Supplier Claims & Charges Overview
This article provides an overview of the types of adjustments you may see when you download your Payment Reports. The two main types of adjustments are claims and chargebacks.
Examples include:
- 3rd party carrier claims (customer order was damaged)
- Returns (customer returned their order)
- Payment or Cost of Goods (questions regarding Accounts Payable)
- Fulfillment (chargebacks for late shipping)
- US Suppliers: Please submit through the Supplier Self Help portal located in Retail Link > Apps > Supplier Self Service or call 479-273-8888 (toll-free 888-499-6377)
- International suppliers: Email rlintsupport@wal-mart.com
Customer Service Adjustments
Customer Service Adjustments (CSAs) are financial adjustments applied to orders by Customer Care agents. Partial Return Charges are adjustments given to the customers to prevent a return. For example, if a table arrives with a scratch but is otherwise in good condition, the customer service agent will offer a customer a 15% adjustment of the retail price to keep the table and cancel the return. These adjustments are used to save the sale and prevent full a customer return.
For more details about these charges and how to dispute them, view the article CSA Partial Return Charges.
DSV Chargebacks
The terms of the standard DSV contract outlines the standards that Walmart has set for shipping POs. For example, a PO must be shipped by the Expected Ship Date (ESD), which is generally the same day if an order is received before your local warehouse cutoff time. If a DSV cancels orders, ships late, or ships via a different carrier, chargebacks can occur.
There are two types of DSV chargebacks that the Walmart Performance Management team applies to orders. Late chargebacks are calculated based on the number of POs shipped past the ESD, with an allowance of 1% of the total number of POs shipped in a chargeback period. A charge of $5 is applied to each late PO over this allowance.
- A DSV shipped 24 of 2,000 orders after the ESD. The calculated allowance in this example is 20, so they will see a late chargeback of $20 in the monthly report.
Reject chargebacks are calculated by the number of units rejected with a backorder status, with an allowance is 0.1% of the total number of units shipped in the chargeback period. A charge of $5 is applied to each rejected unit.
- A DSV backordered 18 POs in the month of April. The calculated allowance in this example is 2, so they will receive a reject chargeback of $80 in the monthly report.
For more details about these charges and how to dispute them, review DSV Fulfillment Chargebacks.
Barcode, Labeling, Pallet, Packaging, and Load Compliance
Owned Suppliers may receive chargebacks for items that are not in compliance with the Walmart eCommerce Packaging and Labeling Guide through the Supplier Quality Excellence Program (SQEP) Phase 2 and 3 process. Barcode, Labeling, Pallet, Packaging and Load defect fines are issued by the SQEP team. These charges include all inbound items not labeled or packaged as outlined in the guide and result in rework and/or additional research before our Fulfillment Centers can receive them.
A $200 admin fee is charged to for each applicable PO plus $1 per unit for each unit affected.
SQEP Tools
Use the tools listed below to manage SQEP for Barcode, Labeling, Pallet, Packaging and Load defects.
FixIt Inspections – You can view your defects in the FixIt Inspections application; you can also use this tool to reach out to your Inbound Quality Manager for assistance, they are listed as your Assigned User in FixIt Inspections. If you are not receiving notifications from FixIt Inspections for items that must have a Corrective Action submitted please email sqep_email@walmart.com to have your email address updated in the FixIt Inspections system.
Supply Chain Packaging Guide - If you have issues accessing the guide, go to https://corporate.walmart.com/suppliers/requirements and select Packaging
For further information on the SQEP, visit the Overview article in Retail Link. Log in to Retail Link and navigate to Academy > Analysis and Reporting (under Quick Learning Articles) > Walmart Supplier Quality Excellence Program (SQEP) (under Compliance Programs).
Payment Questions
If you have questions regarding payments (Accounts Payable, etc.), there are two ways to create a ticket with the Walmart Global Business Services (GBS) Contact Center. To submit a ticket regarding the below issues, please utilize the online portal GBS Contact Center and use the dropdown to select your Reason for Contact.
- Invoice Status
- Backup Request
- General Inquiries
- Code 94
- Pay from Receipt Disputes
- Supplier Quality Excellence Program
- SQEP Back Up
- OTIF-US
When utilizing the online portal, please include all relevant information (ex: invoice numbers, claim numbers, check numbers). Providing the team with comprehensive information relating to the issue allows them to research your issue and provide a quick resolution.
