RetailPath X Rael

The challenge

Rael was managing retailer deductions manually in a Google Sheet, without a clear source of truth. Their accounting team had to log into each retail portal, dig through old emails to locate signed BOLs, and email their 3PL for missing documents.  Often waiting days for a response. The process was tedious, error-prone, and left the team unsure of what had been disputed, what was still open, or what had expired. Disputes were often skipped due to a low-dollar threshold or lack of documentation, and the effort rarely paid off.

The solution

RetailPath integrated directly with Rael’s systems and began filing disputes automatically for retailer shortages and deductions. Once implemented, the process became seamless — no more Slacks asking for invoices, no more combing through inboxes or portals. RetailPath flagged overlooked deductions, refiled claims that had been auto-closed due to insufficient documentation, and ensured that every dispute was submitted on time. The team no longer had to coordinate with 3PLs or manually assemble support packages. Everything just happened in the background.

Key findings

• Missed opportunity in low-dollar claims: 33% of deductions had gone unchallenged due to an internal dollar threshold.

• Auto-denied disputes due to mismatched documentation: 50% of Rael’s denied claims prior to RetailPath were due to insufficient information.

• Expired claims: 12.5% of received deductions had expired due to missed dispute deadlines.

• No visibility into trends: Without clean reporting, Rael couldn’t identify which DCs were driving the most recurring issues — making root-cause analysis difficult.

Result

Rael now has complete visibility into the state of their retailer deductions, knows exactly which DCs are driving the most issues, and can report with confidence, all without having to manually handle deductions.