Supplier claim settlement tracker
Use this tracker after an arrival discrepancy, inspection failure or defect escalation has become a supplier claim. The goal is to prevent vague promises from staying open forever: every claim needs an owner, value, settlement path, evidence and closure decision.
1 · Open claim record
- Claim ID, purchase order, supplier name, invoice or shipment number and date opened.
- Trigger source: receiving discrepancy, pre-shipment inspection, customer complaint, damaged carton or missing accessory.
- Affected SKU, batch, quantity, defect type, estimated loss value and whether goods are quarantined or released.
- Evidence pack links: report, photos, videos, receiving count sheet, inspection notes and supplier chat/email thread.
2 · Settlement option
- Refund: amount, currency, payment route, target date and bank/platform confirmation evidence.
- Replacement: SKU, quantity, ship-by date, tracking number and whether freight is paid by supplier or buyer.
- Credit note: value, next order reference, expiry risk and person responsible for applying it.
- Repair/spare parts: parts list, installation responsibility, deadline and acceptance test after repair.
3 · Follow-up cadence
- Set a next-response deadline immediately after sending the claim, normally 24–72 hours depending on severity.
- Record each supplier reply with date, owner, promised action, missing evidence and buyer response.
- Escalate if the supplier gives only verbal reassurance, changes the settlement path, misses a promised date or disputes clear evidence.
- Keep the status simple: open, waiting for supplier, waiting for buyer evidence, escalated, settled, rejected or written off.
4 · Closure evidence
- Close as settled only after refund receipt, replacement tracking, signed credit note, accepted repair or management approval.
- Close as rejected only with written reason and decision on whether to reduce future supplier score or stop ordering.
- Update the supplier scorecard with claim frequency, response speed, evidence quality and financial recovery rate.
- Store the final claim file with the order documents so future sourcing decisions can reuse the evidence.
Tracker table fields
| Claim | ID, PO, supplier, SKU, issue type, affected quantity, claim value and date opened. |
|---|---|
| Owner | Buyer owner, supplier owner, next deadline, escalation contact and current status. |
| Settlement | Refund, replacement, credit, repair, spare parts, reject or write-off with expected completion date. |
| Closure | Evidence received, final value recovered, remaining loss, supplier score impact and date closed. |
Recommended next artifact for this cluster: a supplier performance scorecard that rolls sample, production, shipment, arrival and claim results into one reusable decision view.