The Client

Established in 1959, ORS Nasco is a single-source industrial wholesaler that offers over 200,000 products from more than 600 renowned brands. The company is committed to delivering exceptional customer service and fostering strong relationships with both customers and suppliers. With 14 strategically situated distribution centers in the United States, Canada and the Middle East, ORS Nasco ensures that customer orders are promptly fulfilled.

Adnan Ovcina, the Rebate Finance Manager at ORS Nasco, recently shared insights with us. In his role, he is responsible for managing both customer and supplier rebates. He also oversees accruals, reporting and payments to Affiliated Distributors, a buying group that ORS Nasco is a member of, and manages diverse individual customers.

As a wholesale business, rebates play a critical role in the growth and success of ORS Nasco. Adnan tells us, “From the customer perspective, rebates serve as a major driver of sales, providing a powerful incentive for loyal and expanding customer relationships. Combined with other elements of effective customer relationship management, rebates are key to ensuring sustained growth of these relationships.  

Adnan continues, “On the supplier side, rebates are equally important, serving as a vital component in enhancing ORS Nasco's overall business performance.”

The Challenge

ORS Nasco's decision to adopt a rebate management platform was motivated by several factors, including the complexity of their Excel files, inconsistencies in file structures, formula-related issues, lengthy processes, the unique nature of rebates, a high risk of errors and inconsistent transfer of data between employees.

ORS Nasco was previously investing considerable time and resources in managing rebates using spreadsheets. In addition, preparing a single customer rebate spreadsheet took up to four business days to prepare. The company also communicates with a high volume of rebate customers, including large buying groups and individual customers.

Adnan says, "My team and I aim to simplify our complex rebate processes on both the customer and supplier sides, striving for universal applicability and an error-free operation. Our goal is to enhance efficiency in calculating, accruing, reporting and disbursing rebate funds."

The Software

ORS Nasco has been a customer of Enable since December 2021 and as a result they have experienced a considerable simplification in their rebate process. This simplification has led to the company having a single source of truth for their rebate management.  

Being used to complexity and errors of spreadsheet, Adnan was initially sceptical that Enable would resolve some of their issues and remained sceptical through implementation as well.  

He says, "Many people purchasing new software are often sceptical and resistant to change, even when the change can simplify and streamline processes. However, since adopting Enable, I have overcome my initial scepticism and fully trust the software.”

Continuous Support from the Enable Team

They appreciate the constant user support provided by Enable. Referring to onboarding of Enable, Adnan comments, "The consultants at Enable provided us with continuous support from the initial meeting to the go-live of the platform. We had regular meetings, and email communication was available if any issues arose during the implementation, testing, and pre- and post-go-live phases."

Speeding up the Process

In the past, ORS Nasco spent a significant amount of time managing rebates through spreadsheets, which was a complicated and error-prone process. However, the adoption of Enable has simplified and accelerated the process while ensuring data accuracy.  

As Adnan explains, "Using Enable has helped me to save time on administrative and Excel management tasks, allowing me to focus on analyzing data that drives company results."

AD and Enable: Enhancing the Process Together

Adnan noted that the adoption of Enable’s rebate management software by both AD and ORS Nasco has led to a substantial enhancement of their reconciliation processes.  

"The software ensures that baselines are coordinated, ORS sales to AD members are reported timely and accurately into AD, and member moves are also coordinated on both sides. Therefore, year-end numbers and ORS liability towards AD based on rebates are on the same page with AD's calculation, without any past reconciliatory issues," explained Adnan.

Buying Group Member Change Management

Being a member of AD, ORS Nasco is able to effectively use the rebate management system to track changes in their historical and current data. This approach ensures that any corresponding adjustments to rebate payments or accruals are made accurately and efficiently.  

Adnan tells us, “Effective buying group member change management can help ensure that everyone receive the rebates they are entitled to, while minimizing the potential for errors or discrepancies in rebate processing.”

The Future at ORS Nasco

ORS Nasco is embracing the future with its recent acquisition/merger of a similar business, which involves merging the two companies' rebate departments. To further enhance their rebate management solution, they are collaborating with the Enable team to develop and integrate additional rebate channels.  

To improve their rebate management process further, ORS Nasco is assessing other features including progress tracker.

“From a supplier rebate perspective, I am looking forward to exploring Enable’s Progress Tracker. I believe this tool will help our merchandising manager plan purchases accordingly and with knowledge of how far away in purchases are we from achieving a new rebate tier."‍