At Catalyze 2023, we unveiled three game-changing features coming soon to the Enable product: Inventory Rebate Accounting, Claims Management and Special Pricing Agreements (SPAs). These groundbreaking new features are poised to transform how businesses manage many facets of their rebate programs.

In this comprehensive blog, we invite you to explore the ins-and-outs of each of these innovations. We’ll cover the problems they were created to solve, the unique purpose and benefits of each, as well as the concrete ways that they’re helping businesses today.

Inventory Rebate Accounting

The first innovation we announced at Catalyze was our new Inventory Rebate Accounting feature.  

During discussions with customers, we uncovered several pain points that highlighted a clear need for this feature. A major multinational retailer expressed the difficulty of calculating inventory rebate amounts, which they identified as the second most critical and challenging calculation after accruals. Then, a Fortune 500 distributor highlighted the manual nature of their rebate management process, relying on error-prone Excel spreadsheets, raising concerns about the accuracy and consistency of their calculations. Finally, a distributor of building materials shared the lack of visibility into branch and location performance due to tracking inventory information solely in Excel. These experiences shone a spotlight on several significant challenges that needed to be addressed.

The Inventory Rebate Accounting feature offers a modern and user-friendly overview section where users can search for product-branch combinations to view inventory rebate values.  

The feature focuses on three key terms: cost of goods sold, rebate in stock (rebate value in inventory) and rebate release (the total released rebate that can be reported on the P&L). By eliminating fragile spreadsheets, the feature provides a clear picture of the rebates associated with current inventory, helping users prioritize sales and recognize earning potential. It also includes a configurable inventory reporting tool for balance sheet and P&L preparation, enabling visibility into location-level performance and tracking how each branch is performing. The executive dashboard offers widgets to calculate year-to-date rebate releases and total rebate in stock, facilitating informed decision-making and analysis of trends.  

With automated processes, improved audit compliance and performance insights, this new feature helps distributors and retailers regain lost time, enhance decision-making and maximize rebate values.

Paul Needham, Director of Information at SIG, a European building materials distributor, highlighted the value of the Enable software in providing on-demand insights into their locations' performance. With the inventory transfer functionality, they can effectively monitor their supply chain behaviors. This testimonial from Paul underscores the benefits that Enable offers to businesses in terms of visibility and operational control. Moreover, Enable's product differentiates itself by allowing rebate recognition at the point of sale, ensuring compliance and emphasizing the distinction from traditional point-of-purchase approaches.

The Inventory Rebate Accounting feature is available to upgrade for Enable customers today. Click here to find out more.

Claims Management

The product keynote’s second major announcement revolved around the new Claims Management feature. This new feature allows users to manage the end-to-end process of generating a claim (and disputes with trading partners) all the way through to the final settlement.  

This new feature was inspired by real stories of supply chain challenges. One global distributor faced a costly double-billing error, causing payment disruptions. A retailer of electronics streamlined their claims process, reducing the need for a large, dedicated team. A national distributor in the UK sought automated claim generation to facilitate smoother interactions with suppliers. These stories drove the development of this feature, aiming to address pain points and create win-win solutions for all parties involved.

Our Claims Management feature offers a range of powerful features to streamline and enhance the claims management process. The landing page provides an overview of your claims categorized by status, allowing you to focus your attention where it's needed most. With a single source of truth, every team involved can collaborate effectively and work towards a common goal.  

You have full control over the details displayed, sharing information with the right people, including your trading partners, to ensure smooth and efficient claim approvals. Integrating with your ERP system eliminates manual interventions and provides real-time updates on claim status.  

By using our Claims Management feature, you can accelerate collections, save valuable time through automation and build stronger relationships with your partners based on trust and transparency. Exciting enhancements and advancements are continually being made to enhance the product's capabilities and optimize the claims management journey.

Warwick Kerr, GM of Merchandise Planning at David Jones, shared how automated claims management improved efficiency and reduced errors for their team. Enable offers features for settling agreements and accruing rebates, but the product truly shines in the settlement process. This includes calculating accurate amounts, generating claims documents, collaborating with suppliers to agree on numbers and facilitating smooth invoicing and processing. With Enable, businesses can streamline the end-to-end settlement process and ensure successful financial transactions with their partners.

This new Claims Management feature fills in a critical missing piece of the rebate management puzzle, and we’re excited to bring these much-needed benefits to users.

Special Pricing Agreements (SPAs)

The third breakthrough feature we announced is our Special Pricing Agreements (SPAs) feature. Our goal with this feature is to make the process of managing SPAs more profitable and efficient than ever before.  
‍
Since our discussions at Catalyze 2022 in Miami, we identified several recurring pain points in the claims management process. One common issue is profit or revenue leakage caused by discrepancies between expected and actual claim amounts. The process itself is often inefficient, labor-intensive and time-consuming, creating headaches for everyone involved. Another challenge is the inability to allocate team resources to more valuable tasks due to the demands of manual claim management. These pain points highlight the need for an effective solution that addresses accuracy, efficiency and allows teams to focus on high-value activities.

Our new Special Pricing Agreements (SPAs) product offers a centralized repository with a clear audit trail, ensuring the efficient management of your SPAs. With a modern and user-friendly interface, you can easily navigate through the software. The executive dashboard view provides actionable insights, allowing you to assess the status of each SPA, triage customers by claim amounts and analyze historical claims for informed decision-making. Additionally, the detailed view highlights the differences between expected and actual payments, preventing revenue or profit leakage.  

For manufacturers, the feature unlocks market share growth through variable pricing and structured SPA management, while distributors can offer competitive pricing and maximize rebate earnings through better data collaboration. The feature's potential for efficiency allows businesses to focus on value-added tasks, making their SPAs more profitable and improving overall business operations.

According to Christine Morris, the finance director at Git, they are implementing Enable's Special Pricing Agreements product to enhance control, efficiency and decision making. With Enable, businesses can optimize their special pricing agreements, making them more profitable and streamlining the process. The platform allows for the creation of various levels of complexity within the agreements, serves as a reliable source of truth and facilitates the seamless exchange of pricing and transaction details. The Claims product aims to save teams critical time by automating calculations and eliminating the reliance on broken spreadsheets or limited ERP capabilities.

‍Our SPAs product is available for Enable customers to try today! Click here to learn more.

The Future of Enable’s Rebate Management Solution

The unveiling of Inventory Rebate Accounting, Claims Management and Special Pricing Agreements (SPAs) marks a significant milestone in the evolution of Enable's rebate management solution. These breakthrough features not only address the current pain points and inefficiencies faced by businesses but also anticipate the future needs of the industry. By embracing a comprehensive approach, fostering collaboration and placing control in the hands of our users, we are enabling organizations to unlock the full potential of their rebate programs.

With these game-changing capabilities, businesses can now navigate the complex landscape of rebate management with ease and confidence. We envision a future where manual processes are replaced by automation, where data-driven insights drive informed decision-making and where partnerships flourish through improved transparency and efficiency. The power to maximize profits and revenue lies at your fingertips.

As we look ahead, Enable remains committed to innovation and continuous improvement. We will continue to listen to our customers, adapt to the evolving market dynamics and strive to deliver cutting-edge solutions that drive success. Together, we’ll shape the future of rebate management and unlock new possibilities for growth and prosperity. The future is bright, and Enable is here to empower your rebate management journey every step of the way.