Stacy Jackson

Contract Management, Avatar, and Dances With Wolves

Answers Systems — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 22:06:53 GMT

I may be one of the loneliest movie-goers around after I make my confession: I didn't like Avatar.

If you have resumed consciousness after reading that shocking revelation, I'd like to tell you why before you totally write me off as a know-nothing hack.

I didn't like it because I didn't like the story. The artistry and technology were amazing, but the movie was LONG and there was something that irked me for the first two hours that I couldn't quite put my finger. Then at 2 hours and 15 minutes, a memory roared into my head like the thundering of bison across the prairie plains: this movie seemed quite a bit like Dances with Wolves.

I'm not a movie snob, but I do like a good plot with some new twists. This just didn't have that for me (sure, it was in space and it looked way cool, but you could easily write a plot summary and it could be for either movie - read this article from Big Hollywood to see what I mean). But, hey - that doesn't matter in the big picture. Mr. Cameron is not lying awake at night worried about his movie because Stacy J. doesn't like the plot of his record-breaking, mega-blockbuster hit.

Maybe I am being too harsh in my opinion of Avatar - after all, almost everything seems like it's been done before, right? That Kid Rock "All Summer Long" song sounds a lot like "Sweet Home Alabama" and even "Werewolves of London" in some spots. Everything old is new again at some point. Why mess with a tried and true formula?

Contract templates - I bet you were wondering how I was going to get around to contract management - are sort of the same way. They are tried and true, they get the job done, and they help ContractPro® users save time and produce successful contracts for their organizations and customers. If you are not currently working with templates in your contract management system - ContractPro or otherwise - you should really consider the benefits that a template library can bring:

Contract Templates Reduce Errors: Because certain fields are already pre-defined, they reduces the occurrence of user error
Contract Templates Save Time: There is less data entry, more confidence, shorter approval time, less time fixing errors
Contract Templates Improve Workflow: Templates can allow for non-hierarchical approval workflows if necessary

Specifically with the ContractPro solution . . .

Contract Templates Assist with Visibility: You can more easily control what users can and can't see with templates versus dependence upon sales hierarchy only
Contract Templates are More Robust: Templates provide a more robust reporting environment and will provide greater benefits with ContractPro 3D Reporting

Contract templates may be used over and over again, but they can be your very own mega-blockbuster hit. Oh - and if you want to talk about artistry and beautiful technology, well, you have to check out the ContractPro solution, of course!

Technorati tags: contract management, dances with wolves, avatar, trade promotion management, contract template

Apple iPad - Game Changer for Contract Management

Answers Systems — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 18:06:39 GMT

by Shawn Cady & Stacy Jackson

If you monitor Twitter, Apple-related news, or technology gadgets in general, you probably know that the Apple tablet is being revealed - about right now, in fact (1:00 EST).

For years we’ve all tried to get the sales force to stop using the cocktail napkins as a preferred contract delivery method. Now with the advent of Apple’s revolutionary tablet computer, the game is changing for contract management. The new tablet (and future generations of tablets) will allows our apps to become a "digital cocktail napkin" - easy to carry but far more powerful than a flimsy piece of paper.

Why we think tablet is the beginning of a foodservice contract management revolution:

Availability/portability of hardware: iPhone and Android phones have started the revolution because of their "always connected/always on" nature and ease of portability. Business apps abound for these devices, yet there has not been a robust contract management solution yet. Sales reps could bring their laptop to customer meetings, to enter pricing and contractual data, but it can be cumbersome to lug it around. And, you have to wait for it to boot up, you wait for a file to open or wait for it to connect to wifi. Natural and spontaneous interactions between customers and sales people get interrupted with a laptop - social momentum gets lost. The new Apple tablet probably won’t instantly change this, but will make it easier and more natural to include the equivalent of the electronic piece of paper in contract negotiation.
Network: better access to 3G networks is already and most places have wifi. With the advent of the tablet, more network providers and businesses will be clamoring to serve the masses who will be using these tablets now and into the future.

Here at Answers Systems we have been anticipating this evolution in mobile computing, and we have been waiting for hardware and network technology to catch up to our vision for always-on contract management. The sales process in is often a loose negotiation setting that doesn’t necessarily involve a laptop where the sales person and customer to agree to purchase and rebate terms together. With the new tablet and/or future generations of tablets, this will be more of “natural fit” into the sales interaction. If like Apple's iPhone/Touch, it will be “always on/connected” users can keep the momentum going during a sales call. Users will be able interact directly with the computer by touch screen and stylus or direct touch – much more like paper and pen. There will be less interruption to the social interaction – no waiting for the laptop to turn on, one can potentially physically signing the screen (electronic version of the contract) as you would a piece of paper – no waiting for the printer. A tablet would be much easier to pass back and forth for users to discuss and edit.

