Janet Zlokovich

Traveling Where the Road Leads Us While Influencing the Path Along the Way

Answers Systems — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 14:44:27 GMT

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 to best manage your health, we do the same analysis for the care and implementation for our client’s contract requirements to achieve successes and sustainable longevity in contract and rebate management. Regular check-ups to assess our tools and services helps assist us with the diagnostics to determine if we need to recalibrate and adjust the track we laid to accommodate the larger population or improve the quality of results.

During the early years of contract and rebate management, there were not many requirements for formalizing the agreement between the manufacturer and Contractee. Some agreements were actually documented on cocktail napkins and translated from the disposable paper. Fast forward to the future, there is now a common infrastructure platform that meets the distinct and unique requirements for each Answers Systems’ client. I could go on considerably longer talking about all the changes in foodservice and how we have supported them through our tools and services, but would like to focus on one initiative that is very important to our company. The GS1 standards adoption - http://www.gs1us.org/sectors/foodservice/foodservice_initiative_roadmap are foodservice industry standards that we are ready to embrace for our data alignment. We now have a GS1 Company Prefix and are prepared for this journey.

This year Answers Systems celebrated our 25th anniversary. During this time of reflection on how far we’ve traveled in this business, we take pride in knowing we are recognized as the leading provider of Contract Management and trade spending Solutions for the Foodservice industry. Without the knowledge and experience gained through managing trade spend for our manufacturer and operator clients in the preceding years, we wouldn’t be able to chart the path that has put us at the front of the race. The phase “You Don’t Know What You Don’t know” is a motivation for learning more and expanding our knowledge so we can represent and recommend the industry’s best practices for contract and rebate management. We are poised and ready to react to the constantly changing foodservice industry and challenging economic climate. Every penny counts in this business!

As more trading partners engage in contract negotiations, they need a qualified service to offer guidance and support in addition to the optimum software that will be the right diet to achieve the “single source of the truth” when they communicate and publish their agreement to all the contract parties. The bricks along with the mortar will be the necessary vitamin to sustain a strong foundation throughout the contract lifecycle. Our trade spend management settlement will benchmark the contract against the submitted claim for reimbursement so we know tractability of the negotiated terms by your sales organization is mandatory.

Data Acquisition Made Easy

Answers Systems — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 17:14:32 GMT

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 they contribute to the majority of billback claim submissions.

Regardless if it is a new file format or changing the host connectivity for the file transfer protocol, Answers Systems has been able to successfully react to streamlining these new requirements into our data acquisition model. We embrace and influence the technology evolution, while at the same time recognize it will take staffed professionals and expertise to translate and integrate these changes to our data load automation processes.

A big part of why this has become a reality is because Answers Systems has the knowledge and proven expertise for managing electronic data. This skill is recognized as a core competency in our portfolio of accomplishments. We have dedicated resources focused on performing these services because we know trading partner requirements will change. We’ve been in full production with accepting and loading billback claim data files since 2006, so we stand tall compared to other trade promotion management services.

In one recent example, a new approach was required to load a data file, which that had been converted from the source specification after it was exported by an E-Commerce service, into our system. It was a challenge but not a roadblock. We feel this is just another illustration of our acceptance and preparedness for doing business with a wide range of trading partners.

Answers Systems’ manufacturer clients benefit from our data extraction capabilities with enhanced reporting they can use for collaboration and developing business strategies with their shared customer. When the data file is an electronic output file, a manufacturer has visibility and access to all the information submitted on the deviated claim. Unlike the “summary totals” information that we commonly hear is the normal data capturing method prior to using our trade promotion management services.

In our opinion, there is never too much data! Every sales transaction reported as part of the deviation support is captured to allow a comprehensive analysis of the claim submission. This return verified information to the claimant that will assist with the sync of their internal rebate tracking.

Our data acquisition resources can offer qualified and experienced recommendations for the preferred file type and transmission method. The charter at Answers Systems is to follow the GS1 US standards (http://www.gs1us.org/sectors/foodservice) but we are flexible and will accept alternative file layouts knowing that it can take time for some trading partners to adopt and enhance their systems to meet these requirements.

Technorati tags: Technology, trade promotion management, data acquistion

Trade Spend Solution..What’s the “Big Deal”?

Answers Systems — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 20:48:46 GMT

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 reducing their price to be lowest for comparable products? Especially if they are currently the market leader for their product category…..Has the manufacturer made the correct choice and will their campaign result in long-term gains to permanently change the consumer’s behavior?

