What does visibility only mean?
Sometimes there are deductions that either cannot be disputed, for various reasons (some below), or we do not yet support disputing them (and we may in the future).
When that happens, we'll call these deductions visibility only. They'll have a memo in the upper right corner of their details page that will state they are visibility only. They should also have a second memo below that explaining if they are able to be disputed, just not in SupplyPike, and where you're able to take that action.
We'll also provide a More Info link (likely how you got here) explaining what we know about the deductions and any support or next steps that could be available.
This is most common in our Navigator product, where we support many retailers with varying levels of dispute capability. The same concept may apply in dedicated retailer apps as well.
Why would a deduction be visibility only?
A non-exhaustive list of some reasons why:
The retailer doesn't provide a known way to dispute the deduction
It's a new retailer for us and we're still learning the ecosystem and have not yet built out support for the deduction
It's may technically be possible to dispute, and we may be focusing our resources on other deduction and dispute types that evidence and supplier feedback indicate have more recovery potential (opportunity cost)
The likelihood of recovering money via disputing is extremely low, based on historical evidence
The retailer’s dispute process requires offline steps (phone, physical mail, physical evidence) that are not scalable or reliable to automate
How can visibility only deductions still be useful?
Even if it can't be disputed to recover money, deductions that are visibility only still have a lot to offer your business!
Visibility only deductions are intentionally included because they still provide insight into where revenue leakage and operational friction may exist, even if recovery isn’t practical today.
Here's a small sampling of ways you can still get value out of deductions that aren't presently disputable:
Right-sizing the problem: Through aggregation, determine whether these are paper cuts that aren’t financially impactful or whether they add up enough to warrant action. Check the dashboard aggregated charts to understand how much and how you should care and communicate.
Do they match reality or expectations? If you have a lot of return deductions, as an example, does that make sense for your business? Or, if there are compliance deductions without current dispute support, is this known and being accounted for in execution to get products to your retailer/distributor customers?
Do the trends (check our dashboard line chart) match up with any significant events? Whether they're trade/promo-related or supply chain related, does the flow of deductions (by count, maybe also check amount) line up with expected activities or seasonality of your business?
Are there specific items driving more than their fair share of deductions? Check the deductions by item chart (if available) and see if there are any problem children items that could use some looking into for deduction prevention, reduction, or recovery.
Are there certain DC locations handing out more than their fair share of deductions? Check the deductions by location chart on our dashboard and sort by count or amount to see if any DCs (or stores, when available) stand out as having more deductions than expected coming from their facility. If yes, that's a sign to consider changes when shipping there or to escalate communication with the retailer or distributor or carrier about operations when getting product to that location.
Enable better internal conversations: Visibility only deductions give finance, supply chain, and sales teams a shared, data-backed view of issues, making it easier to align on prevention.