Manufacturers and service providers like Answers Systems have to acknowledge the impact that this technology and future iterations have on the sales process and communication of contract data. With evolution of sensory computing platforms, GPS, and accelerators (spatial orientation and movement), there are many imaginative and useful applications to trade promotion and contract management.

One example: Imagine if you are driving down Main Street, USA, and your tablet (or even your smartphone) alerts you that equipment velocity is 50% under where it should be for the large local leverage operator you are just three miles from? Just follow your GPS turn-by-turn instructions, go educate the customer on how to use your products more effectively with your equpiment program, and increase sales.

After we see what Apple presents today at their press conference, we will definitely be back with more thoughts. Stay tuned.

Technorati tags: Apple Tablet, foodservice, contract-management, trade-promotion-management, GPS, ContractPro, ValuTrak TTPCAV2BGRGU

Ruling in Favor of Michael Foods, Sodexo

Answers Systems — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 19:45:24 GMT

by Stacy Jackson

If you haven't already heard, a federal appeals court reversed the ruling on the Feesers vs. Michael Foods and Sodexo case. You may remember last summer (here's a link to that post) a lower court found Michael Foods and Sodexo guilty of violating the Robinson-Patman Act. Last week, Friday, January 8, that ruling was reversed.

Below are some links to that latest news:

Appeals Court Reverses Foodservice Pricing Pricing Ruling, Food Management

Third Circuit Rules that Food Service Management Companies and Distributors are Not Competitors for Robinson-Patman Act Analysis, USLaw.com

Michael Foods wins pricing case appeal, Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal

Technorati tags: Feesers v. Michael Foods, Robinson-Patman Act, Sodexo

A Lesson from Tiger in Good TPM

Answers Systems — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 19:16:50 GMT

Posted by Stacy Jackson

After reading “The Yadda Yadda Conundrum,” published December 4, in New York Magazine, I realized that a timely statement of the facts could have gone a long way for Tiger Woods. Had he just given an immediate, simple explanation of his car accident to the police, he might not be dealing with all this poking and prying into his personal life. I’m not here to comment on Mr. Woods’ life choices – just pointing out that a statement of concrete facts may have saved him a lot of public grief.

A murky story leaves room for interpretation and investigation. You may not be able to control that interpretation, and that can lead to all kinds of stressful – maybe even scandalous – fall out.

“Big deal,” you may say. “This is a blog about TPM – it’s not TMZ.” True, but there is a lesson here that we can apply to trade promotion management. A trade promotion deal with holes in it can be the equivalent of the PR-nightmare of a story with holes in it: too much room for interpretation can exact a high cost.

When creating a customer contract, none of the following are optimum vehicles for your precious contractual data:

Word or Excel documents of your own making
Notebook paper
Cocktail napkins

I’m sure you are a smart individual who pays attention to detail, but why would you even want to chance it when crafting a contract? Everyone has an “off” day now and again. Don’t let one typo be your downfall!

If your organization has a trade promotion management solution, by all means use it to record the terms of your contract and to generate the official contract documentation that you deliver to your customer. Your company's solution should require you to enter all the key data about start and end dates, volume forecasts, pricing, competitive information, products, distributors, etc. The system-generated contract communication document should have “locked down” terms and conditions written by your company’s legal department – uneditable by the contract creator in order safeguard the company.

By using your own personal “system” of templates or paper, you put yourself and your company at risk for an increase in claims with errors, which leads to:

Slow/no payment while your team tries to find and understand settlement terms
Payment of ineligible SKUs
Deductions
Upset customers
An angry boss

If your organization does not have a trade promotion management process in place – or if you are looking to make a change to the status quo – you need to schedule your ContractPro® solution demo today: 800-225-6127, sales@answers-sys.com.

