In our experience with businesses managing complex rebate agreements, we have come across multiple different styles of rebate deals. Some of these deals are rather self-explanatory, such as a fixed monetary amount or a fixed percentage of total turnover over the term of the deal.

However, as the area of rebate grew, rebate agreements became more complex and specific in order to provide maximum benefit for everyone involved. Why get a low rebate rate on all products (some of which you may never stock!) when you can negotiate a higher rebate rate on one of your most traded products?

Rebates Incentives Explained

What are Rebate Incentives?

Rebates incentives are used to encourage purchases across a specified group of products. The incentive offered by the manufacturer or supplier means that the more you trade with this partner over the course of the deal, the better the rebate rates you receive. This helps to promote loyalty with certain trading partners and protects the supplier from the risk of their trading partners engaging with the competitors about similar products.

Obviously, suppliers also benefit from the larger quantities purchased which help them to leverage economies of scale and increase their presence in the market place.

Types of Rebate Incentives

Typically, rebate incentives can also be referred to as tiered rebate or targeted rebate as the incentives are often arranged in an order of incremental benefit. Rebate incentives themselves exist in three main varieties, namely:

       
1. Volume rebate
       
2. Value rebate
       
3. Growth rebate
   

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These themselves can then be differentiated in several ways as earnings can be a fixed amount, a per unit rate or a percentage when incentive targets have been met.

You may or may not currently deal in these types of rebate agreements, but a better understanding of how they work and why they exist can help to improve your rebate incentive processes and inform you heading into negotiations.

Do you want to learn more about the different types of rebate deals? In our pricing strategies blog post we looked at the top 7 types of rebate deals.

What is a Rebate?

Rebates are retrospective payments used to drive sales growth without simply reducing the quoted price by offering a discount. The essential element being that rebates, unlike discounts, are given after initial payment of goods.

Rebate agreements tend to specify which products, locations and types of transaction are included. For example, purchases delivered direct to site may be excluded from eligibility for any rebate earnings.

Supplier Rebate Examples

A supplier rebate is a financial incentive provided as a form of discount or reimbursement.

For example, the supplier could offer a rebate of 5% on the total annual purchases if a buyer agrees to purchase at least $1 million worth of product in a year. If the customer buys $1.2 million worth during the year, they are entitled to a rebate of 5% of $1.2 million, or $60,000.

Examples of Rebate Incentives

Volume Incentive Rebates

Volume Incentive Rebates are tiered financial incentives that provide customers with rebates based on the amount they purchase from a supplier or manufacturer over a specified period. As the volume purchased increases, the rebate per unit is likely to increase as well.

Volume rebates are typically provided by suppliers or manufacturers to customers (such as retailers, wholesalers, or distributors) based on the volume of purchases made over a specific period. These rebates are designed to encourage customers to buy in larger quantities, thereby increasing overall sales.
Key components and benefits of volume incentive rebates include a threshold-based structure, incentive tiers, periodic evaluation, bulk purchases, strong supplier-customer relationships, and sales and revenue growth.

Volume incentive rebate example

With volume incentive rebate agreements, rebates are earned when volume based turnover targets have been reached.
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For example, a volume rebate agreement could have incentive targets of 7,500 units at a per unit rebate rate of $2 per unit. If your relevant spend with this supplier equated to 8,000 units, you would earn $2 per unit of rebate on all 8,000 units (equating to rebate earnings of $16,000).

Other examples of volume rebate deals could be simpler, such as earning a fixed amount at each target band rather than a per unit rate. They could also include percentages rather than per unit rates.

Volume Rebates Management

Managing Volume Incentive Rebate programs refers to the process by which suppliers or manufacturers administer and oversee rebate programs based on the volume or quantity of products purchased by their customers. These rebate programs are designed to incentivize larger and more frequent purchases. 

The management of volume rebates involves several key components such as documentation, calculation, and evaluation. Effective volume rebates management is crucial for suppliers seeking to incentivize their customers to increase their purchasing volumes. It requires careful planning, communication, and ongoing monitoring to ensure that both parties benefit from the arrangement.

Value Incentive Rebate Example

In value incentive rebate agreements, rebates are earned when value based turnover targets have been reached. This means that spend has surpassed a certain monetary value of product.

For example, a value deal could have rebate incentive targets of:

       
• $1,000,000        
• $2,000,000        
• $3,000,000
   

Each tier of this value deal could equate to earning a specified percentage of the turnover that applies to this deal. For example:

       
• 5%        
• 7.5%        
• 10%
   

If your relevant spend with this supplier equated to $3,500,000, then you would have reached the final tier of the target bands and would earn at the corresponding tier of the rebate rates. This means you would earn 10% in rebate on $3,500,000 (equating to rebate earnings of $350,000).

Growth Incentive Rebate Example

In growth incentive rebate agreements, rebates are earned when certain growth thresholds are met. This means that your relevant spend with this supplier has grown by a certain volume, value or percentage above a specified baseline (where the growth baseline is determined with respect to the previous year).

For example, a growth deal could have rebate incentive targets of:

       
• 2% above the baseline        
• 4% above the baseline        
• 6% above the baseline
   

Each tier of this growth deal could equate to earning a specified fixed monetary amount. For example:

       
• $50,000        
• $100,000        
• $200,000
   

If your relevant spend with this supplier was $1,000,000 last year and equated to $1,010,000 this year, then you would have reached the first tier of the target bands and would earn at the corresponding tier of the rebate amounts. This means you would earn $50,000 of rebate earnings.

Rebate Incentive Management Going Forward

The various different types of incentive deals offered typically depend of the specific manufacturer involved, some may deal exclusively in volume rebate deals, some may only offer volume rebate deals to buying groups.

A better understanding of the different types of incentive deals available -- how they're structured and calculated -- can benefit the management of your company's rebate. That deeper understanding should put you in a better negotiating position going forward.

Learn more about different types in this white paper: Rebate Management Basics: Understanding Which Incentive Type is Right for Your Business