An MCB is a discount UNFI gave a retailer on your product, billed back to you. You funded a deal, UNFI sold the product to the store at the lower price, and the difference comes off your next remittance.
For most brands shipping through UNFI, MCB is the largest chargeback family by dollars. It is also the one where disputes actually succeed, because unlike a reclaim credit or a fill-rate penalty, every MCB line claims to sit under a deal you agreed to. Either it does or it does not, and the file tells you which.
How UNFI MCB deductions work
The chargeback appears on your remittance advice as a reference number and an amount. Nothing on the advice tells you which promotion, which retailer, or which item. That detail lives in a separate weekly file that UNFI emails, and the reference number is what pairs the two.
The cadence is weekly, with each file covering a week ending on a Saturday. The week-ending date is encoded in the reference, so you can pair a deduction to its backup without opening anything. A brand selling nationally receives these per region, since UNFI East and West pay separately, which means the same promotion can generate two chargebacks on two different advices.
UNFI MCB Category codes
Every line in the backup carries an MCB Category, and it is the first thing to sort by. The categories are not all promotions. Several are different kinds of deduction that happen to be delivered through the same file, and they verify against completely different documents.
| Category | What it is | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| SGP-S Shelf Sales | Shelf sales program | Usually the highest-volume category in the file. Per-unit discounts passed to the retailer's shelf price. |
| SGP-E EDLP | Everyday low price | A standing price reduction rather than a dated promotion, so it recurs every week it is live. |
| SGP-T Turnover Orders | Turnover orders | Deals written at the retailer and turned over to UNFI to fill. |
| SGP-O Opening Store Discount | New store opening | Discounts on the initial fill for a newly opened store. UNFI issues a code per opening store. |
| A - Customer Specific Ad | Retailer ad | A specific retailer's ad event. Check this against the ad calendar you signed, not the general promo plan. |
| Returned Goods | Returns | Product credited back. Verify against your returns allowance before treating it as a promo line. |
| Vendor Compliance | Compliance fine | Routing, labeling, pallet, or ASN violations. Disputable when issued without the supporting report. |
| ShortShipped | Shortage | Cases UNFI says it did not receive. This is a shortage claim wearing an MCB label. Verify against BOL and POD. |
| Additional Handling | Handling fee | Extra work at the DC. Contractual in most agreements. |
The same categories sometimes appear with and without the SGP-prefix, so SGP-S Shelf Sales and S Shelf Sales are the same program. If you are grouping these in a spreadsheet, normalize the prefix first or your totals will split in two.
Two categories are not promotions
ShortShipped is a shortage claim and Vendor Compliance is a fine. Both arrive inside the MCB file and both verify against shipping documents, not your deal sheet. Brands that treat the whole file as promotional spend book real shortage claims as trade and never dispute them.
How to get UNFI MCB backup documentation
You are not sent the backup by default. Email supplierdeductiondisputemgmt@unfi.com and ask to be added to the weekly MCB document distribution.
Once you are on it, the backup arrives by email as a ZIP named for your remit code. Two things to know about the contents. First, there is a CSV and a TXT with the same figures: the CSV is the data, the TXT is a printed report of the same chargebacks. Load both into a tracker and every line is counted twice. Second, weekly promotional chargebacks and weekly show order chargebacks arrive as separate mailings with different subject lines. They are different chargebacks that often land on the same check, so route both to whoever works deductions and never net them against each other.
What the MCB detail file contains
The file is one row per chargeback line, at store level. These are the columns that matter and what each is for:
| Column | What you use it for |
|---|---|
| Run Date / Period End | Which week the chargeback covers. Pair it to the reference on your remittance advice. |
| MCB Category | The program the line was billed under. Your first sort. |
| Auth # / Auth Name | The authorization claimed. Match it to a deal you signed. |
| Cust # / Customer Name / Chain / City / State | The retailer that received the discount, down to the store. |
| Prod # / Brand / Pack-Size / Description / UPC | The item. Confirms you actually sell it in that pack to that account. |
| Whse | The distribution center. Tells you which region the line belongs to. |
| QtyS | Units shipped that the discount was applied to. |
| ChgBckPct / ChgBckAmt / InvAmt | The rate, the dollars charged back, and the invoice amount it was computed on. Three numbers that must agree. |
The column most brands never use is Auth #. It carries the authorization the chargeback claims to be taken under, with Auth Name alongside it. That single field turns a dispute from an argument into a lookup: either the authorization matches a deal you signed, or it does not.