The ContractPro solution helps you:

Mitigate Risk

Central repository for all contracts
Transparency across the organization
Contract templates, approval process, letters to prevent “maverick” contracts
Stringent processes to prevent double dipping, payments on ineligible SKUs, etc.
Reporting for monitoring compliance with trade regulations such as the Robinson-Patman Act
Keep sales reps on budget with Budget vs. Spend reporting
Manage of turnover/transition of accounts during the employee separation process

Focus Resources on Core Competencies

Outsourced data acquisition, verification, reconciliation, and settlement removes administrative tasks:
- Sales people can sell more
- Corporate personnel can manage results instead of processes
Reporting allows corporate to
- Manage market activity/broker performance more effectively due to greater visibility
- Develop bonus programs based on key performance metrics
The ContractPro Community shared-efforts mean less time and money spent internally on initiatives such as:
- Electronic communication of claim and contract data - Answers Systems Eclaim^SM solution
- Unit Level Data Acquisition & Reporting

Gain Insights and Improve ROI

Data acquisition, mapping, and verification ensure accurate, eligible performance data is tracked and paid against contracts
Reconciliation of claim and contract errors prevent costly pay outs and reduce future iterations of the same errors
Rebill procedures allow you to collect against errant deductions
Insightful reporting and timely, actionable data let you monitor contract health during the course of a deal’s lifetime – not just post-mortem

Technorati tags: trade promotion management, contract management, trade spend management, Tiger Woods

Optimize Resources Tied to Trade Promotion Management

Answers Systems — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 14:04:15 GMT

In yesterday’s blog post (November 22), I touched on how the ContractPro® solution helps foodservice manufacturers mitigate risk in their trade promotion management process. Today I want to give an overview of how Answers Systems and the ContractPro solution help foodservice manufacturers optimize resources tied to trade promotion management.

The reality in today’s economic environment is that most organizations are having to do more with less – less people, less budget dollars, less time. Answers Systems addresses these area concerns with regard to managing trade spending challenges for the foodservice manufacturer:

Outsourced data acquisition, verification, reconciliation, and settlement removes administrative tasks:
- Sales people can sell more
- Corporate personnel can manage results instead of processes
Reporting allows corporate to
- Manage market activity/broker performance more effectively due to greater visibility
- Develop bonus programs based on key performance metrics
The ContractPro Community shared-efforts mean less time and money spent internally on initiatives such as:
- Eclaim^SM electronic billback/claim acquisition
- Unit-level data acquisition & reporting

Contact us to talk more about how Answers Systems can help you optimize your trade promotion management resources: 800-225-6127, sales@answers-sys.com.

Helping You Get Trade Promotion Results

Answers Systems — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 17:04:17 GMT

Posted by Stacy Jackson

When I opened the November 16, 2009, Special Issue of InformationWeek, the first thing I read was the “Down to Smarter Business” section written by editor, Rob Preston. His article headline is “People Want Results, Not ‘Solutions.’” That got me to thinking about the Answers Systems ContractPro® “solutions” versus the “results” our clients get from our trade promotion management solutions. While our offering is best-in-class for foodservice manufacturers, it’s really the results of those solutions that keep clients happy.

The ContractPro online application is intuitive and has robust reporting and analytics. But, our clients don’t use the system just because it’s easy to use and has great reporting. It’s those features plus a whole lot of other benefits/results in the areas of risk mitigation, resource allocation, and return on investment.

Today let’s look at how the ContractPro solution helps manage risk.

ContractPro clients can rest assured that their data is secure with Answers Systems. We are a SAS 70 Type II certified vendor, and we have the processes in place to support the management, maintenance, and security of all of your trade promotion data. The ContractPro online solution . . .

Prevents “lost” contracts: the centralized contract entry and management system ensures that draft, approved, and expiring contracts never get misplaced. Therefore, there is less potential for lost sales dollars and increased deductions due to lost contract documentation, lack of approval, or mismanagement of expiring contracts.
Provides transparency across the organization with viewing/editing/authoring rights assigned via hierarchy. Transparency means less time spent hunting down contract documentation – savings in labor hours.
Protects you against “maverick” contracts through use of the ContractPro approval process and contract letter. By locking down the approval process and requiring use of the ContractPro letter, you have assurance that the contract recipients, barring any data entry errors on their side, will have matching terms, SKUs, dates, rates, etc. This can prevent overpayments and reduce deductions.
Helps you adhere to trade regulations: the ContractPro solution and Answers Systems settlement services help clients comply with Sarbanes-Oxley regulations. Additionally, our standard and custom reports help you monitor trends that can alert you to potential Robinson-Patman infractions, etc.
Helps you keep your sales force on budget with reports such as Budget vs. Spend.
Provides protection of sensitive data during the employee separation process and provides a seamless transition of any account/contract-related data to new owners.

