In the complex and highly competitive world of retail, businesses face numerous challenges in managing deductions – small reductions in payments that can accumulate substantial losses over time. While larger retailers like Amazon and Walmart have developed solutions to help suppliers manage deductions, smaller retailers like Nordstrom, Menards, and Walgreens often require a more manual approach to dispute deductions.
What are Email Deduction Disputes?
Email deduction disputes refer to the process of resolving deductions through email communication with the retailer, rather than through a dedicated online portal. This is common for smaller retailers who lack the resources or infrastructure to provide a centralized platform for dispute resolution.
What Does A Manual Dispute Process Look Like?
The manual process of disputing deductions through email typically involves several steps:
Gathering Information: Suppliers must collect all relevant data from the retailer’s portal or systems, including order details, shipping information, and any other documentation related to the disputed deduction.
Drafting an Email: Once the necessary information is gathered, the supplier must draft an email detailing the dispute, clearly stating the issue and providing all relevant details.
Attaching Documents: To support the dispute, the supplier must attach any necessary documents, such as invoices, proof of delivery, or other evidence.
What Makes Email Disputes a Challenging Task?
The manual nature of email-based deduction disputes poses several challenges for suppliers:
Curating Emails for Disputing Deductions: Compiling the required information for each deduction and accurately drafting the dispute email is a time-consuming and meticulous process.
Tracking – The Biggest Challenge: Without a centralized platform, suppliers must rely on their email communications to track the status of their disputes, leading to a lack of visibility and potential delays.
Attaching Documents: Retrieving and attaching the necessary documents from various sources, such as EDI platforms( Kroger edi ) and ERP systems, adds an extra layer of complexity to the dispute process.
Complex Terminologies: Retailers may use different terminology, codes, or abbreviations to describe deductions, making it challenging for suppliers to understand and accurately dispute the issues.
Can Email Disputes Be Automated?
Fortunately, the challenges associated with email-based deduction disputes can be addressed through automation. Solutions like iNymbus Deduction Management Software leverage robotic process automation to streamline the entire dispute resolution process:
Identifying Deductions: iNymbus can automatically detect newly issued deductions, regardless of their origin, whether from a retailer’s portal or email correspondence.
Validating Deductions: By following standardized operating procedures (SOPs), iNymbus can validate the legitimacy of deductions and categorize them based on the nature of the issue, such as pricing discrepancies, shortages, or compliance problems.
Document Retrieval: When an invalid deduction is identified, iNymbus can automatically retrieve the necessary documents from various sources, including EDI platforms and ERP systems, to support the dispute process.
Filing the Claim: In the absence of a retailer portal, iNymbus can leverage SOPs to construct a comprehensive dispute email, including all relevant details and attached documents, and submit it on the supplier’s behalf.
By automating these critical steps, iNymbus can significantly improve the efficiency and accuracy of the deduction dispute process, reducing manual effort and potential errors while ensuring timely resolution and maximizing revenue recovery.
Conclusion
As the retail landscape continues to evolve, the importance of effective deduction management has become increasingly evident. While larger retailers have developed dedicated solutions, smaller retailers like Nordstrom, Menards, and Walgreens often rely on email-based dispute processes, which can be both time-consuming and challenging.
The problem with deduction management varies from one supplier to another. One might face trouble with the high volume of deductions from one retailer, while for some, the volume wouldn’t be an issue, but managing deductions from multiple retailers would be the challenge. Lowe’s stands out as one such retailer. They have recently launched the Lowe’s Vendor Portal to simplify deductions processing, but the main challenge still remains.
By embracing automation through solutions like iNymbus, suppliers can streamline their deduction management, leading to substantial time and cost savings, as well as enhanced revenue recovery. iNymbus supports not only Amazon chargebacks and Walmart deductions but also medium-sized retailers like Ulta and Walgreens that do email disputing.