The three checks that decide a dispute
Work the file in this order. Each check is fast, and each one catches a different kind of error.
1. Was it authorized?
Match Auth # to your deal sheet. A line with no authorization, or one naming a deal you never signed, is the cleanest dispute in the file. Sort by Auth # and blanks float to the top.
2. Was it in the window?
Compare Period End to the promotion's agreed dates. Deals that keep billing after they end are common, especially on everyday-price programs where there is no obvious stop date.
3. Does the math hold?
ChgBckAmt should equal InvAmt times ChgBckPct, and ChgBckPct should be the rate in your deal. All three numbers are printed in the file, so this check needs no other document and catches rate errors nobody else is looking for.
Anything that fails one of the three is a dispute. Everything else is trade spend you agreed to, and arguing it costs more than it returns.
How long you have to dispute a UNFI MCB
Confirm the filing deadline for the specific deduction in the current UNFI instructions. The UNFI Dispute Center guidance describes a portal for Natural suppliers that replaces traditional email submissions.
Treat the weekly mailing as the real deadline. Open it the week it arrives, run the three checks, file what fails. Retain the submission confirmation and next follow-up date.
Deal sheet or promo authorization
Dates, retailers, rates. What checks 1 and 2 run against.
The weekly MCB CSV
The chargeback detail. Check 3 runs entirely inside it.
BOL and POD
For the ShortShipped lines, which are not promotional at all.
The remittance advice
Pairs each chargeback reference to the check that took it.
Frequently asked questions
What does MCB stand for at UNFI?
Manufacturer ChargeBack.
What is a UNFI MCB deduction?
A chargeback for a discount UNFI gave a retailer on your product, billed back to you. It covers promotional deals, everyday low pricing, shelf sales programs, and customer-specific ads.
How often does UNFI send MCB deductions?
Weekly. Each file covers a week ending on a Saturday.
How do I get backup documentation for UNFI MCB deductions?
Email supplierdeductiondisputemgmt@unfi.com to be added to the weekly MCB report distribution. The backup then arrives by email as a ZIP named for your remit code, containing a CSV of the chargeback detail and a TXT print of the same figures.
What are the UNFI MCB Category codes?
The MCB Category column groups each line by program. Common values include SGP-S Shelf Sales, SGP-E EDLP, SGP-T Turnover Orders, SGP-O Opening Store Discount, A - Customer Specific Ad, Returned Goods, Vendor Compliance, ShortShipped, and Additional Handling. Shelf sales is usually the largest by volume.
How long do I have to dispute a UNFI MCB deduction?
Confirm the filing deadline in the current UNFI policy and dispute record. Review new backup promptly rather than allowing a backlog to determine timing.
Where do I file a UNFI MCB dispute?
Through the UNFI supplier portal at myunfi.com.
What is the Auth # on an MCB line?
The authorization number the chargeback claims to be taken under. It is the single most useful column in the file: a line whose Auth # does not match a deal you signed, or carries no authorization at all, is your clearest dispute.
Where MCB fits
MCB is one family among several that UNFI bills. For how it sits alongside reclaim chargebacks, overpull, early-pay discounts, and the KeHE equivalents, see the UNFI and KeHE survival guide. For the KeHE side of the same problem, see What is a KeHE UDR?. For how these post against your remittances, see the UNFI cash application guide.
Bring MCB actuals into the next promotion
UNFI deduction review in Revya connects the MCB line with backup and the payment reference. Reconciled promotional charges then feed trade planning, so the next deal uses actual cost.