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Where have all the recycling bins gone? Collaboration on Trade Promotion for Going Green

Posted by Janet Zlokovich

As we wrap up the 2009 year, I want to leave you one thought as you have discussions with your supply chain partners on trade promotion . . . .

Collaboration on data exchange should be a key factor when you establish the core objectives for your trade program model. A requirement of the model must include the submission of electronic billback reporting to the manufacturer for claim settlement. It is simply the only way vendor partners will have the proper insight into their business so they can better meet the needs of their customers, distributors and operators.

Answers Systems Eclaim^SM has been our technology solution in production since 2006. All our clients benefit from this service. The ongoing advancements to enhance Eclaim capabilities for managing data continue with each new release. This month we introduced another new feature for loading electronic claim data. We also have dedicated IT resources staffed to retrieve and monitor the file transmissions, standardize the data load, and apply automation for a seamless flow into our ContractPro® solution for claim settlement and Athena^SM reporting.

Some manufacturers who are leading the foodservice industry with this initiative have already implemented this framework to target their company’s objectives. Others are beginning to ask me more questions to better understand how they can incorporate this component into their trade program negotiations. There are already foodservice industry standards in place by GS1 US for the preferred method of reporting billback transactions so the model doesn’t need to be invented, just implemented. I have worked with several distributors who needed guidance or have questions on this document. Others are looking for an interim solution for this format that will be an acceptable alternative.

Overall, I am seeing more companies becoming trading partners rather than partners in business to eliminate paper and drive waste from the supply chain. There can be a tremendous savings for all when the supply chain is synchronized and embraces collaboration to reduce costs.

Print | posted on Monday, December 14, 2009 2:06 PM