If your issue is not listed in the GBS Reason for Contact dropdown, please reach out to the Contact Center at (479) 273-8888 or Toll Free (888) 499-6377 for support.
Returns Charges & Claims
These deductions are recognized as Code [94] - Defective Merchandise and Code [60] - Handling Fee and are for all customer returns. Returns deductions are charged regardless of customer return reason or item condition.
If you are on Liquidation terms per your contract(s), you will receive a returns invoice once the returned item is processed in one of our return centers*. This will include the Cost of Goods (COGs) plus a handling fee.
*Jewelry items should be routed to the Marlow, OK Return Center.
If Return to Vendor (RTV) is part of your contract(s), you will be invoiced as soon as the pallet is tendered for shipping. Suppliers with an RTV slot are also responsible for freight charges and handling fees incurred shipping from Walmart's return center to their location.
Claim Discrepancies
You have 90 days from the invoice date to dispute billing claims and 90 days from date of receipt of goods (Proof of Delivery date) to file a claim for RTV discrepancies. Direct Mail Back discrepancies have a 48-hour dispute window from the date of receipt of goods.
Please note, Walmart.com does not have PO details to tie to returns deductions. You can request a report that contains PO details, click here for more information. For detailed instructions on how to file claims, please see the following articles:
Dotcom Returns Billing Claim Guide
RTV Address Updates and RA Requirements
All suppliers are responsible for ensuring their facility address for accepting RTV returns is up-to-date. If you must update your returns address, please email DOTCOMRC46@wal-mart.com. All suppliers with RTV terms must supply a permanent Return Authorization (RA) to expedite the process of returning items to your warehouse as stated when agreeing to RTV terms. For additional information, please review Returns Charges and Disputes – FAQs.
System Outage Chargebacks
Walmart keeps track of system-wide issues along with the impacted days. When the monthly chargeback files are created, the Performance Management team will remove any orders which may have been impacted by those events. This captures most, but not all, issues/impacted orders. The Performance Management team instructs DSVs to keep a record of any orders they believe were impacted by issues caused by Walmart's systems and to dispute them in the monthly chargeback, which Walmart will waive.
For more details about these charges and how to dispute them, view the article DSV Fulfillment Chargebacks.
Transportation Chargeback
This chargeback is issued by the Transportation Compliance team when an order ships via a different ship method from the method that was transmitted in the order. For example, you ship an order via FedEx Ground instead of USPS.
For questions/disputes regarding these chargebacks, please create a case for Partner Support. Select Payments > Outbound Transportation - Finance and Compliance > Transportation Chargeback Disputes. Your request will be reviewed by the Transportation Compliance team. Please include the following information in your ticket:
- Chargeback Period: Month of chargeback under dispute
- Description: Why you believe you should not have received a chargeback.
- Supporting Documents: Any attachments (screenshots, etc.) that support your case should be included here.
A transportation chargeback is based on non-compliant packages and assessed at the higher of: $5 per non-compliant package or the rate difference between the Walmart-selected carrier method and the vendor-selected (non-compliant) carrier method.
For more details about these charges and how to dispute them, view the article DSV Fulfillment Chargebacks.
Virtual Refund and Replacement
Supplier VR Charges (Owned) and DSV VR Chargebacks are for refunded or replaced items that, due to a variety of reasons, do not arrive at the Return Center. These charges are not compliance-based.
- Supplier VR Charges are for the merchandise shipped from a supplier to a Walmart Facility for fulfillment.
- DSV VR Chargebacks are for refunded or replaced merchandise shipped from a DSV to an individual customer or store for customer pickup
For more details about these charges and how to dispute them, view the articles Supplier Virtual Refund or Replacement Charges and DSV Virtual Refund or Replacement Chargebacks.
DSV Carrier Claims
Any questions regarding filing claims with the carriers should be directed to your company's individual carrier representatives.
Other Chargebacks
When there are POs that are out of compliance, Walmart may file other types of chargebacks. For assistance with chargebacks not mentioned above, check High Radius for more detail. If you do not have access to High Radius and would like to be set up as a new user, or for technical assistance, please email: HiRadCS@walmart.com
The contact center can help you distinguish between chargebacks and guide you to the correct escalation path if necessary. There are several resources available in the Supplier Academy. Watch this video for a virtual tour.