The Company

Timber and Building Supplies Holland (TABS) is a holding company consisting of 15 companies in the building supplies industry in the Netherlands, managing approximately 110 outlets across the country. Its two largest divisions, Yeoman Hill and PontMeyer, serve as the primary wholesalers in this market. In addition to these core businesses, TABS owns several other companies that specialize in various building materials, including interior solutions, suspended ceilings, partition walls, and exterior facades. This diverse portfolio of companies operates under a single umbrella, offering a comprehensive range of building solutions.

John Groen serves as the Central Purchasing Manager and is responsible for overseeing the procurement of all materials except timber and wooden panels. By negotiating rebate agreements, Groen ensures that TABS maintains strong relationships with suppliers, fostering long-term partnerships that benefit both parties.

Rebates Protect Margins and Stabilize Pricing

In the current market, there's a strong focus on price sensitivity. Without careful management, sales teams may offer lower prices to customers over time, leading to price erosion. To address this, TABS recognized the need for a safeguard in the form of rebates. Rebates act as a safety valve, helping to protect margins and stabilize pricing.

Groen says, "The rebates we receive are a substantial part of our revenue and overall results as a distributor. That's why we prioritize managing this amount of money carefully—it's a significant sum that comes in each year, and we want to maintain that."

Member of Ferney Buying Group

TABS joined Ferney’s buying group to gain access to suppliers with whom they were either not working at all or had limited engagement. As Groen explains, “We are very small, so we don’t have a strong purchasing position. By joining a purchasing group like Ferney, we easily access new suppliers with favorable conditions and rebates.”

In addition to gaining access to new suppliers with favorable rebates, TABS discovered that existing agreements with suppliers listed at Ferney sometimes offered better rebates on invoices than their own. Furthermore, the payment conditions with certain suppliers were more advantageous, resulting in immediate revenue opportunities for the company.

Groen notes, “Ferney has definitely helped us broaden our horizons in terms of our shop assortment, especially in tools and power tools. We’ve also connected with many new companies in that market, and they share insights about their successes, which is always valuable.”

The Challenges

Volume of Suppliers

Groen explains, “One of the challenges with managing rebates is handling the complexities that come with a large number of suppliers. For example, if you have 200 suppliers, about 25 are typically the big players, and everyone tends to focus on them while the rest are often overlooked. From my perspective, the real opportunity for growth isn't just with those top 25 suppliers. While there are certainly opportunities there, the larger potential lies with the remaining 75% that aren't receiving as much attention. That's why having a rebate system that provides alerts and identifies growth opportunities is so valuable."

Manual Storage of Agreements

At TABS, rebate agreements were previously stored in Word documents, PDFs, and Excel files. Groen notes, “Everyone in this industry understands how disorganized that can get.” To address this issue, he decided to implement Enable, which allows all information to be shared not only with colleagues but also with suppliers, ensuring that everyone uses the same data.

Agreements Lost in Translation

Groen explains, “I’m a bit old-fashioned—when I meet with a supplier, I jot things down in a notebook. But then I have to transfer that into a Word document, PDF, or Excel file. Then, my colleagues come in and want to tweak the Excel file because it doesn't work for them. Soon, the finance department gets involved and says they can't use our Excel sheet, so they make their own. This constant back-and-forth leads to translation errors, and eventually, the original agreement no longer matches what we end up with.”

He continues, “That’s where problems start, and it’s something you want to avoid. With a system like Enable, everyone works from the same platform—it’s transparent, consistent, and accessible to everyone in the company. That’s why I prefer using a system like this."

Valuable Time Wasted

Groen remarks, “The time lost when not using a platform like Enable can be difficult to measure. You lose a significant amount of time searching for information, verifying details, and double-checking with colleagues who may be using different templates. I wouldn’t even attempt to estimate the exact time wasted, but it’s substantial. Managing rebates through various methods is simply not efficient.”

Missing Rebate Earnings

Groen states, “Of course, we have missed out on rebate earnings. I believe in the goodness of people, and I don’t think suppliers intentionally forget anything. However, they are human, and mistakes do happen. When both we and the suppliers lack control over the situation, it’s inevitable that we will miss out on rebates. While this will occur, the challenge is that you can’t quantify it because you simply don’t know the extent of the losses.”

The Software

Why Enable?

Before choosing Enable, Groen explored other solutions. In his previous role at a French company, they developed their own system, but he did not see that as a feasible project for TABS. Instead, they went to the market and evaluated three or four other platforms before concluding that Enable was the best fit for their needs.

Groen says, “The primary reason for choosing Enable was the simplicity it offered. We believed we could easily input all the data we had into the rebate management system. Ultimately, it was the ease of use that convinced us.”

Maximizing Opportunities Through a Collaborative Partnership  

Groen shares, “The onboarding process with Enable took around eight weeks, and it was a positive learning experience for both teams. As we got to know each other, it became clear that while Enable has extensive experience with companies like TABS, every company brings its own unique needs and priorities to the table.”

