Power Your Dock with Real-Time Supply Chain Visibility
Retail deductions have long been a thorn in the side of warehouse and supply chain teams- a problem that’s evolved over time but rarely ever resolved. What may begin as a simple barcode mismatch or slight pallet misalignment often escalates into a complex web of dispute emails, delayed payments, and back-and-forth blame. Despite being a known issue, its shifting nature makes it hard to tackle, and the cost of resolution can be significant.
The Fix is Here: Computer Vision with Real-Time Supply Chain Visibility
An intelligent way to audit your dock, validate every dispatch, and reduce deductions by half. Let’s decode how.
Retail Deductions: The Hidden Drain
Retail deductions impact profits, cash flow, and operational efficiency, and most companies don’t realize how much until it’s too late. Here’s the ugly truth:
- Hurts profits – Deductions slash your margins faster than markdowns. Every dollar uncollected is a dollar lost.
- Strains cash flow – Late or partial payments can choke operations, especially when margins are tight.
- Damages relationships – Repeated issues put you on the naughty list with retailers (aka stricter SLAs, audits, and fewer POs).
Resolving disputes means more than reclaiming lost revenue; it’s a way to protect your brand reputation, strengthen retailer trust, and safeguard your margins.
Most Common Type of Retail Deduction: Shortage
Retailers claim: “We didn’t receive all the items.”
Your reaction: Wait, what?! We loaded everything.
Reality check: The items were loaded… but the proof? Nada.
This is hands down the deduction equivalent of ghosting. The goods were there, but there’s no solid proof that they ever left the dock, made it into the truck, or landed at their final destination in one piece. So what gives?
Why This Happens (and Happens a Lot):
- Barcode scan bloopers
When labels are smudged, faded, or misaligned, scanners can miss entire cartons, even though they were loaded. To the system, it’s like they never existed. - Pallet placed on the wrong truck
Yup, Dock 4 and Dock 5 had a little mix-up, and now your package is doing a detour tour. - Transit trauma
Items get jostled, bumped, crushed. By the time it hits the retailer’s warehouse, your product count is bruised and battered. - Counting chaos at receiving
Human errors at receiving (retailer’s warehouse) = deductions at your end. You’re literally being penalized for someone else’s sneeze.
👷 Prevention Tip:
Loading accuracy is your best friend.
Pair it with visual proof of loading, like video snippets tied to barcode scans, time-stamps, dock number, and vehicle ID- and voilà! You’ve got undeniable, unshakeable evidence that what went in should’ve come out.
Because at the end of the day:
If it’s not on camera, it didn’t happen.
You can’t fix what you don’t see. That’s what makes deduction recovery tricky. The good news? Now you’ve got 20/20 dock vision!
Why Retail Deductions Are More Common Now
Chargebacks and deductions are steadily rising, driven by overly aggressive automated systems and increasingly sophisticated fraud tactics. The ease of flagging issues means more disputes, sometimes even when the goods are actually good.
Most retailers have upgraded to hyper-efficient, automated supply chain systems. It’s great for speed, but not always the full picture. These systems are designed to flag inconsistencies instantly. But without visual context or human nuance, they often misinterpret what really happened. The result? More deductions landing on your plate.
In fact, global chargeback volumes are expected to surge by over 40% between 2023 and 2026¹. And that’s not a blip, it’s a tidal wave.
¹ 2023 Chargeback Outlook Report
To stay afloat, suppliers need their own smart, automated system to fight fire with fire. That’s where AI-powered loading validation makes all the difference- bringing much-needed visibility and accuracy before deductions snowball.
From Reactive to Proactive
Most warehouses handle deductions like fire drills. We flip the script.
Assert AI’s Smart Dock Monitoring
Assert AI’s solution gives you real-time dock visibility so precise, it’s like having an always-on auditor, but cooler, faster, and definitely less grumpy.
What It Captures:
- Pallet barcode scanning accuracy
- Timestamped video snippet per dispatch from overhead and door cameras
- Vehicle + Dock match mapping with outdoor cameras
- Time, date, and dispatch checklist completion
All uploaded to your private cloud- completely secure, fully traceable, and available for dispute resolution within seconds.
The Power Trio: Software + Hardware + Process
When AI-powered software is paired with optimally positioned cameras and reinforced by smart SOPs on the ground, you create a foolproof system that detects and prevents errors proactively.
- Software – AI models trained to detect and track forklift and pallet movements, uniquely identify pallets, validate barcodes against POs, and capture loading activities in real time
- Hardware – CCTV or edge cameras positioned to cover critical zones like loading docks, barcode scan points, and high-traffic forklift areas
- Process – A 2-second forklift pause or loading zone hold and smartly placed barcode stickers, enable seamless AI capture, ensuring clean scans, accurate logs, and indisputable proof
With a simple SOP, you can stop errors before they become deductions. Real-time visual feedback, like an AndOn light that flashes if the wrong pallet is loaded, provides visual feedback. High accuracy, low effort!
Data Privacy Built In
Let’s get one thing straight- this isn’t Big Brother.
✅ Only dock loading zones are recorded
✅ No facial recognition or people tracking
✅ Everything is saved to your cloud
✅ Fully compliant with enterprise security protocols
Shipping Accuracy = Retailer Respect
When your outbound accuracy is bulletproof, so is your reputation. No more:
- “He said, she said” deduction drama
- Endless spreadsheet wars
- Late nights trying to “reconstruct” what happened
With Assert AI’s retailer compliance tracking, every dispatch becomes a verified event, and every claim can be matched with a timestamped visual receipt.
The AI Advantage: Slash Deductions by at Least 50%
When deployed across all active docks, Assert AI’s system has been shown to reduce retailer deductions by up to 50% within the first three months of implementation.
Here’s how:
Stay Ahead with Real Time Supply Chain Visibility
The retail supply chain moves fast; you need to move faster.
Assert AI gives you unmatched real time supply chain visibility so you can spot and solve issues before they cost you.
If you’ve suffered enough deduction drama to last a lifetime, let us help!
Let’s cut to the chase
You don’t have to work harder. Just smarter.
Let’s make deductions a thing of the past; and your margin sheets a little happier.
Ready to reduce deductions and transform your dock operations? Let’s talk.
