Pet Care Brand Reclaims $123,500 in Sam’s Club Defective Allowance Deductions

Executive Summary

• Client Profile: Pet nutrition brand ($42M annual retail revenue).
• Retailer Involved: Sam’s Club US.
• Deduction Categories: Code 94 (Goods returned defective) and Code 99 (OTIF compliance fine).
• Dispute Amount: $134,700.
• Net Recovered: $123,500 (91.7% recovery).
• Resolution Timeline: 51 days.

The Dispute Scenario

Sam's Club stores routinely deduct allowances under Code 94 for returned or spoiled merchandise. The supplier discovered that individual club locations were categorizing damaged display pallets and consumer returns as manufacturer defects without providing required reclamation inspection sheets.

Simultaneously, Sam's Club levied Code 99 On-Time In-Full (OTIF) fines on collect shipments where Sam's Club’s own contracted carriers arrived late for dock pickup.

Evidence Assembly & Recovery

• Collect Carrier Accountability: DhaReclaim proved that pickup delays were the fault of retailer-managed routing, absolving the supplier under Sam's Club Routing Guidelines.
• Defect Documentation Auditing: Demonstrated that club-level staff failed to retain or document alleged damaged units as required by the supplier agreement.
• Outcome: Sam's Club central Accounts Payable credited $123,500 back to the supplier.