He continues, “Now, we’re truly maximizing our partnership with Enable—engaging in discussions about what we can do, what we should do, and what the next steps are. It’s inspiring to see the enthusiasm among my team as they uncover new opportunities that didn’t exist before. Overall, our collaboration has flourished over the last two years.”

Simplifying Agreements

Groen says, “Enable has simplified our agreements with suppliers, making the purchasing process more straightforward. As a result, colleagues from other departments at TABS, such as product management and marketing, have become more engaged. They now have the ability to negotiate independently and collect funds for the campaigns they wish to implement.”

Faster Agreement Creation

Groen says, “What we were most excited about was the speed with which we could conclude agreements at the year-end. Now that we’re at the beginning of October, the negotiation season is starting. Previously, we needed a lot of time to prepare new contracts for the upcoming year, but now it’s like flipping a switch—the new agreements for 2025 are already in place. We can then make small adjustments as needed. The speed of this process is incredible, and my team appreciates it, which is a significant advantage.”

He continues, “Typically, we’ve managed to have all agreements signed by June, but now we aim to complete this process by March. My expectation is that within the next one or two years, we will have all agreements signed by the end of February.”

Straightforward Agreement Approval Process

Groen states, “The approval process and workflows in Enable are really very straightforward. My colleagues create a draft of an agreement, and it’s automatically transferred to me for review. I can screen it, ask questions, and make comments. If I have no comments, I simply click to approve, and it goes to the supplier.

“The supplier has the same opportunity—they can ask questions, comment, and send it back. If everything is okay, we can sometimes finalize an agreement within an hour, moving it from draft to completed.”

Transparent Collaboration

Groen emphasizes, “Enable enhances the relationship with our suppliers through its transparency. Both parties can access what has been entered into the system, eliminating the need to send PDFs back and forth or draft texts in Word that may not accurately reflect our agreements. Instead, during negotiations, we can input all the details directly into the platform. This level of transparency is appreciated by our suppliers and significantly streamlines the signing process.”

Fully Aligned on Expectations

Groen says, “With Enable, I emphasize the importance of having manageable agreements. I always say, ‘If I can’t manage it, don’t agree to it.’ Suppliers are starting to grasp this concept. The Enable platform provides valuable insights into the rebates we require, particularly in terms of bonuses, and helps us identify which current rebates should be integrated into our sales process as incentives. Overall, Enable facilitates clearer communication with our suppliers, ensuring everyone is aligned on expectations.”

Negotiating Favorable Terms

Groen explains, “The Enable system significantly enhances our ability to negotiate better rebate agreements and terms. For instance, you can take the turnover data for 2024, create a draft for 2025, and easily compare it with the draft provided by the supplier to identify the most favorable terms. This system is incredibly helpful in the negotiation process.”

Tier Insights and Notifications

“Enable provides valuable insights into our turnover tiers. If the stages between tiers are too large, the system alerts us—indicating, for example, that we need another million to reach the next percentage tier. This insight allows us to adjust our strategy accordingly and avoid making overly ambitious targets.” Tracking Rebate Earnings

Groen states, “With Collaborator, we have a comprehensive overview of all the rebate earnings we are entitled to, which is a significant improvement over our previous methods. Before, we had to sift through Excel sheets and do a lot of manual work and simulations ourselves. The platform automates this process for us.

He continues, “Now, we can focus on what we’re entitled to and when we need to follow up with our suppliers. The system even highlights the suppliers that need to be chased, reducing a lot of the manual effort that used to be required.”

Resolving Unreconciled Transactions

Groen reveals, “Before implementing Collaborator, TABS had a staggering €5.5 million in unreconciled transactions. Thanks to Collaborator, we have successfully reduced this figure to just €51,000. However, we still deal with a substantial amount of turnover that isn't covered by a single agreement.”

He continues, “To manage this, we must closely monitor transactions made at our branches. When a branch wants to engage with a supplier not listed in our system, they need to obtain permission from either the supplier, the purchaser, or me. If they can provide a valid reason, we will open the supplier in our ERP system. If not, the transaction cannot proceed. Currently, the Enable platform doesn’t assist with this process because there’s no existing link between our SAP system and Enable, but we are actively working on that integration.”

Finance App

Groen states, “The finance app will be instrumental in helping us streamline everything agreed upon by the purchasing department and handing the accurate earnings information over to the finance team. However, for this to function effectively, all suppliers need to upload their turnover data into the system. We are currently in the process of onboarding new suppliers each week, and while we’re not fully there yet, we hope to reach 95% participation by the end of the year.”

Achieving a 0.75% Increase in Total Purchasing Turnover

Groen explains, “Thanks to Enable, we’re in the process of improving our rebates as a percentage of our total purchasing turnover. While we haven’t seen a significant increase yet, we have managed to add another 0.75% over the past year. This improvement comes from taking a closer look at the 75% of suppliers we usually overlook. By focusing on these suppliers as well, we can achieve a better percentage overall on our total purchasing turnover.”