Check back tomorrow to hear more about how the ContractPro solution and Answers Systems helps clients see results with regard to resource allocation.

The Pain Curve

Answers Systems — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 01:39:12 GMT

Posted by Stacy Jackson

Over the years we have learned a lot about what happens in the first 90 days or so after a manufacturer implements a new contract management system. We call it the pain curve. Excitement and expectations for the new system turn into angst over errors that seem to be piling up in the way of pendings, recalculated claims, and deductions. Things improve, though, after a little work. The pain subsides and turns into confidence in the new system - deductions are down (often lower than they were pre-integration), contracts are corrected, there is a better ROI on deals, and greater insight into sales information - insight that didn't exist before thanks to ContractPro reporting.

From an academic point of view, the pain curve makes sense and seems tolerable in light of the pay off. When you are at the top of the pain curve, the rational understanding of the pain curve can fly out the window. Fear not - while the pain curve isn't totally unavoidable, there are ways to avoid some of the problems your organization may face when implementing a change this big:

First and foremost: neither software nor an outsourced solution is not a magic bullet. You can implement the world's most perfect system and still have an immense failure on your hands if you aren't ready for the human "drama" that can unfold. As with any major initiative in business, change comes down to behavior. It's key to engage users from the very beginning:
1. Communicate the business reasons for your choice in solutions/solution providers
2. Ensure that the change is mandated and practiced from the top down
3. Set realistic, measurable expectations, and tie rewards/penalties to those metrics
4. Train your users then train them again . . . and again
5. Talk to your customers about how your processes are going to change with regard to where they send their claims, who they need to talk to, how they communicate claims (is there an electronic option), etc.
6. Celebrate successes so that people know the solution is working - down in the trenches, people may not see the big-picture success
Next, don't panic. Yes, claims are being recalculated, which is probably a contributing factor to the rising deduction balance. Perhaps, contracts are being entered incorrectly, which is causing claims to go on pending status. Use these "problems" as learning opportunities:
- Are the recalculated claims a result of more stringent verification? If so, these errors have been verified as true recalculations. Any deductions can be legitimately rebilled with validated back up. In the long run, claim errors will be reduced because contractual errors will be corrected in the claimant's system - rebill back up will help them understand their claim errors in light of the terms of the valid contract.
- Maybe contracts are being entered incorrectly - this is an opportunity to delve into field sales performance. Are contracts entered incorrectly because your sales reps are simply resistant to changing to a more transparent system? Did they get enough training on the software? Are there situations where the new system has made a perpetual contract set up errors visible?

Just remember when considering a new trade promotion management system - or any new system for that matter - you can ready your company for the pain curve by taking the following steps:

Have a clear vision (what does the post-pain organization look like?)
Understand the organization's need to change (the business case)
Shape the organization's willingness and readiness to change (communications and training)
State the plan (set expectations, explain business case, describe the metrics)
Celebrate successes (let everyone know the pain of change yields results)

Data Management and Acquisition in Foodservice Trade Promotion Management

Answers Systems — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 23:58:40 GMT

Posted by Stacy Jackson

Through our years of experience in helping clients manage their Data Acquisition & Data Management in trade promotion management, we've identified the following potential pain points that foodservice manufacturers face:

Slow (or NO) submission of claims
Claim information scattered throughout the organization
Lack of internal capability to receive electronic claims
Data mapping of incoming claims
Matching claims to contracts
No internal system to properly distribute and use this information

For each of the above pain points, we have outlined the best practices to help you and your organization remove the obstacles and issues as identified above. Some of these best practices are:

Creation of a central repository with scanned claim capabilities: The best practice to prevent the "slow/no claim receipt" situation is to create a central claim repository. For brokers who wish to see the claim data, make sure you have a claim-scanning element built into your claim/contract management system. That way the broker can still see the original claim data while at the same time your payment processing department gets the claim paid within a timely manner.

Conversion of key distributors, operators, and group purchasing organizations (GPOs) to electronic billbacks instead of paper: be sure to create a flexible processing system that will allow you to accept various data file formats (Excel, EDI, etc.) so that you can load the data electronically instead of manually. Answers Systems currently receives over 70% of billbacks electronically for our manufacturer customers. Some people mistakenly think that electronic claim receipt means less hassles and headaches. Not necessarily true! Whether you get paper or electronic data, you can still have the same errors. Electronic claims simply facilitate the faster flow of information and prevent additional errors that your staff could make when re-keying information. As far as claims for incorrect SKUs or other errors originating with the claimant, you still get the same errors . . . you just receive them more quickly. But, the important thing is this: you now have more time to react to and correct claim errors before a deduction is taken.

