KeHEdeduction codes, decoded
KeHE does not issue reason codes. It deducts against an invoice prefix, and there are roughly a hundred in circulation — some operational, most promotional or retailer-specific billbacks passed through from the store that actually sold the product. Reading a KeHE remittance means recognising which family a prefix belongs to, because that decides whether the line is disputable at all. Two clocks run, and the short one is at the dock rather than in the portal.
Stop chargebacks before they happen
Deductions and their backup are in the KeHE CONNECT supplier portal, with disputes filed as cases in K-Solve under the Sales Orders tab. Quick search in K-Solve is reported to cover only the last 90 days, with advanced search reaching further back.
Reported at 180 days from the deduction date to file in K-Solve, which is generous next to Walgreens or CVS. The tighter clock is upstream: a Unsaleable Damage Report is reported to allow 48 hours to answer with a signed bill of lading and packing slip, and an unanswered UDR becomes a deduction you are then arguing after the fact.
Every charge, and what settles it
- Roughly a hundred prefixes are in circulation, and most are promotional or retailer-specific rather than operational. The families below are the useful abstraction; the full list is in the remittance backup.
- Retailer-specific prefixes are billbacks passed through from the store that sold the product, so the dispute is often about an agreement with that retailer rather than with KeHE.
- The 48-hour UDR window is a business-process problem rather than a documentation one. Route UDR notifications to a distribution list rather than a named person, because the clock does not pause for holiday.
No code matches. Try the number on the remittance, or a word from the reason.
KeHE invoice adjustments, prefixed IA, correct a price or quantity discrepancy between the purchase order and the invoice by deducting the difference from the next payment.
Quantity received below the order, or an invoice price above the purchase order price. KeHE corrects the difference rather than rejecting the invoice.
The most disputable family, because the claim is arithmetic against documents you hold. A signed delivery record settles a quantity adjustment outright.
- 1 Purchase order with quantity and price as accepted
- 2 Signed bill of lading and packing slip for the delivery
- 3 Proof of delivery for the shipment
- 4 Any accepted price change with its effective date
Invoice from the shipment rather than the order, and confirm price changes are loaded before the first shipment at the new cost.
KeHE audit deductions, including the KC, RR, and MGP prefixes, recover findings from retrospective reviews of product shorts, price changes, and promotional movement.
An audit finds an allowance not taken, movement greater than purchases, or a price change not applied. Claims can reach back well beyond the current period.
Frequently recoverable, because audits routinely re-claim allowances already taken. The work is retrieval, so record retention decides the outcome more than argument does.
- 1 Original invoices and remittances for the period audited
- 2 Signed agreements covering the allowances in question
- 3 Proof the allowance was already deducted at the time
- 4 Movement and purchase records for the period
Keep deal sheets and remittances longer than feels necessary. An audit deduction is answered by producing a document from years ago.
KeHE fulfilment prefixes cover freight (FF), warehouse billbacks (J), direct ship (W), and the service level fine (SLF) for failing to supply against the order.
Freight arranged by KeHE on your behalf, warehouse handling recovered as a billback, or a service level shortfall against ordered quantity.
Freight and warehouse billbacks are usually contractual and valid. Service level fines are worth checking against what was actually confirmed rather than originally ordered.
- 1 Freight terms in the supplier agreement
- 2 Carrier invoice supporting the amount charged
- 3 Purchase order and confirmed quantities for service level claims
- 4 Available-to-promise records when the order was confirmed
Service level moves when order promising does. Confirming against real available inventory is what changes it; freight terms are a contract question rather than an operational one.
KeHE product prefixes cover damages and spoils (G), customer spoilage allowance (CS), out-of-date credits (Q), and recalls (L).
Product damaged in the warehouse, spoiled at retail, dated out, or recalled. A negotiated spoilage allowance charges as a running rate rather than against specific units.
Depends entirely on the UDR. Answering inside the reported 48-hour window keeps the discrepancy open; missing it converts the claim into a deduction you are contesting after the fact.
- 1 Supplier agreement showing the agreed spoilage rate
- 2 Unsaleable Damage Report response filed inside the reported 48-hour window
- 3 Signed bill of lading and packing slip for the delivery
- 4 Credit detail supporting the units claimed
The UDR clock is the whole game. Route notifications to a distribution list and treat a UDR as a same-day retrieval task, not an investigation.
KeHE promotional prefixes cover ads, scans, placement, slotting, and demos — agreed marketing spend recovered against the invoice rather than billed separately.
A promotion runs and the agreed funding is deducted. The prefix identifies the promotion type: A and AD for ads, N for scans, P for placement, S for slotting, D for demos.
Usually valid, and better audited than fought. The recoverable cases are promotions deducted outside their dates, rates above the agreement, and the same promotion taken twice.
- 1 Signed promotional agreement with rates and dates
- 2 Deal sheet for the specific programme
- 3 Movement data supporting the scan or billback quantity
- 4 Prior remittances establishing the normal rate
Reconcile promotional deductions against the deal calendar monthly. Volume makes a duplicate easy to miss and hard to find later.
KeHE passes through charges originating with the retailer that sold the product, under prefixes naming that retailer — WG for Walmart spoils, SN for Sprouts scans, ALB for Albertsons audits, HB for HEB reclamation.
The downstream retailer raises a charge against KeHE, which recovers it from you under a prefix identifying the retailer and the programme.
Awkward, because the substance sits with a retailer you are not corresponding with. Worth checking the underlying claim exists and matches your agreement with that retailer before accepting it.
- 1 Your agreement with the downstream retailer, not with KeHE
- 2 Backup documentation showing the underlying retailer claim
- 3 Movement or reclamation data for the period
- 4 Prior billbacks from the same retailer establishing the pattern
Track downstream retailer agreements as carefully as the KeHE one, because that is where these charges are actually decided.
How Endless cuts KeHE deductions
KeHE gives 180 days to dispute in K-Solve but only a reported 48 hours to answer a UDR at the dock, and the second clock decides how many deductions you end up arguing at all. Endless keeps the purchase order, the pack, the bill of lading, and the proof of delivery on one record, so answering a UDR is retrieval rather than investigation. EndlessEDI validates the shipment before it leaves, and brands on Endless report a 90% drop in retailer EDI chargebacks.
Frequently asked questions
What are KeHE invoice prefixes?
The alphanumeric code before a deduction line on a KeHE invoice, identifying what the charge is for. Roughly a hundred are in circulation. Most are promotional or retailer-specific billbacks rather than operational charges, so the prefix family tells you whether the line is worth disputing.
How long do I have to dispute a KeHE deduction?
Reported at 180 days from the deduction date, filed as a case in K-Solve under the Sales Orders tab in KeHE CONNECT. That is generous compared with Walgreens or CVS, but the UDR clock upstream is far shorter and matters more.
What is a KeHE UDR and why does 48 hours matter?
An Unsaleable Damage Report is notice of a discrepancy found at the dock, reported to allow 48 hours to answer with a signed bill of lading and packing slip. Answer it and the discrepancy stays open; miss it and it becomes a deduction you are disputing after the fact, with a weaker position.
Which KeHE deductions are worth disputing?
Invoice adjustments and audit findings are the most recoverable, because both are arithmetic against documents you hold. Promotional and retailer-specific billbacks are usually valid and better audited for duplicates and rate drift than contested line by line.
Deduction programs and dispute windows change and vary by vendor agreement. Figures marked “reported” come from third-party supplier resources, not a retailer’s published fee schedule — confirm against your current routing guide and supplier agreement before you file. See the full retail chargeback code index.
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