Janet Zlokovich
Janet is the Distributor Liaison at Answers Systems
by Janet Zlokovich
As we get older, we gain new knowledge, become more experienced and realize that staying healthy will require us to do more than when we were younger. The right diet, exercise, vitamins and regular doctor visits are all part of the regimen we need to consider for sustaining good health and maintaining a positive quality of life for longevity. Similarly, trade spend management can draw many parallels from this mind set for creating a sound framework and functionality of Answers Systems contract solutions for foodservice. Just as your healthcare provider completes a patient history to better understand how...
By Janet Zlokovich
We are seeing where more manufacturers need our expertise for their Trade Promotion data acquisition. Three sides of the foodservice trading partner triangle – manufacturer, distributor & operator are implementing new enterprise systems and purchasing software applications for their rebate tracking, so there is a downstream impact on their Trade claim reporting. At Answers Systems, we turn this into a positive!! We look for the ultimate benefit the industry will receive from new trading partner capabilities, particularly when they result with an improved billback claim output file or transmission method for delivery. This especially applies to distributors, since...
By Janet Zlokovich
While unpacking my groceries at the check-out line of my local supermarket, I like to look over the discounts I’m going to receive on my purchase. 2 for 1’s are one of my favorite ways to save and usually results in the largest subtraction off my final grocery bill.
Since I am always wearing my Foodservice hat, I ponder the strategy manufacturers have taken to position their products so consumers will notice a sale display and make the ultimate decision to purchase one brand over the competitors. Will the manufacturer receive the ROI they hoped to achieve by...
by Janet Zlokovich
Web-based portal applications hosted by Distributor and Operator trading partners are emerging in today’s foodservice environment as the new “it thing” for handling many aspects of Trade Promotion administration - contract and rebate management.
A frequently used term for these Web-based infrastructures, “Cloud computing” refers to web-based tools and applications that deliver services through common centers and are built on servers accessed via a web browser. We all know maximizing efficiencies is critical to doing business in this competitive market, these applications can result in many benefits for the host company through the framework that will enforce compliance...
Getting Started with submitting Electronic Billback Reporting for deviated billbacks . . .
Many distributors are unsure of where to begin. When I talk to them about sending a data file for their deviated billbacks rather than emailing a static report format, distributors are sometimes hesitant because they want to make sure one solution and the same file layout will satisfy every manufacturer trading partner’s requirements.
The good news is there are easy-to-adopt industry standards for
Answers Systems has been in production with our proprietary application, EclaimSM since 2006 – it’s allowed us to become an industry leader with billback data acquisition and implement foodservice trading partner inter-connectivity at every opportunity. Most of the Top 50 Broadline Distributors have already been set up and 70 of the largest chain operators are sending their claims electronically to their designated client mailbox at Answers.
Eclaim is a perfected blend of technology and dedi
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 insigh
Posted by Janet Zlokovich
Trade Spend Management collaboration means calibrating terms for contract negotiations.
One of my “Best Practice” recommendations for foodservice is to Promote trading partner collaboration for maximizing efficiencies by improving the claim processing timeframe and driving waste from the supply chain by eliminating paper. The way to achieve this objective is with technology such as Answers Systems EclaimSM; calibration occurs when the claimant submits all bill
Post by Janet Zlokovich
Everyone who sends a tax return to the IRS (business or personal) wonders, "How do I know the IRS received it?” Most taxpayers and tax preparers in 2009 used IRS e-file to file their taxes. During this process, they did not have to send a single scrap of paper to the Internal Revenue Service. In January of this year, the IRS was predicting the the total number of individual tax returns, both electronic and paper, to reach about 140 million in 2009. And it expects e-fil
As Data Acquisition Liaison, I work with foodservice distributors to set up electronic data transmissions for trade spend contract management. In today’s competitive economic environment, electronic data and automated file transmissions are key to maximizing trade spend billbacks that occur on the end-of-the-supply-chain. Answers Systems has both manufacturer and operator clients so there are many opportunities to streamline data interchange for all 3 sides of the foodservice triangle.
My
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