The Deal Economy - Page 1 - Enable

In today’s deal economy, traditional methods of signing and validating B2B contracts mean that every day a potential B2B contract is sitting in somebody’s inbox waiting for approval, preventing either trading partner involved from making money or even worse, killing the deal altogether. As you know, a contract isn’t a done deal until all trading partners have signed. Luckily for you, technological advancements mean that e-signatures are forcing those involved in the b2b contract approval process...Continue reading

Most businesses start out managing their rebates using a variety of simple, standalone tools such as financial spreadsheets. But from experience, we know that these outdated rebate management processes can prevent businesses from calculating, accruing, and allocating rebates easily. Businesses that rely upon inefficient rebate processes as they evolve, could face various challenges and risks that prevent growth, efficiency, and increased ROI. Don’t let obsolete rebate management processes hinder...Continue reading

The COVID-19 pandemic has left many organizations renegotiating contracts sooner than they envisioned due to the uncertainty in the marketplace and the changing conditions of business which, when combined, result in their trading partners being unable to meet the current deal terms.Contract negotiation is a difficult exercise at the best of times, because a great amount of time and effort is spent up-front in negotiating B2B contracts, but due to the pandemic expediting contact renegotiations, t...Continue reading

The COVID-19 pandemic caught companies and whole industries off guard, as they experienced dramatic and sudden changes in demand and revenue. One of the most visible impacts of the pandemic has been the strain on the global supply chain. This was further exacerbated by manufacturers, distributors and all those selling “non-essential” goods being forced to temporarily close, with government-enforced lockdowns and social distancing regulations causing supply chain disruption and/or a collapse in...Continue reading

Every business should keep its rebate agreements transparent, recording each step in the process so that it can be traced back to the original source. To get the whole financial picture of your rebate deals you need to identify and fix any critical errors and assess ways to improve your rebate accounting process. To do this, you need access to a complete and reliable audit trail. What is an audit trail? An audit trail is a detailed record of a financial transaction or a document such as a tradi...Continue reading

Many businesses around the world have integrated various rebate management processes to get a better grasp of their B2B deals. These businesses quickly found the benefits of having a rebate management platform, inspiring other businesses to look for software of their own. While businesses stand to benefit from rebate management processes, some companies might have reservations of what these processes and platforms can do for them, and whether their businesses should make the investment. They oft...Continue reading

For decades, many of the world’s strongest trading relationships have been built on rebate agreements.The people trusted with managing these mutually beneficial business deals have played vital roles. But by necessity, they’ve been cogs in a much larger machine. Their time has been absorbed by administrative tasks: collecting and keying-in data, performing audits, corresponding over disputes.Now, the limits of rebate management are expanding.Businesses are realizing the need for—and immense valu...Continue reading

When it comes to the complexities of rebate management and B2B negotiations, human errors can creep in and seriously compromise the value of trading agreements, especially when the process is manual. Human errors tend to create additional costs, reduce efficiency, and cause catastrophic failures. There is no simple answer to completely reducing human errors but businesses that utilize the latest technology and processes correctly can take steps to reduce the likelihood and severity of mistake...Continue reading

When setting prices for your products or services, you always need to keep in mind the volume of sales you will get, the profits you will make, and even the way your brand is perceived.

Rebates and discounts are distinct forms of cost reductions which directly or indirectly promote the overall sales of a business. Both pricing terms may sound similar, however, there is a considerable difference between discount and rebates which we explore in more detail below.

Discounts

What is a discount?

Discounts are typically applied at the point of purchase to reduce the buying price: when you get a bill, you pay the discounted value. It’s all very immediate. The discounted price is visible as of the precise moment that the purchase would have been made and therefore offers immediate satisfaction.

6 min read

With 80% of B2B transactions governed by contractual agreements, contracts are the foundation of nearly every trading relationship and should seek to define and mitigate risk. Contracts also provide the basis by which companies ensure compliance with regulatory and financial accountability requirements. More importantly, agreements should be documented.However, the number and complexity of those contracts are growing. According to IACCM, the average Global 1000 corporation maintains over 40,000...Continue reading

How was your last year end? We’re not referring to the actual outcome, but the process of getting your year-end figures together.

If you’re in the fortunate position of being able to match each supplier invoice to an order at the right price, then perhaps your year-end is simply a question of dealing with a volume of transactions? But for those in the building supplies sector, those working in buying groups, and many wholesale distribution companies, revenue recognition is hampered by supplier rebates, retrospective discounts and other promotions.

In fact, in industries where rebates are an important part of normal trading, the rebate accountant is often the key to having a true picture of your profits and losses.

6 min read

To survive and succeed in today’s changing business landscape, companies need to evaluate their current processes and realise that digitalization is transforming how organizations in every industry carry out their operations. Forbes has reported that 90% of global businesses have kicked off a formal digital transformation initiative of some form. The concern for many companies is that they’ve already fallen behind, or they are too late to get started. But that is certainly not the case.One of th...Continue reading

In the supply chain and the rebate world, you will often hear the terms supplier and vendor used interchangeably when supply chain roles and duties are discussed. Even here at Enable we sometimes call supplier rebates, vendor rebates. They both supply goods and services, but there are certain attributes that make each one a distinct term in the supply chain world, which we will discuss in more detail below. Definition of vendor A vendor is someone who purchases products from manufacturers or di...Continue reading

When you become an independent business owner, you’re always thinking of ways to reduce your expenses, manage your finances better and stay ahead of the competition. One of the best ways to solve all three is to join a buying group also known as a group purchasing organization (GPO). A buying group handles the payments, sourcing, contract and supplier management for you, while leveraging the purchasing power of the group to get better pricing than you could negotiate if you were independent. Bu...Continue reading

When it comes to rebates there are two sides of the story: customer rebates and supplier rebates. How to differentiate the two can cause confusion. So, to explain the difference between customer rebates and supplier rebates we will take a different approach and think of them like a tango, rather than a war.

What are customer rebates?

Customer rebates is a term applied to the business process where a company is managing the rebate liabilities they have out to their customers: rebate monies they’re going to pay to their customers at some point in the future.

Read: The complete guide to B2B customer rebate management

What are supplier rebates?

Supplier rebates is a term that is used where a company is managing their income stream of rebates that will become due in, from their suppliers.

Read: Why the supplier rebate model is broken — and how to fix it

8 min read