Walmart vendor compliance: how chargebacks work
Walmart's supplier compliance program is highly systematized, and it works on two separate tracks. Accounts-payable deduction codes (the numbered codes like 22, 24, 25) are taken automatically against invoices when receiving finds a discrepancy. Performance programs like OTIF and SQEP run alongside them, assessing their own fines for late, incomplete, or poorly prepared freight.
Indicative figures compiled from public and industry sources; fine amounts and thresholds change, so confirm current values in Retail Link. How we verify.
Compliance programs to know
OTIF (On-Time In-Full)
Measures whether POs arrive within the delivery window and complete. Cases that fail OTIF standards are fined as a percentage of their cost of goods.
SQEP (Supplier Quality Excellence Program)
Phased program fining defects in PO accuracy, barcode/labeling, packaging, and pallet build quality, checked at the DC before freight moves downstream.
AP deduction codes
Numbered accounts-payable codes deducted automatically for shortages, pricing differences, duplicate billing, and paperwork errors.
Walmart chargeback codes by category
We track 27 Walmart codes across 9 operational areas, the part of your shipping and invoicing flow where each deduction actually originates.
Disputing Walmart deductions
Deductions are disputed through the Accounts Payable Dispute Portal (APDP) in Retail Link. Winning disputes generally requires shipment evidence, signed BOL/POD, ASN transmission records, and invoice data that reconciles.
Supplier portal: Retail Link
Prevention beats disputes
Most Walmart chargebacks trace back to preventable data and shipping errors. See the step-by-step playbook:
How to prevent Walmart chargebacks →Sources
GetChargeback is not affiliated with Walmart. Verify current requirements in Retail Link.
Get ahead of the next chargeback
Join the early-access list for automated pre-shipment audits that flag compliance errors across every shipment, before they become deductions.
Last reviewed 2026-07-09. Compiled by the GetChargeback editorial team from public retailer vendor documentation and GS1/X12 EDI standards. How we research and verify.