Map everything: map every distributor SKU back to your own SKU, map operators to their GPOs, map operator units to headquarters, and map units of measure (UOM) conversions. Properly SKUs and operator locations claims help you prevent double dipping. Properly mapping UOM conversions help prevent over payments. For example, you may list your SKU 12345 as followings: 4-10 lb. containers, and your rebates are set up as "per pound." The distributor could sell your SKU 12345 by the pound, by the case, in eaches. It's key to ensure that you are paying those rebates correctly - map your SKU and rebates to the various UOMs that the distributor may be selling by. That could mean the difference between a correct payment and a massive over payment of rebate dollars.

Contract-to-claim matching: this means verifying the claim at a detailed level. With a good contract management system, you can match claims to contract by specific distributor/operator agreement, by product, by distributor agreement, timeframe. In fact, Answers Systems experience is that 80% of all electronic claims can be matched to the correct agreement. The remaining 20% of claims can't be matched because no contract exists.

Technorati tags: foodservice trade promotion management, contract and rebate management, data acquisition, data mapping, data management

Breaking Down TPM Critical Steps - Back-Office Procedures

Answers Systems — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 18:59:32 GMT

Posted by Stacy Jackson

Last week I posted on the topic of Breaking Down TPM Critical Steps - Standardization & Rules of Engagement, based on the webinar series from Foodservice University and Answers Systems. As promised, here is some information about Back-Office Procedures to employ once you have gone about the process of standardizing your trade promotion management process and defining rules of engagement.

Back-Office Procedures for Effective Trade Promotion Management

After all the contracts are created, approved, and communicated in the market place, manufacturers need to be ready to handle incoming claims. This process encompasses document storage, distributor cost basis, claim tolerances, earned income rules, broker commission rules, claim management, and settlement/deduction management. These procedures need to be determined by corporate and communicated (and mandated) out to the field.

Document Storage
Some people think of document storage in terms of a physical space where paper files are stored. In today's contract and rebate management environment document storage pertains to both storage of paper claims and electronic claims (like those generated by the Eclaim^SM system from Answers Systems). A best practice recommended by Answers Systems is that companies create a scanned copy of incoming paper claims. This way paper documentation can be loaded into your contract management software and linked to the contract. All elements of the contract and resulting claim can be found easily and quickly. Answers Systems scans paper claims, and uploads them to the ContractPro solution so that users in the field can review the actual claim data against which we made payment on the client's behalf.

Distributor Cost Basis:
The next step concerns payments - who makes them and what system will be used for calculating correct payments. Obviously fixed rate contracts mean claims will be paid at the rate on the contract - that's the only rate allowed. Where the potential payment issues arise is with fixed price contracts. There are a couple of factors to consider: what is the price that is fixed on the contract, and what is the price the distributor paid for the product? The difference between the two is what should be billed back. Where a manufacturer may encounter problems is knowing what the distributor is using as the
"price paid" for the product. It is critical that a manufacturer select the appropriate methodology for administering payments. Choosing the wrong one can mean either impact margins (paying too much), or increase deductions (which also increases administrative work/costs).

Claim Tolerances:
Many of our ContractPro clients establish claim tolerance levels to apply to certain deductions so that if a deduction within the tolerance occurs, it can simply be written off automatically. Often levels like $100 or $250 are established. This is totally at the discretion of the company paying against the deal. An Answers Systems best practice to still capture the details of the claim. Remember in last week's post when we discussed the volume estimates on a contract? If we do not capture all claims, the actuals against the original contract estimate will be short stated.

Earned Income Rules:
When contracting with a distributor for an earned income program, is the manufacturer doing it to create street and contracted business or just street. If a manufacturer can pay more for street and less or nothing for contracted, aren’t they putting money to the right kind of marketing to further both their business and the distributors? Defining the corporate standard of what you will pay earned income on and what you won’t is very important. This needs to be part of the contract and part of the administrative setup in the back office.

Broker Commission Rules:
Since brokers are paid commissions against sales dollars, we want to be able to capture and apply the exclusion for commission on certain types of deals, like national account business sold through the brokers territory. These RULES need to be established, communicated, integrated into broker contracts, communicated, and detailed on commission statements. All of this has to be set up within the manufacturer’s financial system to assure accuracy.

