Automated reimbursement process for lost & damaged items

This guide provides a detailed overview of Noon s automated reimbursement system for items lost or d...

This guide explains how noon’s automated reimbursement system works for items lost or damaged in the ordinary course of operations within noon’s warehouses or logistics network, and sets out the steps sellers can follow to review and receive compensation. Losses arising from circumstances beyond noon’s reasonable control do not fall under this process (see Section 5).

1. Monthly Auto Reimbursement Process:

1.1 Types of Reimbursements.

- Warehouse Damaged reconciliation

  • noon reviews and processes damaged inventory monthly, moving it to liquidation.

  • Subject to Section 5 below, compensation is issued once the damaged inventory is fully liquidated. Shipments that are lost, delayed, seized, or diverted as a result of a Force Majeure Event, including carrier, route, airspace, or port disruption, are not eligible under this process.

  • To view damaged inventory, go to the Non-saleable tab in your Inventory Dashboard and filter by Damaged Inventory Type.

- Warehouse Lost/Found

  • Subject to Section 5, sellers are reimbursed for items lost within noon’s warehouses.

  • If a previously lost item is found after reimbursement, noon will issue a reimbursement reversal or adjustment.

  • Compensation is processed monthly, but there is a three-month buffer period to locate lost inventory.

    • Example: If an item is lost in Month 1, reimbursement will occur in Month 5 if it remains unfound.

- Lost RTV reconciliation

  • Sellers are compensated for inventory lost during RTV shipments.

  • Compensation is processed monthly.

  • The dispute against lost RTVs won’t be allowed as these will be reconciled and paid monthly.

  • To check lost RTV status: Go to Seller Lab > Transfers > Done and filter by Status: Lost.

1.2 Reimbursement Schedule

This process covers all the net lost and damaged inventories post-30th Jun’22.

  • If eligible, the first reimbursement will happen in Aug’23 for the period of 1st Jul’22 to 30th Apr’23 for WH lost/found and till 31st Jul’23 for WH damages, to be called Phase 4 reconciliation process. 

  • Post the above one-time settlement, auto reimbursements will be conducted on a monthly basis, starting from July onwards.

  • The process will be initiated by the second week of every month.

2. How noon Determines Reimbursement Value

  • The price for stock reconciliation compensation will be determined by noon.

  • Compensation aims to provide a fair value for the lost or damaged inventory.

3. Reimbursement Visibility

3.1 Statement in Seller Lab

  • Sellers can access information related to stock reconciliation through the statement in Seller Lab.

  • Stock reconciliation will be reflected under the fee group type “ Stock Reconciliation Payment” in the statement. 

  • The different types of fees under this fee group are: “Lost/Found inventory fee", “Damaged inventory fee”, “Lost RTV fee”, “Recon Adjustment fee", “Forced dispute fee adjustment".

  • Sellers can double-click on the fee to download and export a report containing the barcode and amount details. However, adjustment fees won’t have export options.

Types of fees

Definition

Lost/Found inventory fee

Reimbursement of inventory cost against any inventory that was lost at noon premises. The cost of any inventory that was found later will get adjusted against the fees paid earlier on account of lost inventory.

Damaged inventory fee

Reimbursement payment against any inventory that got damaged at noon premises

Lost RTV fee

Reimbursement payment for the RTVs lost while getting transported back to the seller

Recon Adjustment fee

Payment adjustment made against either or all of the below scenarios

  • Adjustments made to ensure zero receivables from you for the reconciliation phase 4

  • Adjustments made to ensure no excess deduction than what was cumulatively compensated in previous monthly reimbursements

  • Adjustments made against any cumulative positive adjustments of the previous months.

Forced dispute fee adjustment

Payment adjustment made against dispute payout already done via forced dispute process in the past. 

3.2 Accessing the Recon Report.

  • Download the Recon Report by entering the statement number in the Recon Dispute tab.

  • Alternatively, download the full statement from the Statements & Invoices page in Seller Lab.

  • The report provides detailed information on stock reconciliation and helps sellers review their compensation.

4. Dispute Resolution Mechanism

4.1 Dispute Initiation

  • If sellers are not satisfied with the compensation amount, they can raise a dispute.

  • Disputes may include concerns about the offered price or issues related to the quantity of inventory.

  • In case they are not happy with the price compensated, they can raise a dispute through the Seller Lab.

