably frustrated when deductions hit their margins but are often unable to discover if the chargeback is valid or a misunderstanding. They lack the data to back up their disputes to the retailer. The missing link is often accessibility to business documents such as the purchase order, shipping notices, and invoices. With a recent partnership formed by SupplyPike and EDI Here, suppliers can overcome these hurdles.
Understanding Retail Deductions
Frequently, suppliers will see money taken from the checks their customers remit with an associated claim code next to them. These are deductions or chargebacks. These claims will not be on the invoice and sometimes arrive via an EDI 812 (Credit/Debit Adjustment) displaying which item had a claim and a reason code. Retail deductions take a considerable amount out of vendors’ checks, but the good news is that many may be invalid and disputable.
This is where the SupplyPike and EDI partnership adds tremendous value. SupplyPike and EDI have recently come together to create a 1-stop, 1-click solution to identify and dispute retail deductions and chargebacks.
Identifying Disputable Charges
First, suppliers can view the details of their retail deductions using SupplyPike’s Deductions Navigator. The software solution provides insights and integrates shipping documents for quick, easy, 1-click disputes. Suppliers see each deduction and decide which ones to dispute and which to archive at a glance.
Deductions Navigator also gives suppliers actionable insights, using machine learning, into the reasons for their deductions, how much money they’ve lost over time, and the common claim codes they see. With easy-to-digest graphs and claim code filters, it’s a snap to find the root cause of deductions. These insights lead to process improvements that will cut future deductions and identify those chargebacks worth disputing.
Providing Evidence to Counter Retail Deductions
Once suppliers identify an invalid retail deduction, they’ll need proof to dispute it. Luckily these details are often found in the EDI documents that followed the order.
These documents can show:
- When documents were sent,
- If the shipments were complete,
- Any order changes, and
- Much more
Tens of thousands of suppliers use the EDI retail network to connect to their retailers and exchange EDI documents. The SupplyPike and EDI partnership enables suppliers to request that the retail network send these documents to SupplyPike to provide additional insights on the validity of chargebacks. All of this is done automatically!
Customers can elect to connect their EDI data in EDI to Deductions Navigator and gain instant visibility into their chargebacks with retail partners. They can then quickly locate the necessary order and shipping documents and efficiently manage deduction disputes with the click of a button.
Automating the Process
It couldn’t be easier to automate this process. First, EDI customers select which retailers they would like to view in Deductions Navigator. Then, they agree to connect to the two solutions. After a few clicks, suppliers will have full visibility into their deductions. They’ll know how much money they’ve lost, how many deductions they’ve received, and their trends over time. Finally, the SupplyPike app pulls bills of lading, proofs of delivery, purchase orders, invoices, and any other claims documents from the EDI retail network.
With EDI and SupplyPike, suppliers can spend less time reconciling payments and more time growing their business.