Claim Management:
Claim management in the communication phase, refers to instructions on where to send claims. As part of the contract, the address that all claims should be “sent to” should be documented. A central location for claims works best. We hear of manufacturers that either have huge delays on claim settlement or numerous deductions with no back up at all.

The communication should also state that the distributor should provide terms for payment of claims, send the backup to the provided address and that if they do deduct that backup for the deduction is always required.

Settlement/Deduction Management:
The final issue deals with the formal procedure to receive and process these promotions. That SEEMS to be obvious, but it is amazing how many companies we deal with don’t have formalized procedures for the exactly where deals go and who processes them. It often is very loose…leading to a lot of “I can’t find that deal…can you send it again” kind of calls. procedures need to be set up, while at the same time ease of access to check on deal status needs to be established. These are both best practices in deal management.

That brings us full circle…we’ve established a structure for Trade Promotion Management by dealing with the RULES OF ENGAGEMENT or EXTERNAL ISSUES surrounding promotions; as well as the BACK OFFICE elements of the formal process and structure needed for Total Promotion Management.

Have questions? Drop us an email or give us a call at 800-225-6127.

Mind-blowing Monday Post - ValuTrak Solution for Foodservice Operators

Answers Systems — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 15:08:21 GMT

post by Stacy Jackson

<YAWN> It’s Monday. Grab a cup of coffee, sit back, and relax. We are going to keep today’s blog simple enough, but it will change your life if you are a foodservice operator! I am running down the top three reasons why a multi-unit foodservice operator should use the ValuTrak® rebate and compliance management solution from Answers Systems.

Ready? It’s gonna be simple yet mind-blowing:

1. Less tedium
2. Better info
3. More money

Woo hoo! That’s the way to start the week, right? I am going to go tell the call center to get ready for a flood sales calls and email inquiries. I’ll be right back – don’t go anywhere. . . .

Well, what happened?

I’ve been waiting for about ten minutes now. I was standing right beside Linda so I could see her face light up when she received her first exuberant caller ready for “less tedium, better info, and more money.” Instead of excitement and drama, it’s just another Monday on the phones here. Business as usual . Normal calls. Normal inquiries. Normal people.
For those of you skeptical of my claims, here’s the deal explained in less late-night infomercial terms.

Less tedium
Answers Systems and the ValuTrak system provide a total, outsourced solution for multi-unit foodservice operators. Answers Systems provides:

Data acquisition and mapping
Verification of eligible purchases against supplier contract terms
Creation and submission of claims to suppliers
Receipt and disbursement of funds

You can now unburden your team from this heap of administrative work, and refocus them on more mission-critical projects. Don’t have rebates, just guaranteed pricing? We’ve got things for you, too. Keep reading!

Better info
With the ValuTrak reporting suite, multi-unit operators have insight into unit compliance, analyses of purchases to perform distributor price verification, access to purchase trending reports, etc. Everything you need to know about your programs and their performance is centralized in the ValuTrak online reporting suite where you can run canned reports or manipulate data in the pivot tool.
Some ValuTrak client uses this data to enforce contract compliance among its franchised units. Another client can offer data online to its bases worldwide allowing hundreds of personnel access to essential purchasing metrics for their unit. Other ValuTrak clients use the data to examine their “actual price” versus the distributor guaranteed price to understand distributor pricing compliance.

More Money
If you are a ValuTrak client, you’ve freed your schedule of many administrative tasks and you have access to tons of purchasing data. It’s time to leverage that data to maximize your ROI on those deals as well as identify new rebate opportunities. With the ValuTrak solution, you can:

Address compliance issues that are preventing you from realizing maximum, eligible rebates (unit compliance issues, distributor pricing compliance issues),
Improve contract negotiation with powerful and revealing reporting filtered by manufacturer, brand, category, etc., showing items you are purchasing that you do not currently receive a rebate or guaranteed price on,
Identify and collecting previously unpaid rebates,
Monitor distributor delivered price and provide information in billing for discrepancies.

One last point on the “money” topic: Answers Systems submits claims to our client’s suppliers on the client’s behalf. We receive 82% of those funds within 60 days or less. So it’s not just more money – it’s more money, more quickly.

OK. Now that you’ve got a bit more explanation, maybe you’ll make that call or send that email to get your online demonstration, right? But, I’m not going to go back and stand by Linda’s desk. I think I’ve annoyed her enough for one Monday.

Technorati tags: ValuTrak, unit compliannce, contract and rebate management, distributor pricing, rebates