Target has a list of roughly 250+ deduction codes that can potentially be doled out to suppliers. Luckily for Target suppliers, only about 20-25 of those codes are used regularly for most suppliers.

All of Target's deductions fall into one of the following categories:

All of Target's common deduction codes can be disputed by creating a Dispute Case in Synergy.

For information on the most common deduction codes, please visit our Deductions Code Knowledge Base and scroll down to Target Deduction Codes.

In order to best manage deductions, suppliers should dispute as deductions arise or on a monthly basis to avoid being overwhelmed with unruly deductions.

Target allows suppliers to dispute back a maximum of 18 months. This dispute window is relatively lenient compared to other retailers like Kroger and Amazon. For collect suppliers, the best practice would be to dispute within 9 months, because that is Target's window to open a dispute with their carriers or consolidators in the event the middle-man is held liable. Deductions for compliance fines have a 90 days dispute window.

Suppliers will likely find that AP deduction Code A030, the Target code indicating a shipment shortage, is the most common. Some suppliers to Target have noted that, although it generally takes quite a bit of time for them to respond to shortage or other deduction disputes, they are generally responsive and helpful. Almost all deductions will go through the Synergy dispute portal within Partners Online.

Early and active communication with the merchant team, inventory analysts, supplier performance management (spm) team, and accounts payable team is also a best practice recommended by Target. Good relationships with these teams can help make the dispute process quite a bit smoother.