The Company  

APP Wholesale Ltd is a leading national distributor of central heating, hot water, plumbing, and renewable energy products in the UK. The company serves thousands of customers every day and works closely with a wide range of suppliers. Over the years, APP Wholesale has seen significant changes in the heating industry, particularly as the sector moves toward electrification and renewable energy sources. 80% of their revenue comes from boiler manufacturers offering rebates.

Matt Alcraft, Finance Director at APP Wholesale, highlights the pivotal role rebates play in the company’s strategic approach to these industry transitions. "Rebates form a key part of how we transition with new suppliers and with our existing suppliers. As the industry moves from boilers to heat pumps, rebates are a vital tool for aligning everyone behind that shift," says Alcraft.  

The Challenges

Overcoming Information Gaps

One of the major obstacles APP Wholesale faced was capturing rebate data accurately and addressing the lack of information. According to Alcraft, "It's a huge thing with internal communication within the business—sales teams, commercial teams on the supply side—getting the information and knowing about rebates is crucial. If we don’t know about them, we can’t accrue them."

He also emphasizes the importance of external alignment: "Getting aligned with the rebate partner externally and then sharing that internally so that we’ve done the hard work in the negotiation and then making sure we’re not leaving any money on the table, not mismanaging the rebates that we’ve agreed."

No Scalability with Spreadsheets

In addition to the communication barrier, managing the sheer volume and complexity of rebates was overwhelming. The company had rebates with both suppliers and customers, but these were tracked using spreadsheets, which couldn't handle the scale. Alcraft explains, "It’s very easy to miss updating a dataset or get a calculation wrong. We were also spending too much time calculating historical rebates, which left no room to explore future opportunities."

Driving Accuracy with Rebates

With rebates having a significant impact on the distributor's profitability, accuracy was crucial. "Rebates make the difference between profitability and loss. We operate on very low margins, so getting the rebates right is key," Alcraft emphasizes.

Adapting To Changing Rebate Conditions  

While annual volume rebates may seem reasonable at the start of the year, they can quickly become outdated as market conditions shift. What seemed appropriate in January might no longer align with reality by the end of a quarter, let alone by October or November.  

Alcraft says, "The ability to model, forecast, and assess current conditions to determine what’s appropriate—and then communicate these changes to suppliers and customers—has been one of the biggest hurdles we plan to overcome with Enable." He further adds, "If you can’t adapt quickly, then you are at risk of being left behind."

The Platform

Data Automatically Imported into the ERP System

Previously, APP Wholesale used to close their accounts around working day 14, largely due to the complexity of rebates. Now, the process is much faster, thanks to the ability to post rebates directly into the system with Enable.  

Alcraft notes, “Enable has been a game-changer for us. The integration with our ERP ensures that all data is captured accurately and in a timely manner. It’s the efficiency of handling everything in one go, rather than having to update multiple spreadsheets and manually calculate everything, that has made all the difference.”

Proactive Rebate Optimization

With Enable, APP Wholesale is now able to identify "white spaces" or missed rebate opportunities, allowing them to work with suppliers to increase margins. They can also share rebate data with both internal teams and suppliers, enhancing visibility.

Alcraft comments, "Visibility is key. Both within the business and with our suppliers, sharing the data ensures that everyone is aligned on what’s working well and where improvements are needed. We're able to react to trends and partner with suppliers more proactively.”

Improved Accuracy and Efficiency

With rebates automatically linked to the ERP system, APP Wholesale has minimized human error. Alcraft explains, "Inevitably, with manual processes, human error happens a lot. With Enable, it’s happening much less now. The system reduces the chances of making mistakes and gives us confidence in the accuracy of the data."

Stronger Internal Collaboration

The platform has fostered better collaboration between APP Wholesale’s commercial, sales, and purchasing teams. Alcraft explains, "Linking up the buy side and the sell side has made us work much more closely together. It’s driven strategic alignment and improved communication across the business."

Taking a Strategic Approach with Rebates

The adoption of Enable has transformed APP Wholesale’s rebate strategy, shifting from a reactive, tactical approach to a more strategic, data-driven model. The ability to model, forecast, and adjust rebate agreements has allowed APP Wholesale to be more adaptive.  

Alcraft comments, "Now, we use the data and Enable system to bring them in line with our overall business strategy. It’s allowed us to dive into a level of detail we didn’t used to be able to. We can now analyze rebates at the product line level, helping us understand which ones are driving good margins and which are not."  

"Enable has given APP Wholesale comfort knowing that we have accurate, timely data, and that we can share it with the people who need it. It’s made a huge difference in how we manage rebates," concludes Alcraft.