Retailer Audits Don’t Sleep—Why Your Recovery Strategy Can’t Either

Let’s say this plainly: if you only review deductions monthly or quarterly, you're bleeding cash.

Retailers operate in real time. Their systems monitor compliance, freight, and supply chain metrics 24/7. Deductions are applied instantly, often without warning. But too many suppliers respond days—or even weeks—later.

That delay is more than a nuisance. It’s a risk multiplier.

The Cost of Inaction

Here’s a fictional but painfully realistic example:

A mid-sized CPG brand reorganizes its finance department. Deduction reviews get paused for just six weeks. By the time they restart, nearly $97,000 in shortage deductions have aged out of the dispute window.

Those dollars are gone for good. And the company’s leadership? They didn’t even know it happened until quarter-end.

The 24/7 Audit Reality

Retailer audits don’t follow your calendar. They’re triggered by:

• Missed labels

• Late shipments

• Incorrect pack sizes

• Pricing discrepancies

• Invoice data mismatches

And these are applied systematically. Often automatically.

So while your team’s taking a breath or waiting on bandwidth, your ledger is racking up losses.

What Continuous Recovery Looks Like

• Proactive monitoring: Daily or weekly reports flag discrepancies early

• Issue triage: High-dollar or high-frequency problems get prioritized

• Claim submission within days, not weeks

• Policy tracking: Your team knows when rules change and adapts fast

Retail is a game of speed and precision. Your deduction strategy should match.

If your team isn’t resourced for that, bring in the pros. HRG’s recovery team works in real time to help you dispute, resolve, and recover before deadlines slam shut.

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