The Deal Economy - Page 7 - Enable

How was your last year end? I’m not referring to the actual outcome, but the PROCESS of getting to 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 rebates,...Continue reading

It's a complex task managing multiple vendor rebate deals across multiple vendors, multiple product lines, and in some cases multiple units of measure. 2 for 1, multi-pack discounts, retrospective discounts, limited lifetime promotions, not to mention awards points and prizes make rebate accounting a very complex job. By way of illustration, we have worked on one example where there were 300 deals written into 1 vendor contract. Without the right tools and information rebate accountants can st...Continue reading

How can procurement become more aligned with, and demonstrate its impact on, the main measures of business success? This question was posed recently in an article published by the highly respected Future Purchasing Group. Their article “procurement business impact — charting your financial impact” explored the impact that procurement can make on a company’s sustainable shareholder value — the core measure of any company’s success. The article defined four key shareholder value drivers: 1. Accel...Continue reading

The report that Tesco is returning to profit is good news for the beleaguered retailer, who have been hit with fierce competition from discounters Aldi and Lidl and the fall out of the supplier income scandal, which according to a recent article in the Sunday Times is still being investigated by the serious fraud office. The supplier income scandal still hangs like a black cloud over Britain’s largest supermarket retailer, and for organisations that benefit from supplier or vendor rebates the...Continue reading

We’re seeing more and more evidence of companies who rely on their suppliers to tell them what rebates they should claim! This is surprising given that rebates can be the largest contributor to profit for buying groups and a significant percentage for companies in the building materials, retail and wholesale distribution sectors. This may raise a few Financial Directors’ eyebrows, but given the complexity of rebate deals in some organisations and the lack of robust systems to track purchases aga...Continue reading

DCS Group (UK) is one of Europe's largest distributors of health and beauty products. Founded in 1994, the company has experienced phenomenal growth under the entrepreneurial leadership of Denys Shortt OBE. The company employs 320 and handles sales and distribution into selected markets for globally recognised brands such as Gillette, Colgate, P&G, Unilever and SC Johnson. DCS also owns and manufactures the international Enliven range of health and beauty products, and has a new contract man...Continue reading

Missing out on claiming manufacturer’s rebates is like negotiating a higher price with your suppliers. It simply shouldn’t happen! There are many examples in the building materials business where, instead of agreeing an up-front discount, discounts are given in the form of rebates based on actual volumes purchased. For the supplier, this fosters brand loyalty and means that margins are given away only in return for true purchase volume. For the buyer this gives the potential to drive up margins...Continue reading

The task set for procurement leaders in buying groups is to save costs. Whilst that is done at the contract stage, the process of making those cost savings often depends on having the right systems in place. With contract management systems boasting increased control, visibility and management of contracts that in turn increases profitability, it’s no surprise that finance and accounting teams in buying groups are being tasked with the job of finding the right contract management software for t...Continue reading

Cash flow is a big issue for most businesses in the building industry — from builders to building material suppliers — everyone in the supply chain is purchasing materials in advance of actually being paid by their customers. So anything that improves cash flow is usually welcomed. But margin is important too, and the two can be used as a trade-off — cash payments for a lower price or credit terms for a slightly higher price, in its simplest form. Of course, anyone in the industry knows that it...Continue reading

Twenty-fifteen saw the highest level of merger and acquisition activity in the UK since 2007 according to research by Experian. In fact, over 6500 mergers and acquisitions were completed in the UK in 2015 with a total value of £433bn. This was the highest value of deals since 2000. With all that activity comes the need to consolidate business between multiple companies and, after staffing levels, one of the most important areas for review is usually procurement. To drive out economies of scale p...Continue reading

Founded in 2005, XLVets is one of the UK's leading veterinary groups sharing experience, knowledge and skills whilst providing economies of scale for member practices. On behalf of its members, the group establishes deals for pharmaceutical supplies and accessories with manufacturers and wholesalers. It also works alongside academic bodies and commercial research and manufacturing companies to place its members at the forefront of veterinary science. Group statistics: 49 members Over 150 pre...Continue reading

If profit is the most important word in the business world then trust must run it a very close second. In the new collaborative economy the trust between businesses and their trading partners is key to their ability to move forward as one with transparency. A damning report from the Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA), has today seen Tesco, Britain’s biggest supermarket chain, pay the price for poor supplier rebate management, after delaying supplier payments and failing to raise accurate invoices....Continue reading

Rebate revenue management is critical to companies that rely on rebates to improve margins. For some it’s a bonus, for other companies it’s a significant proportion of their profit. But reaping the benefits from complex trade agreements that involve retrospective payments (such as rebates, retrospective discounts, purchase income and other forms of back margin) and maximising their potential during initial negotiations and the lifetime of the contract is far from simple. The large number and com...Continue reading

Landmark Wholesale Buying Group is a major buying group that provides a centralised trading and marketing operation on behalf of its members — leading independent wholesalers. The group represents members throughout the UK and has a turnover of £1.8 billion. One of their key roles is to organise the complex process of managing member overrider payments. The group has a turnover of £1.8 billion Enable were engaged to develop and implement a replacement for a previous overrider system for wh...Continue reading

Wolseley is the world's number one distributor of heating and plumbing products to the professional market and a leading supplier of building materials. Across two continents Wolseley are the trusted partner of contractors, construction companies, industry and governments; supplying them with the materials they need for building, remodelling and repair work. They rely on Wolseley for their boilers and their flues, their pipes and their air-conditioning units, their timber and their bricks — and...Continue reading