There are millions of manufacturers, distributors, and retailers globally. Rebates impact over 80% of global trade and represent the largest expense for manufacturers. They're the main source of profit for distributors and retailers.

Enable's journey began with a simple goal: to streamline and automate rebate administration. However, as we've evolved, our focus has shifted towards redesigning rebate programs to foster mutual benefit and revolutionize the entire supply chain.

Part of that evolution has led to the idea of a "rebate reset." This concept emerged from the rebate community and focuses on transforming how companies use rebates to drive success. Why? Because it's no longer enough to focus solely on transactions; we need to align closely with trading partners, understanding their goals and creating mutual wins. This involves genuine joint business plans and performance-based rewards.

At Enable, our vision is for trading partners to become seamless extensions of each other, connected through robust rebate programs that ensure customers get the best products, service, and value, while optimizing margins for every partner involved. Let’s unpack what your future holds.

The Three Essential Components of Effective Rebate Management

Early rebate management software was essentially a calculator used by the finance team. This wasn’t enough to make rebate management easier. So rebate management platforms have evolved. Now, they are comprehensive platforms that offer opportunities for collaboration, robust analytics, and a central repository for all agreements.  

Why grow in this direction? Why not remain a simple calculation engine? Well, we figured out – through conversation with our community – that a rebate management platform really needs to be three things: comprehensive, collaborative, and controlled.

A rebate management platform needs to be comprehensive enough to handle any type of agreement imaginable. Commercial teams, purchasing teams, sales teams, category managers, and merchandisers are constantly devising creative agreements to drive specific behaviors. Whatever system we use must be flexible enough to manage these creative agreements.

A rebate management platform should be collaborative. What started as a finance team calculator must now engage the entire organization – sales, purchasing, planning, pricing – and extend to trading partners. The platform should be accessible to customers and suppliers alike.

Finally, it must be controlled. While flexibility is essential, the system must also be objective, allowing the finance team to accurately calculate the outcomes of agreements. It should have a robust audit trail to track what was created, when it was approved, and by whom.  

The Concept of a Rebate Reset

Deanne Hammer, Global Channel, Sales District and Pricing Operations Director from 3M, recently shared with Enable how she evaluated her rebate programs amid high inflation and rising prices and managing rebates in this challenging economic context.

When Hammer reflected on the substantial funds allocated to rebates during frequent price increases, this made her reconsider 3M’s rebate approach. She noticed that the amount of money going into rebates was significant enough that, in some cases, it might have offset the need for certain price hikes. This realization prompted her to question whether their rebates were effectively driving the desired customer behaviors or if external market factors were unduly influencing the payouts.

In her opinion, we need to make sure our rebates are incentivizing customers to act in ways that benefit our businesses. The complexities in modeling and predicting rebate impacts – factors like product coverage, channel shifts, and market consolidation – can skew results. These insights underline the need for careful evaluation and adjustment of rebate programs to ensure they are aligned with your strategic goals.

We need to reevaluate rebate programs to ensure they drive the desired behaviors. Hammer advocates for taking a step back and analyzing whether current rebates are effective or merely industry expectations. This involves scrutinizing data to understand customer reactions and making necessary adjustments to create more balanced and behavior-driven programs.

By taking Hammer’s approach, you can move away from a one-size-fits-all rebate strategy towards more tailored programs that incentivize the right behaviors. Rebate structures can trigger emotional responses, emphasizing the need for clear communication and setting realistic expectations with your trading partners.

A “rebate reset” underscores the importance of regularly re-evaluating rebate programs, especially in volatile economic conditions. By critically examining whether rebates are driving the desired behaviors and making necessary adjustments, companies can create more effective and mutually beneficial incentive programs. This approach moves beyond traditional rebate strategies, offering a tailored and dynamic way to foster better trading relationships and drive business success.

Discover our rebate reset manifesto to kickstart your journey to success.

The Future of Enable’s Rebate Management Platform

• Streamlining Claims Management and Settlements

In many markets, companies don't actively claim their rebates: they rely on their partners to make payments, which sometimes are not timely or complete. This is akin to not invoicing your customers and expecting them to pay on time and in full – a risky assumption. In markets where companies do claim rebates, our automation and digitization of the claims process are transforming the landscape, leading businesses to adopt this efficient method.  

The new Settlement feature allows manufacturers to manage the entire lifecycles of their rebate programs without ever having to leave the Enable platform. They will be able to negotiate, manage, and settle all in one place.

• AI Reporting Capabilities

As technology continues to evolve rapidly, with AI playing a central role, there's a wealth of opportunities to streamline operations, optimize efficiency, and make better decisions. Contrary to fears of AI replacing jobs, it is empowering professionals to perform their roles more effectively by leveraging vast amounts of data for meaningful insights.  

The integration of AI across our entire rebate management platform will help trading partners become seamless extensions of each other. For instance, AI-powered product data mapping is crucial for building trusted trading relationships.  

At Enable, we’re launching our new AI-powered analytics to provide more actionable insights, helping you make better decisions. This is designed to be self-serve, empowering you to generate tailored insights for both your internal teams and your trading partners.  

What makes this particularly exciting is that the system operates on natural language processing. This means you can ask questions in plain English and receive results as if you had a business analyst right there with you. This user-friendly approach streamlines the process of accessing and interpreting data, making it more accessible and actionable for everyone involved.

The future is shaped by our actions and how we prepare ourselves and our companies for success. This requires adaptability. It's crucial that our people and processes are ready to adapt, whether it's to AI or other emerging technologies. By fostering adaptability, we can harness technology to improve our businesses, trading relationships, and our careers.

Read about our new product releases here.

Why It’s Time to Adapt & Embrace Change

The use of technology to streamline the rebate cycle and enhance collaboration within the supply chain stems from the recognition that while significant changes have occurred in the evolution of our processes, there's still much more change ahead.  

Simply continuing with what has brought us this far won't suffice: we have to adapt. The pace of change is rapid, meaning people and companies must be prepared to adapt to and leverage these changes. Without evolution and adaptation, we risk falling short of fulfilling our companies' missions and future potential.

We find ourselves in a time of unprecedented transformation, marked by an explosion of data generation and analysis capabilities, all occurring in increasingly real-time contexts. It's crucial that we approach this evolution differently than before, avoiding the trap of expecting different outcomes while adhering to the same old practices. Conditioning ourselves, our teams, and our partners to readily adapt to change and embrace new business methods is essential.

To bring this down to practical terms, consider the rebate reset. Reflect on the effectiveness of current rebate programs in serving customers and facilitating mutual success with trading partners. Do these programs feel like genuine joint business plans or blunt instruments? After reflection, strategize on how to align with customers and partners' objectives, involving internal functions and ensuring clarity with trading partners.

When launching updated rebate programs, start small and gradually expand, providing real-time visibility and tracking progress against every program. It's time to move away from one-size-fits-all approaches and break free from the notion of rebates as entitlements. Tailored programs for each partner, designed to encourage desired behaviors, are the way forward.

As a rebate professional, you possess the keys to unlock this transformation within your organization. Collaborate closely with trading partners, making the process mutually beneficial. Together, you can create tailored programs that drive success for all parties involved.

Embrace this change, as it is your capability that will drive your organizations' and teams' future success. With the right people, processes, and technology, you can thrive in this evolving rebate management landscape.  

Learn more about how Enable is improving relationships throughout the supply chain.