Related service · Retailer deductions
Retailers and distributors deduct money for late deliveries, missed appointments, paperwork errors and off-spec pallets. We prevent the fines your freight causes, dispute the ones you don't owe on your behalf, recover deducted money and file loss and damage claims with carriers. It's a focused add-on to our core service, freight cost optimization.
Many retailer fines start on the truck. A late arrival, a missed appointment, a wrong BOL or a pallet built off spec can turn into a deduction weeks later, quietly taken out of the payment you were expecting. This service covers four things:
A deduction (also called a chargeback or compliance fine) is money a retailer or distributor subtracts from what it pays you. Instead of sending a bill, it short-pays your invoice and tells you why in a remittance or deduction report.
Why they're easy to miss:
Retailers measure whether your product arrived on time, in full and ready to receive. Most of what goes into that score happens between your dock and theirs.
| What went wrong | How it shows up | Where it starts |
|---|---|---|
| Truck arrived late or early, or missed its appointment | On-time fines (Walmart OTIF, Kroger ORAD, Target OTFR), late and no-show fees | Carrier performance, appointment scheduling, unrealistic transit times |
| Load wasn't ready when the carrier arrived | Truck-ordered-not-used (TONU), layover, missed pickup window | Order release timing, shipping calendar |
| Appointment moved at the last minute | Rescheduling and work-in fees | Dock scheduling, carrier capacity |
| Wrong or incomplete BOL, missing placard or PO label | Paperwork and labeling fines | Shipping documentation |
| Pallet overhang, unstable or non-standard pallets | Restacking, pallet and load-quality fines, refused loads | Pallet build, loading pattern |
| Shipment sent off the retailer's routing guide | Routing guide violations, chargebacks for freight costs | Carrier selection, routing guide compliance |
| Cases short or damaged on arrival | Shortage and damage deductions | Loading, handling, temperature control, signed proof of delivery |
Our focus is deductions tied to freight, delivery and compliance. Promotional and pricing deductions (like slotting, price mismatches or promo allowances), EDI and ASN fines and unsaleables come from trade terms and systems. We'll tell you if we see them.
Each retailer and distributor has its own program. Rules and fine amounts change, so always check the current routing guide or supplier portal.
The best deduction is the one that never happens. We sort your deduction reports by retailer, DC, carrier, lane and reason code to find the patterns, then fix the causes. Depending on what we find, that can mean:
Many of these fixes also lower freight costs. See order and scheduling optimization, pallet and packaging optimization and accessorial and compliance control.
We match each deduction to its shipment: BOL, signed proof of delivery, appointment confirmation, carrier pickup and delivery times and the carrier invoice. That shows which fines your freight really caused, which ones a carrier or warehouse caused, and which ones you don't owe at all.
For each deduction worth contesting, we build the case in the format the retailer or distributor asks for and file it on your behalf, inside each program's dispute window. When a carrier or warehouse caused the fine, we go after the party responsible. You see every open dispute, its status and the outcome.
Recovered deductions are tracked and reported as their own category of verified savings. They're never mixed into your freight cost savings, so finance sees two clean numbers:
A dispute counts only once the money comes back on a remittance or credit. A prevented fine counts only against your finance-approved baseline. Nothing is counted twice.
When a carrier loses or damages your product, we file the claim with the carrier, with the BOL, proof of delivery, photos and invoice value, and follow it until it's paid or closed. Then we look at loading, handling and temperature control so the same damage doesn't keep happening.
For the free 14-day review, the more of this you can share, the clearer the picture. We sign an NDA where appropriate.
Don't have it all? Send what you have. Most shippers start with invoices and one or two retailers' deduction reports.
Why us
Benchmark · Implement · Verify
It's our service for retailer and distributor deductions: preventing the fines your freight causes, disputing the ones you don't owe on your behalf, recovering deducted money and filing loss and damage claims with carriers.
In practice the terms are used interchangeably. Both mean the retailer or distributor paid you less than your invoice and gave a reason, such as a late delivery, a short shipment or a labeling error.
On-time and in-full fines, missed and late appointment fees, rescheduling fees, truck-ordered-not-used and layover charges, BOL and placard errors, pallet and load-quality fines and routing guide violations are usually freight-driven. Shortages and damage can be too, depending on loading and handling.
Yes. We look at which on-time and in-full misses come from freight, like late carriers, missed appointments or product not ready for pickup. We dispute the ones that were misattributed and fix the causes of the rest.
Yes. We build each dispute from your shipment records, file it with the retailer or distributor on your behalf and track it to a decision. You see the status and outcome of every dispute.
Yes. When a carrier loses or damages your product, we file the claim with the carrier and follow it until it's resolved. We also look at loading, handling and proof of delivery so the same damage doesn't keep happening.
Recovered deductions are tracked and reported as their own category of verified savings, separate from freight cost savings. A dispute counts once the money comes back on a remittance or credit.
The 14-day freight savings review is free. There's no upfront fee and no per-dispute or per-claim charge. We're paid only from savings verified on your invoices.
No. Maximizer Team is an independent freight savings advisor. We don't haul freight, sell capacity or take carrier commissions, so our advice isn't tied to any carrier.
It depends on each retailer's or distributor's dispute window, and some are short. That's why we start with the most recent deductions and set up a routine so new ones are reviewed before their window closes.
Usually, either read access or regular exports. Deduction details, proof of delivery and dispute status often sit in retailer and distributor portals, so we agree on secure access with your team at the start. You stay in control of logins and approvals.
Start with a short intro call. Then send us 12 months of freight invoices and your deduction reports. In 14 days you'll get a free written review showing which deductions you can dispute, which you can prevent and where your freight costs can come down too.
Get my free freight reviewNo upfront fees. Paid only from savings verified on your invoices. NDA available.