As part of our partnership, UG has laid out the expectations of both parties in this manual. The management of shipments for UG requires merchandise to arrive using agreed-upon policies. When exceptions occur outside these policies, additional handling and time are required, which slows our internal operation and delays the availability of merchandise to our customers. Chargebacks will be applied to invoices impacted by non-compliant shipments, or to subsequent invoices if the issues giving rise to the chargebacks come to our attention after the impacted invoice has been paid. Notification via email will be made prior to any invoice deduction.
Please note: If exceptions have been approved ahead of time by UG, chargebacks will not be assessed.
Our Compliance Program addresses, among other exception types, the following non-compliant actions:
- Incorrect delivery quantities or incorrect merchandise
- Late or Early shipments
- Damaged or Defective Merchandise
- Missing, incorrect, or unscannable barcodes
- Missing or Incorrect Tracking Info
At the end of this section is our non-compliance chart: This list shows what we currently consider to be chargeable offences, and what the charge for each is.
One of the objectives of this manual is to assist our vendor partners in preventing exceptions. Our Merchant Operations, Buying, Planning, and Inbound teams are available to answer questions and will be alerting partners in advance if issues of non-compliance are impacting deliveries.
Email ugvendors@uncommongoods.com with questions.
Examples of Discrepancies
Incorrect Ship Date/Delivery Date
All POs that UG sends to vendors have an expected delivery date. Once a vendor confirms the expected delivery date, this is expected arrival date to our warehouse. It is critical that merchandise is shipped to UG with enough lead time to arrive on that date, and that tracking is generated via the Extranet or provided as soon as the order ships by adding tracking to the Extranet manually. For freight, please submit a request for pickup at least 24 hours in advance of when you need your shipment picked up which will allow our Broker time to schedule with our Carriers.. Once the shipment is picked up, you MUST enter the Pro Number in the tracking field on the Extranet so that we can monitor the delivery..
Please note: UG will not attribute the delay to the vendor if a shipment is late at carrier’s fault
Discrepancies
Discrepancies between the vendor’s invoice and/or pack slip and UG records and/or actual units received may delay payment. Here is a brief list of the most common issues followed by an example. Please note that UG will make every effort to resolve any issue within a timely manner in order not to delay payment.
- Short Shipment: when your pack slip lists 100 units, but your shipment only contains 95 units
- Over Shipment: when your pack slip lists 100 units, but your shipment only contains 105 units
- Mis-ship: when we are expecting product A, but receive product B
- Damaged merchandise: when items we receive are damaged, due to poor packaging or damage incurred before the item left your location.
- Tracking not uploaded to the Extranet or emailed to UG within 24 hours of the shipment of goods
One of the most common and easily preventable exceptions is shipping without a packing slip. UG requires all vendors to include a packing slip with their shipment so the warehouse can reference an order in the system. If there is no slip included it severely delays merchandise from entering the warehouse.
UG requires that vendors write the UG PO number provided on each of the shipping cartons, and include the box count – for example, “1 of 2,” or “3 of 7,” to keep track of a multiple piece shipments and help UG to easily understand when a shipment has arrived in full.
After inspection of the shipping cartons and packing slip, UG counts all items against the packing slip and our system. Over ships and short ships can occur and, in such cases,, UG will count the merchandise two or three times to ensure accuracy.
In rare instances the right quantity, but wrong merchandise has been shipped; we consider this a mis-ship in all instances. However, if we find that we need the goods in question, we will reach out to you to let you know and create Purchase Order for receiving and invoicing purposes.
Transportation Damages
Occasionally product will be damaged in transit to UG by the carrier. Upon arrival to UG we will inspect and photograph these damages. If we find that the item(s) were damaged in transit due to poor packaging, etc, UG will notify the vendor via email of the damages and the value of the damaged merchandise will be deducted from the invoice. If needed, UG may also request replacement units to be sent immediately. UG will hold non-hazardous items (dented boxes, chipped product) for 2 business days awaiting confirmation from the vendor. Vendor must confirm if they prefer a return of damages at their expense. If the latter, UG asks vendor to provide a call tag for return. UG will immediately discard all broken glass or items that are hazardous to team members.
If a damage is the fault of the carrier (whether parcel or freight) and the vendor has shipped correctly with UG’s account or UG’s freight carrier, then UG will file a claim within 24-48 hours and invoice will be paid in full. If a vendor ships on an account other than UG’s or uses their own freight carrier, vendor must submit the claim for the damages and deduction will be taken against Purcha
se Order