Expertise
Retailers and deduction types we cover
Deduction programmes differ enormously between retailers — the codes, the portals, the evidence standards and the windows are all different. Here is where we work and what we work on.
Retailers & distributors
Where our clients get deducted
Four retailer programmes have dedicated pages because suppliers ask about them most. The rest are worked the same way: decode, validate, evidence, file, escalate, then fix the cause.
| Retailer / distributor | Typical deduction exposure |
|---|---|
| Walmart | OTIF and supply-chain compliance fines, shortages and concealed shortages, pricing and cost-difference claims, returns and handling charges, post-audit claims. |
| Sam's Club | Club-channel compliance charges, shortages, allowance and promotional claims, and post-audit findings sharing Walmart's audit machinery. |
| Target | Accounts payable codes, vendor performance charges, freight codes, vendor income and Target Circle claims, third-party audit deductions. |
| Kroger | MCBs across promotional, shortage, compliance and freight categories, ORAD late-shipment charges, EDI non-compliance, scan-down reconciliation. |
| Amazon (1P Vendor Central) | Compliance chargebacks across PO, ASN, prep, packaging, transport and receive, plus shortage claims and accrual over-billings. |
| Costco | Compliance and shipping charges, shortages, and allowance claims — a materially different programme from Walmart's, and often handled by the wrong playbook. |
| Home Depot & Lowe's | Vendor compliance chargebacks, routing and ASN violations, shortages and returns charges in the home-improvement channel. |
| CVS & Walgreens | Drug-channel vendor compliance charges, shortages, pricing claims and promotional deductions. |
| Albertsons & Publix | Grocery shortages, promotional and scan-based claims, compliance charges and post-audit findings. |
| KeHE & UNFI | Distributor deductions: shelf-worn and spoilage claims, new-store and slotting fees, promotional billbacks, freight and reclamation. |
Selling somewhere not on this list? The methodology is retailer-agnostic. Tell us which portals you deal with.
Deduction categories
Eight categories, eight different fights
Treating every deduction the same way is the single most common reason recovery rates stay low. Each category has its own evidence standard, its own channel and its own economics.
Compliance & OTIF fines
Penalties for delivery timing, fill rate and supply-chain performance. Frequently disputable when the failure sits with a carrier, an appointment system or a retailer-side receiving delay — but only with the transport record to prove it.
EDI & ASN chargebacks
Late, missing or inaccurate advance ship notices, carton content labels, expiry and lot data, and document non-compliance. The most preventable category in the entire file, and usually the fastest root-cause win.
Shortages & concealed shortages
The retailer says it received less than you invoiced. Won or lost on the pairing of BOL, signed POD, packing detail and case-pack documentation.
Pricing & cost differences
Invoice cost does not match the cost on the retailer's file. Almost always traceable to a cost change that was not acknowledged, or was acknowledged after the PO cut.
Trade & promotional deductions
Off-invoice allowances, scan-downs, coupon and loyalty claims, billbacks. Disputing these requires the original deal terms, dates and performance evidence — not an opinion about what was agreed.
Post-audit claims
Retroactive claims raised months or years after an invoice closed, often by a third-party audit firm working on contingency. Walmart's post-audit review can extend up to two calendar years after the original transaction (SPS Commerce).
Returns, damages & reclamation
Return-to-vendor charges, defective allowances, handling fees and reclamation deductions — frequently duplicated against claims already taken elsewhere in the file.
Freight & accessorial charges
Trucks ordered not used, unauthorised carrier charges, expedited freight, sort-and-segregate and detention charges billed back to the supplier.
Windows
The clock is different at every retailer
The most expensive deduction is the one that expired while it sat in a queue. These are the published windows for three of the programmes we work most often — they change, and they are worth confirming against current supplier documentation every year.
Deduction audit
See what you're owed.
The deduction audit reviews your recent retailer remittance and deduction data, identifies what is recoverable, and shows you the root causes behind the repeat offenders. Recovery work runs on contingency — you get paid first, and our fee comes out of recovered dollars.