  • Sellers should send an email to seller@noon.com to initiate the dispute against the settled inventory quantity.

4.2 Dispute Creation Process for Compensated Price:

  1. Click on Fulfilled by noon

  2. Then click on FBN Fees

  3. Next, click on Stock Reconciliation Dispute

  4. Click on Create Dispute

  5. Select Inventory Compensation Payout

  6. Click on Search

  7. Then create the dispute.

Important Notes:

Disputes must be raised within 30 days of statement generation.

You cannot create multiple disputes for the same barcode and reconciliation type (damaged, lost/found, lost RTV) within the same recon month.

 4.3 Managing and tracking dispute

  • You can manage the created disputes via the Stock Reconciliation Dispute dashboard. 

  • The dashboard shows the Dispute Ref number, Statement Number, and the Status. For each barcode disputed, sellers can click on "+" icon to see the details. Details include P-barcode, Recon Month, Disputed Unit Amount, Expected Unit Amount, and Final Approved Unit Amount.

  • Dispute will have the following status:

    • Pending: Dispute is yet to be processed by noon.

    • In Progress: Dispute is being processed by noon.

    • Completed: Dispute is fully processed by noon.

  • You can filter the dispute statuses using the drop-down menu.

  • For each barcode disputed, there will be a decision made by noon. There will be the following decisions:
    In Review: The dispute is being reviewed by noon. 

    • Approved: Either the expected amount or a different amount is approved by noon.

    • Rejected: The dispute is rejected. 

  • You can filter the disputed barcode with decisions using the drop-down menu.

  • You can click on Details to see the details about the decision.

4.4 Dispute Resolution Process

  • noon's team will review each dispute and evaluate all relevant information and evidence provided by the seller.

  • The team will work towards a satisfactory resolution, considering fairness and the best interest of all parties involved.

  • The resolution process aims to address and resolve disputes in a timely manner.

  • Disputes cannot be raised in respect of items excluded under Section 5. If you believe an item has been treated as excluded in error, you may raise a dispute within the period stated in Section 4.2 and provide evidence that the loss or damage occurred in the ordinary course of operations, such as handling records, barcode history, or photographs. noon will review the evidence and notify you of its decision.

5. Scope of Reimbursements

  • 5.1 - This process applies to items lost or damaged in the ordinary course of noon’s warehouse and logistics operations.

  • 5.2 - It does not apply to loss, damage, destruction, seizure, or inaccessibility of items caused by a Force Majeure Event. For the purposes of this guide, Force Majeure Event is an event caused by any event or circumstance beyond our reasonable control, including without limitation, unrest (declared or not), conflict, hostilities, military action, terrorism, sabotage, or other attacks, blockades, sanctions, embargoes, and trade restrictions; acts, orders, or restrictions of any government, military, customs, or port authority; the closure or disruption of airspace, airports, ports, borders, roads, or transport routes; natural disasters, epidemics, and pandemics; failure of power, telecommunications, utilities, IT systems, banks, payment processors, carriers, or other third-party providers; strikes; and any event arising from the security or political situation in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia or the wider region, including the continuation or escalation of any situation existing at the date of this clause, which you accept as a foreseeable and allocated risk. (a “Force Majeure Event”).
    Products in our warehouses or fulfilment network remain at your risk in accordance with clause. We are not liable for any loss, damage, destruction, seizure, deterioration, expiry, or devaluation of Products arising from a Force Majeure Event, and such losses are not eligible for reimbursement under Noon Program Policies. You are responsible for maintaining independent insurance for your Products, including against war, terrorism, and political violence.

  • 5.3 - Items that cannot be accessed, counted, or released because of such an event are not treated as lost until access is restored and reconciliation is completed. noon may extend the buffer period in Section 1.1 and defer or adjust monthly processing accordingly.

  • 5.4 - Sellers are responsible for maintaining independent insurance for their inventory, including cover against war, terrorism, and political violence. Reimbursement under this process is not insurance and does not replace it.

  • 5.5 - Where a Seller recovers an amount for the same item from an insurer or other third party, noon may adjust or reverse any reimbursement so that there is no double recovery.

  • 5.6 - noon’s determination of whether a loss falls under Section 5.2 will be shown in the reconciliation report and may be disputed under Section 4 within the stated period.

That’s it!

Got questions?

Reach out to seller@noon.com