In our last blog we explained the basics of Amazon Shortage Disputes and how timeliness is a key factor in success.
Amazon’s window for dispute is much shorter and stricter than other online retailers. The longer the gap between the invoice due date and you raising a dispute (the Invoice Age) your chances of successful resolution go down sharply.
This time around we can look more closely at the differences between timely and untimely disputes – and how important that difference is to you as a supplier.
Timely vs Untimely
When dealing with Amazon, a timely dispute is one raised within (roughly) 30 days of the invoice due date. An untimely dispute is anything raised after that cut-off. There is some minor slack here, when it comes to the time period between 30-40 days post- due date – but your best chances are still within that first 30 days.
Anything raised after the 40 day period is very unlikely to be decided in your favour.
Dispute Success: Keeping Track
The 30-day period is not only crucial in winning your case, it’s also key to accurately measuring your dispute success. Once again, Amazon don’t make this particularly easy.
It’s easy to make the mistake of looking at your overall win rate and being a little underwhelmed – even despondent. After all, think of all those penalties being unsuccessfully disputed.
However, if you focus on reviewing disputes raised in the first 30 day window, suddenly the picture can become a lot brighter. Because disputes raised beyond the 40 day window are so unlikely to be won, counting these as part of the whole will seriously distort your stats.
It’s much better to confine your Dispute Win Rate data to those optimal disputes made within the 30 day window. You can also consider “matured” shortages in the 30-40 day window, but again, be aware even these few extra days may significantly change the picture.
More to the point, if you are focusing heavily on a certain window to represent your best chance of success – think what a difference it could make if ALL your disputes were raised in that time.
Vendor Connect Managed Service
One of the ways to optimise your dispute process is by working with us. Our Vendor Connect Managed Service automatically raises disputes for all shortage claims. We also put measures in place to identify stock-receipt problems at Amazon, eliminating these and other causes of wrongful shortage claims.
Get in touch now for more information on our managed service, including a free audit of your Amazon account.
