Whether dealing with the challenges of Shipper Load & count, trying to get a proof of delivery from a customer's transportation carrier, or filing a claim for damaged or lost merchandise, many vendors struggle with freight & transportation issues. Based on the 2009 Customer Deduction Survey conducted by CRF (Credit Research Foundation) in collaboration with Attain Consulting Group, 3 of the top 5 compliance deduction reasons were freight or transportation related.

In addition to understanding the internal practices that companies have used to achieve some measure of success with freight and transportation, there is a lot that can be learned from the relevant federal, state and local laws and regulations. Vendors can have contractual rights even if their goods are shipped using the retailer's carrier.

The Freight & Transportation Issues White Paper provides information on several aspects of freight and transportation laws and regulations which I believe are most relevant to deductions and is divided into the following sections:

1. Understanding Terminology
2. Carrier Contracts
   – Key Clauses
   – Negotiating Contracts and Supplier's Rights When Using Customer's Carrier
   – Company Experiences
   – Best Practices
3. Common Freight & Transportation Issues
   – Shortages and Shipper Load & Count
   – Damages
   – Late Delivery
   – Best Practices
4. Company Practices Regarding Freight on Returns
5. Carrier Performance
6. Claims
   – Required Elements
   – Carrier Defenses to Liability
   – Best Practices
7. Appendix A: Sample Carrier Contract Table of Contents
8. Appendix B: Standard Carrier Claim Form
9. Appendix C: Table of Contents from Shipping & Receiving in Plain English: A Best Practices Guide
10. Appendix D: Sample "Failed Delivery Window" report

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Post Audits are always a hot topic to discuss with companies doing business in the retail sector. Loosely defined as deductions received more than one year after shipping the goods, post audit deductions are often initiated by 3rd party firms working on behalf of retailers to identify opportunities to bill or chargeback the supplier for issues such as trade promotions agreed upon but not taken, errors in invoicing, and compliance violations not previously identified. Researching post audit claims is often a time consuming process.

The Post Audit White Paper addresses the challenges companies are facing regarding post audits as well as what they are doing to control the situation. It is organized into the following sections:

1. UNDERSTANDING THE ISSUE
   – Survey Statistics
   – Top Post Audit Reasons
   – Biggest Internal Challenges
   – Dealing with 3rd Party Post Audit Firms
2. UNDERSTANDING THE SOLUTION
   – Post Audit Policies
   – Tips for Preventing Post Audits
   – Tips for Disputing Post Audits
   – Tips for Working with 3rd Party Auditors
3. APPENDICES
   – Sample Post Audit Policy (courtesy of IAB)
   – Post Audit Metrics (courtesy of IAB)
   – Walgreen's Post Audit Policy (courtesy of IAB)
   – Tips for Creating "Solid" Vendor Agreements (based on PRGX presentation)

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There is no single "right" way to manage deductions. Some companies centralize the responsibility for research and resolution within one department, while others make each department responsible for researching and resolving the deductions they "caused". In some companies, the group that researches deductions often initiates the need for corrective actions, where in other companies, the two functions are kept separate. This report provides "best practice" information based on feedback received from several companies. It can help provide some useful tips in how best to manage deductions within your organizational structure.

The Deduction Processing White Paper is divided into the following sections:

1. Researching Deductions
2. Recovery of Invalid Deductions
3. Reason Codes
4. Deduction Prevention
5. How Long Should Deductions Age
6. Use of Automated Deduction Tools
7. Appendices
   – Sample reason codes

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In an effort to increase sales and improve profitability, retailers are constantly trying to find ways to both differentiate themselves from the competition and reduce the work being done at their DCs and stores when receiving product. As a result, suppliers may be asked to add retailer-specific price tickets to products or require unique packaging. These value added services (VAS) require additional work on the part of the suppliers ranging from evaluating whether the request can be fulfilled, to ensuring that the VAS are done correctly. This report looks at how companies are currently managing VAS.

The Value Added Services White Paper is divided into the following sections:

1. Current VAS Experience
2. Saying "NO" to VAS Requests
3. To Charge or Not to Charge (and what does it cost anyway?)
4. Where are VAS Performed?
5. VAS Approval Processes
6. How are .com Shipments Handled?

