Running a business isn’t just about reacting to issues—it’s about staying proactive. Suppliers must follow a consistent maintenance routine to keep operations efficient and avoid costly deductions and fines. This checklist breaks down essential tasks into weekly, monthly, quarterly, and yearly actions, helping you stay on top of compliance, deductions, and overall business health.
Weekly Tasks
- Check deductions/scorecards for key customers
- Review OS&D (over, short, and damaged) deductions and dispute
- Download and save data from portals for retailers and 3PLs (having this data is important for validating disputes)
- Run sales report and analyze for key insights to bring to team and merchants
- Retailer-Specific tasks
- [Walmart] Review Supplier Action/Denied/Cancelled claims and re-dispute where appropriate
- [Amazon] Review Co-Ops for invalid charges and dispute
Monthly Tasks
- Check deductions/scorecards for secondary customers
- Review gross revenue and deduction amounts by retailer to track the percentage of deductions impacting the business.
- Identify high-value claims with missing documentation and coordinate with warehouses or carriers to obtain the necessary records.
- Retailer-Specific Tasks
- [Walmart] Invoice Walmart for overages from previous months
- [Target] Review Unpaid Invoices and dispute
- [Home Depot] Review and dispute Open Invoices
- [Amazon] Review and dispute Chargeback (compliance) deductions
Quaterly Tasks
- Review EDI set up
- Review retailer(s) routing guides to ensure compliance with retailer standards
- Review retailer(s) compliance guides to ensure all areas are up to date
- Review labels on items being sent to retailer(s) to ensure compliance with specifications (inner and outer labeling)
- Review contract with retailer(s) for any non-compliance and compile documentation for renegotiation
- Review supplier agreements and update based on changes with sales team
- Retailer-Specific Tasks
- [Walmart] Review and dispute Compliance (OTIF/SQEP) charges
- [Walmart] Submit any shortage deductions that you’re unable to obtain proof documents for through Walmart’s MDC submission process in APDP
- [Walmart] Review and dispute Post Audits
- [Amazon] Create settlement(s) for denied shortage and pricing claims from previous quarters (leave a 1-quarter gap)
Twice a Year Tasks
- Review agreements with third-party logistics providers to ensure they are following the guidance you have provided on warehousing and shipping, as well as following retailer-specific compliance
- Review all master data internally and externally to ensure accuracy, alignment, and updates across supplier and retailer systems. This includes but is not limited to pricing, measurements, weights, TiHi data, color, size, UPC, SKU, material, and other unique product details
- Ensure internal teams responsible for managing product data regularly update systems for new items or changes and communicate these updates to cross-functional teams. This enables sales to coordinate with retailers and ensure data accuracy on their end
Yearly Tasks
- Review Contract Agreements
- Review Allowances on OSA and compare to actual charges
- Review gross revenue and deduction amounts by retailer to track the percentage of deductions impacting the business
- Review total deduction and compliance data to determine next year’s plan/budget
- Review any changes in sales volume to each retailer and budget for any volume changes in deduction/compliance fines
- [Prepaid suppliers] Review carrier success/opportunities and negotiate rates based on fines/fees incurred over the past year
As Needed/Ongoing Tasks
- Maintain a master data file for item set up with solid guidelines to maintain, update, and share information
- Review and dispute contractual deductions (this could be any cadence; it is highly dependent on the volume of these claims)
- Ensure cross-functional teams have visibility into deductions and compliance fines
- Digitize all potential dispute proof documentation and ensure it is searchable
Once you implement this checklist, you may find that the frequency of tasks varies based on the unique needs of your business. It’s important to review and update the checklist regularly to reflect any changes in operations, retailer requirements, or compliance standards. This flexibility ensures that your supplier maintenance routine remains relevant and effective for your evolving business needs.