What is a distributor compliance retainer?
A distributor compliance retainer is ongoing, proactive management of your UNFI and KeHE compliance requirements: routing guide changes, ASN and BOL accuracy, pallet and labeling specs, and appointment scheduling, billed as a fixed monthly scope separate from per-load freight charges.
What does the retainer cover?
The retainer covers routing guide monitoring so you catch changes before they cause a chargeback, ASN and BOL accuracy checks before a load ships, pallet and labeling audits against current distributor specs, and appointment scheduling coordination with the carrier. It does not include the freight rate itself, which is quoted and billed per load.
Is this different from what my freight broker already does?
Some of it overlaps with what a broker manages by default on every load. The retainer exists for brands that want a dedicated point of accountability for compliance specifically, separate from whoever is moving the freight that week, especially useful if you work with more than one carrier or broker across different lanes.
Does the retainer cover refrigerated/reefer compliance documentation?
Yes. For temperature-controlled shipments, the retainer includes monitoring of temperature log documentation from pickup through delivery, the same record a reefer carrier claim or a distributor compliance chargeback depends on. Ambient and refrigerated LTL lanes get the same documentation discipline.
Who is this for?
Built for natural and organic CPG brands, and the broader CPG retail channel beyond that, shipping into UNFI or KeHE who are absorbing chargebacks that trace back to documentation gaps rather than the freight itself, or who ship across more than one carrier and want compliance managed consistently regardless of who is hauling the load.
How do I get started?
Request a scope conversation through the contact form and tell us which distributors you ship into and where chargebacks have been showing up. We will map the retainer scope to what you are actually seeing before anything is billed.
Request a compliance retainer scope callFrequently asked questions
What is a distributor compliance management retainer?
Ongoing, proactive management of UNFI and KeHE compliance requirements, including routing guide monitoring, ASN and BOL accuracy, and labeling audits, billed separately from per-load freight charges.
Does the retainer replace my freight broker?
No. It manages compliance specifically, which can run alongside your existing freight broker or carrier relationships.
Does the retainer cover reefer or cold chain shipments?
Yes. Temperature-controlled shipments get the same documentation monitoring as ambient freight, including the temperature log a reefer claim or chargeback dispute depends on.
How do I find out if a retainer makes sense for my brand?
Request a scope conversation and tell us which distributors you ship into and where chargebacks have been showing up, so we can map the retainer to your actual gaps.