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Focusing on accountability and taking steps to prevent deductions from occurring (or reoccurring) are key success factors in both minimizing deductions and maintaining good trading partner relationships. This document will illustrate how companies manage, route and track deductions as well as the steps they take and the processes they use to promote accountability across various departments. In addition, the document provides helpful insights into the methodologies used to develop corrective actions.

The Accountability and Corrective Actions White Paper is divided into the following sections:

1. Survey Results
2. Process Flow
3. Promoting Accountability
   – Reason Codes & Status Codes
   – Tracking & Reporting by Department
   – "Charging" Deductions to Departments
4. Development of Corrective Actions

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For many companies, shortages represent the single largest class of deductions other than sales-related deductions. Based on the 2009 Customer Deduction Survey conducted by CRF in collaboration with Attain Consulting Group, over 700 responding companies ranked shortages as one of the top deduction reasons. 50% of companies responding to our Shortages & Shipping survey reported that Shipper Load & Count (SLC) is the biggest challenge related to carton shortages. In this report, read about the "common causes" of Carton Shortages. Learn how others have made process changes to improve internal performance and reduce shortages as well as recommendations to consider as a means of controlling shortage deductions of all kinds.

The Shortages and Shipping Issues White Paper is divided into the following sections:

1. Carton Shortages
   – Common Causes
   – Company Experience
   – Things to Consider
2. Concealed Shortages
   – Common Causes
   – Company Experience
   – Things to Consider
3. Other Shipping / Shortage Issues
   – RFID
   – Missing Packing Lists
   – Floor Loading / Pallet Delivery
   – Use of Automation
   – Other Issues

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Everyone knows that we are currently faced with tough economic times. According to a February 2009 Credit Research Foundation Study on the Economic Impact of the Credit Crisis on Business Credit & AR, 88% of the 1,089 respondents reported that the current economic situation has had a direct negative effect on their business. Everyone is interested in understanding how business practices might change as a result. If you are looking for benchmark information to understand what other companies are experiencing and what they are doing as a result, this whitepaper will help to provide the information you are looking for.

To understand the impact of today's economy on deduction management, the Managing Deductions in Today's Economy White Paper focuses on the following areas:

1. Workforce Reductions
2. Changes in the Volume and Nature of Deductions Received (numbers and/or dollars)
3. Trading Partner Relationships
   – Level of Travel
   – Customer Attitude
4. Changes in Internal Processes

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Managing and communicating retail compliance requirements is the first step in deduction prevention. Given the number of requirements for each retailer and volume of changes that take place, this can be a challenging and time consuming process. Companies have developed a variety of solutions to help facilitate and streamline the process, ranging from spreadsheets and manual summaries to more sophisticated databases which are integrated into the order processing or warehouse management system, and automatically check and flag orders or shipments which are not in compliance. This White Paper discusses the various processes and systems vendors have put in place to assist in managing compliance data within their organizations.

The Managing Compliance Information White Paper is divided into the following sections:

1. General Compliance Requirement Management
   – Process
   – Use of Automated Service
2. Maintaining & Communicating Compliance Requirement Data
   – Integrated into ERP / WMS System
   – Custom Developed Tools
   – Shared Access Documents
3. Challenges

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As retail customers continue to implement scorecards to evaluate vendor performance, it is likely that more and more vendors will begin to develop their own customer scorecard measures in response. Some of these customer scorecard measures will serve to validate the information reported on the vendor scorecards, while others will be used to identify and highlight customer factors which may be contributing to vendor performance. Along with customer profitability reporting, this information can be used to promote communication and collaboration between trading partners.

The Customer Scorecard & Profitability Reporting White Paper is report is divided into the following sections:

1. Customer Scorecards
   – Survey Results
   – Case Studies: Customer Scorecard Experiences
   – Challenges
2. Customer Profitability Reporting
   – Survey Results
   – Challenges
3. Appendices
   – Sample Customer Scorecards
   – Sample Customer Profitability Reports

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Good deduction reporting is critical for effective deduction management. This report includes ideas for developing and using deduction reports. It will help you to create reports, which are best suited to your organization.

The Deduction Reporting White Paper is divided into the following sections:

1. Deduction Reporting Process
2. Deduction Reporting Information
3. Use of Deduction Reports
4. Challenges
5. Appendices
   – Sample Report Templates – Excel file
   – Additional Sample Report Templates – pdf file

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