WMS for Target and Walmart compliance: meeting the strictest retail rules

Target and Walmart do not bend their rules for growth-stage brands. They expect perfect execution from the first shipment to the thousandth. When something is wrong, the feedback does not come as advice. It comes as a chargeback.

That is why brands search specifically for a WMS for Target and Walmart compliance. These retailers operate at a scale where even small errors create outsized disruption. Their routing guides, labeling standards, and ASN requirements are designed to protect their own efficiency, not your learning curve.

Compliance is not optional with these retailers. It is the cost of entry.

Why Target and Walmart are different from other retail partners

Many retailers have compliance rules. Target and Walmart enforce them relentlessly.

They require exact label placement, precise carton and pallet configurations, strict carrier selection, and timely, accurate ASNs. Miss any step and the penalties arrive quickly.

Bryan Wright, CTO and COO of G10, explains why systems matter more than memory in this environment. "With B2B, you're shipping to places like Target or Walmart. They have routing guides that make you specific labels on and put them in a specific place on the box." A WMS has to enforce those rules automatically.

Chargebacks are usually the symptom, not the root problem

When a chargeback arrives from Target or Walmart, it is tempting to focus on the last visible error. In reality, most compliance failures start earlier in the workflow.

The wrong quantity is picked. The wrong pack configuration is used. The system allows a shipment to progress without validating requirements.

Connor Perkins, Director of Fulfillment at G10, ties compliance failures to execution discipline. "One of the pain points our clients have experienced with previous 3PLSs is inventory accuracy; maybe their previous 3PL wasn't great at picking the orders accurately." If the pick is wrong, the shipment is already non-compliant.

What a WMS for Target and Walmart compliance must control

A compliance-focused WMS must control behavior on the warehouse floor. It cannot rely on training alone.

That means enforcing scan-based picking, validating carton contents, printing the correct labels automatically, and blocking shipments that do not meet routing guide rules.

Perkins states the baseline operational requirement clearly. "You want everything to be scanned in the warehouse, nothing done on paper." Scans are how the system proves compliance actually happened.

Routing guides must live inside the WMS

Target and Walmart routing guides specify carriers, service levels, appointment rules, and documentation timing. If those rules live outside the WMS, they depend on humans to remember them.

A strong WMS embeds routing guides directly into workflows so orders cannot be released incorrectly.

Wright explains why this is hard to bolt on after the fact. "A lot of other people have created D2C software and they're trying to get into the B2B space, and they many not realize the significant amount of effort that it takes to be compliant for B2B customers." Target and Walmart compliance exposes those gaps immediately.

Labeling precision is non-negotiable

Both Target and Walmart have strict label requirements. Which barcode is used, where it is placed, and how it is oriented all matter.

Joel Malmquist, VP of Customer Experience at G10, describes the consequence of getting it wrong. "Walmart's pretty intense with their labeling rules. Dick's Sporting Goods is the same; if you don't do it right, you get those massive chargeback." Target applies the same discipline.

A compliance-ready WMS eliminates guesswork by generating and validating labels automatically.

ASN accuracy ties physical execution to retailer systems

Advance ship notices are how Target and Walmart prepare to receive freight. If the ASN does not match the physical shipment, receiving slows and penalties follow.

ASNs must reflect what actually shipped, not what was planned.

A strong WMS generates ASNs only after cartons and pallets are confirmed, reducing mismatch risk.

Multi-warehouse compliance raises the bar even higher

When shipments to Target or Walmart originate from multiple warehouses, consistency becomes critical. One site doing something differently can trigger penalties across the account.

Holly Woods, Director of Operations at G10, explains how distributed execution works when systems are aligned. "Now it's not just one site working on these orders. We have three sites that are working on orders for you." The same compliance rules must apply everywhere.

Visibility turns compliance into a managed process

Compliance is stressful when it is invisible. Brands often learn about problems weeks later through deductions.

Visibility changes that dynamic. When teams can see each step of execution and data flow in real time, they can intervene before a shipment leaves the dock.

Maureen Milligan, Director of Operations and Projects at G10, explains the value of transparency. "What these real-time portals provide our customers is 100% visibility." That visibility is essential for high-stakes retail partners.

Why compliance failures cost more than the invoice

The chargeback is only the visible cost. Hidden costs include delayed payments, internal rework, strained retailer relationships, and lost expansion opportunities.

Repeated failures can affect scorecards and future purchase order volume.

Compliance is not about avoiding one penalty. It is about protecting long-term channel viability.

How to tell if your WMS is not built for Target and Walmart

Warning signs include frequent chargebacks, manual label overrides, ASN corrections, and teams double-checking shipments by hand.

If compliance depends on heroics, it will eventually fail.

A healthy WMS for Target and Walmart compliance feels boring. Shipments go out clean. ASNs match. Chargebacks become rare exceptions.

How G10 supports Target and Walmart compliance

G10 supports Target and Walmart compliance with a scan-based WMS that enforces routing guides, labeling rules, and ASN accuracy automatically across all locations.

Perkins describes the integration capability behind that approach. "We have experience with omni-channel integration setup and we're capable of doing any EDI, API, flat file, XML, any type of integration needed throughout the omni-channel for the marketplaces out there." Retail compliance depends on clean data end to end.

When questions arise, Malmquist describes the support experience. "If you're working with G10, your experience for getting help is that you can either email or call your direct point of contact. It's that simple." Compliance issues move fast, and support has to keep up.

If Target or Walmart chargebacks are eroding margin or slowing growth, the fix starts with a WMS built for their rules. Bring your routing guides, your retailer requirements, and your current pain points, and we will show you how to make compliance predictable instead of painful.