Sephora Beauty Suppliers: Overcome Deduction Challenges with iNymbus

Sephora, a leading beauty retailer in makeup and skincare, offers vendors tremendous opportunities for growth and exposure. However, like any other retailer, working with Sephora comes with its own challenges, particularly in managing deductions and chargebacks.

This article will explore the Sephora dispute process and introduce an automated solution to simplify the process.

The Challenges In Sephora Dispute Process

Vendors working with Sephora face several hurdles when manually managing deductions:

These challenges can significantly impact a vendor's efficiency and bottom line.

Overview of the Sephora Dispute Process

The manual process for disputing Sephora deductions involves several steps:

1. Log In: Access the Sephora MAP Chargeback Portal with your credentials.  
   
   
2. Find Deductions: Go to ‘Deductions’ and then ‘Deduction tasks’.
   
   
3. Identify Claims: Each claim is tagged with an issue code, such as ‘AP-IRR’ for shortage deductions. Select claims with ‘not started’ status.
   
   
   
4. Gather Information: Export the debit memo PDF to obtain claim details.
   
   
5. Review & Upload: Review and upload the required documents such as the BOL, invoice, and packing slip for each dispute.
   
   
6. Submit Dispute: Provide an explanation, choose "Dispute in full," save, and track the claim status.
   

Note: This portal contains information relating to payment deductions on Invoices, Tester & Damage chargebacks, Markdown (temp & perm) chargebacks, RTV chargebacks, and manual chargebacks only.

For compliance deductions (any chargeback that begins with "DED"), you will need to go through The Capture Compliance Portal.

The List of Sephora Issue Types And Document References

The table below provides document references for different issue types from debit memos (Claim Details).

How A Top Company With Brands In Beauty, Health & Wellness Tackled Deductions With iNymbus 

A leading company in beauty, health, wellness, and home sectors was generating over $2 billion in annual revenue. However, they faced significant challenges in resolving deductions.

They wanted to speed up their claims process and improve outcomes with various retail partners. The company hoped to find a solution that would make their deductions claim process faster. 

Another objective was to save direct costs on revenue recovery and to gain better visibility when working with all retail partners. Their manual process involved around 40 employees split between Vendor Compliance and Accounts Receivable, resulting in:

• Complexity: Managing multiple systems and portals.
  
  
• Inefficiency: Manual process that led to backlogs and delays.
  
  
• High Costs: Extensive time and resources required per claim.
  
  

Implementing The Solution:

After considering several options, the company chose iNymbus to address these issues.

Steps Taken:

1. Assessment and SOP Development: Detailed SOPs were created to map out the processes and documentation requirements. This foundational work was crucial for effective automation.
   
   
2. System Integration: iNymbus integrated with EDI, carrier portals, and retailer portals to automatically gather the necessary claim documents for disputing quickly.
   
   
3. Streamlined Workflow: RPA technology automated the retrieval, categorization, and dispute of chargebacks, greatly simplifying the process.
   
   
4. Rollout: iNymbus was tailored to fit the specific needs of the organization, ensuring compatibility with existing processes and systems.

Results Achieved :

• Time-Saving: Processing time reduced from 3-4 weeks to just minutes.
  
  
• Cost Reduction: Achieved a 94% reduction in direct costs.
  
  
• Improved Visibility: Centralized dashboards improved tracking and analysis of real-time deductions.
  
  
• Operational Efficiency: Decreased the need for manual intervention.

With iNymbus deduction management software, the company significantly improved its deductions management, demonstrating the power of automation in transforming complex processes. 

Similarly, check our blog posts on Ulta Beauty and Meijer Deductions.