Walmart Chargeback Code 22: Goods Billed, Not Shipped

Executive Summary & Quick Answer

Executive summary: Code 22 is Walmart's highest-volume shortage deduction and the single most-searched chargeback code. It fires when the invoiced quantity exceeds what the DC or store recorded as received. Sometimes the goods genuinely didn't ship; sometimes they shipped and weren't scanned. The difference determines whether you fix your billing process or fight the deduction with a signed POD — this guide covers both paths.

Quick answer: Walmart Chargeback Code 22 ("goods billed not shipped") is a deduction taken when the quantity on a supplier's invoice exceeds the quantity Walmart's DC or store recorded as received. Walmart deducts the value of the unreceived units. Prevent it by invoicing from confirmed ship quantities; dispute it with a signed proof of delivery.

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Deep Dive: What Triggers Code 22

The AP match compares the 810 invoice quantity against Walmart's receiving record. Invoice 12 cases, DC signs for 10 → the 2-case value is deducted under Code 22.

Two very different realities produce the same code:

Reality A — you really shipped short. The order was cut to 10 at pick (stock-out, weight cap), but billing invoiced the PO's 12. Your invoice is wrong; the deduction is correct.

Reality B — you shipped 12, Walmart logged 10. Carrier lost cartons, or receiving miscounted/mis-scanned. Your invoice is right; the deduction is disputable — if you kept the evidence.

The document chain that decides which reality you can prove:

Document	Role in Code 22
850 (PO)	What was ordered — never what to invoice
Pick confirmation	What actually left inventory
856 (ASN)	What you told Walmart is on the truck — must equal pick
BOL / signed POD	What the carrier and DC acknowledged — your dispute evidence
810 (Invoice)	Must equal the ASN/pick, not the PO

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Business & Financial Impact

• Deduction = value of billed-but-unreceived units. On high-velocity SKUs, a systematic bill-from-PO defect scales with volume.
• Highest-frequency code: shortage codes (22/24/25) typically dominate a Walmart supplier's deduction mix by count.
• Dispute labor: every disputable Code 22 needs a POD pulled, matched to the PO/invoice, and filed in the APDP — 15–30 minutes per deduction when documentation is organized; hours when it isn't.
• Win rates are meaningful when POD evidence exists — Code 22 is one of the few codes where disputing is often worth it.

Estimate exposure: chargeback cost calculator.

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Root Causes (Ranked)

1. Invoicing from the PO instead of the ship confirmation — the structural cause; converts every short pick into a deduction.
2. Short picks never fed back to billing — WMS and billing disconnected.
3. Carrier loss/shrink in transit — real shipment, incomplete arrival.
4. DC receiving miscounts/mis-scans — especially mixed pallets and mislabeled cartons (label quality bleeds into shortage codes).
5. ASN/PO mismatches — receipt can't match cleanly, units land as "not received."

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Step-by-Step Prevention Workflow

pick (scan-confirmed) ──► 856 from scans ──► BOL matches 856 ──► driver signs
        │                                                            │
        ▼                                                            ▼
 810 built from PICK/856 quantities ──► transmit            POD archived, indexed
        ▲                                                    by PO # (dispute fuel)
        └── never from the 850

1. Bill from the ship confirmation. The 810 quantity comes from pick/856 data. A short pick then produces a short invoice — no deduction possible.
2. Close the WMS→billing loop. Short picks must flow to billing automatically, same day.
3. Make the BOL agree with the ASN before the truck leaves; discrepancy = hold.
4. Archive signed PODs indexed by PO number. This single habit converts Reality B from a write-off into a winnable dispute.
5. Weekly: reconcile Code 22 deductions against PODs; dispute the ones with evidence inside Walmart's dispute window, fix billing for the ones without.

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The Dispute Path (When You Actually Shipped It)

1. Pull the deduction detail (PO, invoice, quantity claimed short).
2. Match the signed POD/BOL showing full quantity delivered.
3. File in the APDP (Retail Link) with POD attached; reference PO + invoice numbers.
4. Track to resolution; escalate through your buyer if aged.

If you can't produce a POD, don't burn hours — fix the prevention loop instead.

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Code 22 vs Its Shortage Siblings

Code	Shortage discovered…	Distinguishing trait
22	Invoice > receipt	The catch-all billed-not-received delta
24	Freight bill signed short	Carrier/BOL discrepancy at the dock door
25	No receipt matched at all	Often invoice raced ahead of delivery
21	At the store, not the DC	Post-DC handling loss

Full list: all Walmart chargeback codes

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Supplier Checklist

• 810 quantities sourced from pick/856, never the 850
• Short picks propagate to billing same-day, automatically
• BOL reconciled to ASN before truck release
• Signed PODs archived and indexed by PO number
• Weekly Code 22 sweep: dispute with POD, or fix billing loop
• Disputes filed inside Walmart's window with PO + invoice + POD

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FAQs

What is Walmart chargeback Code 22? A deduction for "goods billed not shipped" — the invoice quantity exceeds what Walmart's DC or store recorded as received. Walmart deducts the value of the unreceived units.

Is Code 22 always my fault? No. It's either a billing error (invoiced the PO instead of what shipped) or a receiving/transit discrepancy (you shipped it; it wasn't logged). The first you fix; the second you dispute with a POD.

How do I dispute a Code 22 deduction? Through the APDP in Retail Link, attaching the signed proof of delivery showing full quantity delivered, referenced to the PO and invoice numbers.

What's the best way to prevent Code 22? Invoice from confirmed ship quantities (pick scans / 856), never from the PO — and keep the WMS-to-billing feedback loop automatic so short picks always produce short invoices.

How is Code 22 different from Code 24 and Code 25? Code 24 is a shortage documented on the freight bill at arrival; Code 25 means no receipt matched the invoice at all (often an invoice sent before delivery). Code 22 is the general billed-vs-received quantity gap.

Which EDI documents matter for Code 22? The 850 (order), 856 (ASN — should reflect pick scans), and 810 (invoice — should equal the 856). The signed POD/BOL is the non-EDI document that wins disputes.

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