In this article, learn about:
What Trucks Ordered Not Used post audit claims are at Walmart
How to prevent receiving Trucks Ordered Not Used post audit claims
How to dispute Trucks Ordered Not Used post audit claims
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What Are Trucks Ordered Not Used Claims?
Post audit claims for Trucks Ordered Not Used (TONU) occur when the supplier doesn’t use a truck, or when Walmart and/or the supplier reroutes the truck driver during transit.
Additionally, this post audit claim might appear when suppliers cancel a collect order, which are orders where Walmart handles the shipping process.
How to Prevent Trucks Ordered Not Used Claims
Here are some of the best ways to prevent Trucks Ordered Not Used post audit claims:
Correctly Recording All Shipping Information
The most common reason for TONU claims is that the load constraints aren’t correctly noted in the item setup. The maximum constraint defines how much of your product can legally be loaded onto the truck and shipped. If these constraints are set up incorrectly, then your trucks will not be utilized efficiently, and post audit claims can result.
Make sure that your purchase orders with Walmart accurately reflect your shipping practices. If your purchase order states that you’ll need a certain number of trucks with a certain amount of space, then make sure that the space is utilized effectively. Otherwise, you might be hit with a TONU claim.
If there are trucks that you don’t end up using, make sure that you cancel the trucks in the ticketing system. If you don’t cancel the trucks, they might end up making unneeded runs to distribution centers, losing time and money and potentially resulting in post audit claims.
Improving Your Email Communications with Walmart
Ensure that you’re using clear language and structure in your email communications with Walmart. Paying attention to the way you communicate can help to reduce miscommunications and help your supplier agreements to be as understandable as possible.
If your organization employs a professional writer, such as a copywriter or content writer, it might be a good idea to have them revise your communications, to ensure that they’re as clear as possible.
You might want to bold or CAPITALIZE all essential information in your emails with Walmart, your buyer, and/or the third-party auditing firm. This technique helps important information to stand out to anyone who might be skimming through your communications.
It’s inevitable that employees will eventually leave your organization and take important institutional knowledge with them. Sometimes, that knowledge can be invaluable in preventing or disputing post audit claims. In order to reduce the impact of this, it’s best practice to create a shared folder, such as in Google Drive or Microsoft OneDrive, for your team. That way, your employees can record their communications and any essential documents for posterity, allowing you to still have access to their historical emails and knowledge after they leave your company. Additionally, you might want to institute a running log recording every time you’ve contacted your retailers and/or buyers, in order to more easily identify when certain interactions occurred.
Related Reading: What Is a Walmart Distribution Center?
How to Dispute Trucks Ordered Not Used in a Post Audit
You can dispute all post audit claims with Walmart and/or the third-party auditor over email. Walmart requires supporting documentation for any of its claims to be successfully disputed, so make sure to include that documentation in your emails to the auditor.
Supporting documentation may include:
Any written documents, including emails with the buyer, showing any conversation regarding the number of trucks you’ve ordered and any truck-related allowances applied to the purchase orders.
Any invoices (EDI 810) demonstrating the applicable allowances.
Communications from Walmart notifying you of any trucks they ended up not using.
A copy of the purchase order maintenance email, if received.
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