Walmart Supplier Recovers $198,800 in Invalid Code 22 & 24 Shortage Deductions

Executive Summary

• Client Profile: National consumer packaged goods (CPG) snack food manufacturer ($48M annual retail turnover).
• Retailer Involved: Walmart US (regional distribution centers across Texas, Georgia, and Illinois).
• Deduction Categories: Walmart Code 22 (Goods billed not shipped) and Walmart Code 24 (Carton shortage, freight bill signed short).
• Dispute Amount: $214,350 across a 14-month operational period.
• Net Recovered: $198,800 (92.7% recovery rate) credited back directly to client settlement remittances.
• Resolution Timeline: Average claim approval within 42 days via Accounts Payable Dispute Portal (APDP).

The Challenge: Phantom Shortages at High-Velocity DCs

The supplier shipped palletized snack products on a prepaid basis using approved national temperature-controlled truckload carriers. Beginning in early 2025, the supplier noticed escalating remittance debits citing Walmart Code 22 and Code 24.

Walmart's Automated Receiving and Sorting systems were regularly logging 2 to 14 case shortages on multi-SKU pallets arriving at Walmart Regional Distribution Centers (RDCs). Because the client's internal accounting team lacked the bandwidth to pull signed Proof of Delivery (POD) tickets for hundreds of individual shipments, these deductions were written off as uncollectible cost of doing business.

Over 14 months, the unrecovered leakage accumulated to $214,350.

The Audit & Investigation

DhaReclaim was engaged under a pure contingency agreement. Our analysts conducted an exhaustive line-by-line audit comparing:

1. Walmart APDP Remittance Line Items: Reason codes, PO numbers, and invoice item details.
2. Signed Delivery Receipts: Validating driver signatures, receiving receiver stamps, carton counts, and pallet counts.
3. Carrier EDI 214 & 856 ASN Logs: Verifying exact time-of-delivery timestamps and electronic dispatch files.

Key Finding:

The vast majority of deductions occurred on shipments where carrier drivers obtained a signed Proof of Delivery stamped with "SLC" (Shipper Load and Count) or clear piece-count signatures, yet Walmart receiving clerks subsequently generated receiving discrepancy reports during breakdown. Walmart's system had systematically discounted the carrier's valid delivery verification.

The Recovery Strategy

DhaReclaim's recovery analysts built audit-proof claim packages within APDP:

1. Document Bundling: Every claim was paired with a clean 3-part evidence packet: the original Purchase Order, the matching BOL with clear receiver stamp/signature, and the detailed pallet breakdown manifest.
2. Systemic Defect Highlighting: Proved that pallet breakdown errors occurred post-delivery while goods were under Walmart internal custodial control.
3. Mass Dispute Batching: Grouped identical distribution center receiving runs to accelerate AP review.

The Result & Financial Impact

• Total Claims Submitted: 184 individual dispute files totaling $214,350.
• Total Approved & Credited: $198,800 credited directly onto active Walmart settlement checks within 42 days.
• Operational Fix: DhaReclaim helped the supplier optimize outer-carton GS1 barcode contrast and pallet wrap labeling, reducing ongoing receiving mis-scans by 78%.