A deduction on the remittance
The brand's remittance for last month's shipments is short. A line near the bottom says "compliance charge" against one PO, and another says "late delivery penalty" against a second. The accounts clerk passes it to the merchandiser, who remembers that the late delivery was caused by the brand approving the PP sample three weeks late, and that the carton labels were printed exactly to the brand's instructions.
Proving either means finding the approval email, the T&A, the carton label spec and the packing list. The brand's portal gives a short window to dispute. It passes. The deduction stands.
Why claims go unchallenged
Most chargebacks are small, specific and arrive after the order is finished and forgotten. The evidence needed to dispute them was created during production, by different people, in different places.
- Deductions appear on remittances with short codes, not explanations.
- Each brand has its own claims process, portal and time limit.
- Approval dates, shipment records and labelling instructions are in separate inboxes and folders.
- Nobody is responsible for claims, so they fall between accounts and merchandising.
- There is no record of which claims were disputed and what happened.
The quiet drain
Individually, chargebacks look too small to fight. Together, across brands and a year, they come straight off margins that are thin to begin with. Accepting them also teaches the brand's systems that your factory does not push back. And without a log, you cannot see patterns, such as a particular brand's carton requirements repeatedly catching you out, which would be cheaper to fix at source.
Whether to dispute a given claim is a commercial call for you, and anything contractual is for your adviser. The log makes sure that call is made with the facts in front of you.
A claims log with the evidence attached
- Remittances and claim notifications are read from the accounts inbox or brand portal downloads, and each deduction is logged with the brand, PO, amount, reason code and response deadline.
- Each claim is linked to the order it relates to, and the relevant records are gathered automatically: the PO and its amendments, T&A with approval dates, packing list, carton records, inspection reports and emails mentioning the PO.
- The claim is assigned to a person with the deadline shown, and reminders go out before it expires.
- A draft dispute is prepared from the evidence, in plain language, for the merchandiser or owner to edit and send.
- Outcomes are recorded: accepted, disputed and reversed, disputed and upheld.
- A report shows claims by brand and reason, so recurring causes can be fixed in production.
| Claim type | Evidence that usually settles it | Where the log finds it |
|---|---|---|
| Late delivery | Approval dates and PO amendments | T&A and PO history |
| Shortage | What was packed in each carton | Packing records |
| Carton labelling | The brand's instructions and your label | Packing tool and emails |
| Quality | Final inspection report | QC records |
Remittance day afterwards
Each deduction becomes a logged claim with a deadline and an owner, and the evidence is already gathered. You decide quickly which to accept and which to challenge. Over time, the reasons for claims become visible, and the recurring ones get fixed in the packing room or the T&A rather than paid for again.
Accounts and merchandising stop passing remittances back and forth, because each claim has a named owner and a date. And when you next negotiate terms with a brand, you know how often their claims were upheld and how often they were reversed.
Is this your remittance?
- Deductions appear that nobody investigates.
- Dispute deadlines pass before the evidence is found.
- Nobody owns claims between accounts and merchandising.
- You suspect some claims were caused by the brand's own delays.
- You have no record of chargebacks by brand or reason.