I think the same approach and thought process can be applied for the Trade Spend Management and how the manufacturer will offer incentives that target electronic claim submission as a requirement for meeting the contract criteria. Earned Income/Shelter Rebates, Corporate and Local Growth programs and Marketing spiffs are all ways the manufacturer can change behavior for their distributors….while Deviated Pricing and Headquarter Rebates are the most effective ways to influence their operators – both national chains as well as local independents. It can be an attainable goal to have this impact on your customers reporting if the contract terms are structured correctly. Reward those who are compliant and incent others when they are willing to commit to enhancing their billback reporting capabilities.

According to the recent The Hale Group and Market Intelligence survey , 81% of the respondents said that they receive less than 50% of their distributor Proof of Performance claims in a usable electronic format. For clients that use Answers Systems ContractPro® for their Contract Management and trade spending Solution, electronic data is a “big deal”! This efficiency is utilized to the fullest when we leverage our advanced technology and experienced resources to maximize this capability. Even though we have exceeded the 2010 industry projection of 50% - Answers Systems attained over 80% compliance with our data acquisition on Trade Spend claim submission from distributors and operators, there is still much more on our roadmap which we plan to do. data acquisition is constantly in motion so we can receive more electronic billback reporting rather than paper….not to mention trading partners have evolving technology and will completely overhaul their internal systems, impacting their billback reporting.

Another criteria Trade investment measurement for a manufacturer is having visibility to their product movement throughout the supply chain. Without this critical information, they have no way to measure their customer’s success. The foundation for trackability requires full operator unit address information for each contracted sale. Deviated billback reporting from the distributor and Operator purchase rebates should include the unit where the product was sold. This information will help the manufacturer discuss strategies with their distributors for growing their business with their shared customer.

Overall, establishing benchmark terms for your Trade Spend programs are important to ensure manufacturers will get a return on their investment from the customer. Just like the marketing campaigns in the grocery store, you should be able to measure your expectations against your customer’s performance. Validation is an important step prior to finalizing any contract to make sure your customers reporting capabilities meet the objectives. This will better position your company to increase your ROI and meet the objectives for sales growth and distributor and operator penetration.

Technorati tags: Trade Spend Management, Rebates, Foodservice

Tangled in a Web...Based Portal Application?

Answers Systems — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 19:43:09 GMT

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 for their contract entry requirements. It allows users online access and visibility 24/7 working as if a program was installed locally on the user’s own computer.

On the other hand, the challenge for manufacturers accessing web-based applications is they must now have dedicated resources to support the redundant work required for any Distributor/Operator portal since most already have a Trade Promotion solution such as Answers Systems' ContractPro®. As a result, with each new portal, user resource time for manufacturers to train and administer these portals along with the risk of contract information not being in sync for both applications continues to increase with each new portal. This factor needs to be considered a performance metric for determining the success of any portal solution. In addition, a trading partner interface that allows connectivity for the initial phase of the application release needs to be a requirement for any portal.

As Answers Systems hears about new portal projects in progress for any Distributor, Operator, Redistributors, or 3rd Party provider that impacts trade promotion management, Answers Systems is prepared and ready to become engaged with the initiative. We want to participate in any pilot and/or be part of the solution to gain connectivity for our manufacturer client’s contracts to remove the redundancy.

For example, Answers Systems went live on September 13th, 2010 with the FSEnet+ Contract Management Portal for publication of contracts to Distributors and Operators from our ContractPro® application and has proven success with establishing connectivity for contract communication. As a result, we currently have 4 ContractPro® clients that are now fully integrated with this contract interface and others are being staged for onboarding.

Answers Systems has almost 25 years of and understands the impact portals can have on Contract Management for our manufacturer clients - they look to us to represent their collective voice for the industry on topics that support standards initiatives. ContractPro® is our trade promotion management solution for foodservice manufacturers and it is our goal to provide our clients a single point of entry for their Distributor and Operator contracts.

Technorati tags: foodservice, web-based portal applications, cloud computing, trade promotion management

DATA ACQUISITION FOR TRADE PROMOTION MANAGEMENT - ELECTRONIC BILLBACK CLAIM SUBMISSION “MADE EASY”

Answers Systems — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 18:27:39 GMT

by Janet Zlokovich

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 claim submission.

Specifications are already in place for the EDI 867 Product Transfer and Resale Report – Foodservice Billback document. This industry standard document was developed through the efforts of the GS1 US Foodservice committee. We are currently receiving claim data from distributors who have used these guidelines for their development.

My role in Data Acquisition at Answers Systems is to promote electronic data transmissions for billback reporting. When we receive a data extract file, I perform the mapping alignment to our EclaimSM table where the data can be staged and synchronized for standardization. We have a dedicated group of IT professionals that manage the data files and load process. Whenever possible, automation is applied to streamline and expedite. The end result is a paperless workflow that can drive waste out of the supply chain. I am always ready to share my experiences on how I have worked with other distributors to transition to the EDI 867 while having minimal impact on effort, time and resources. Distributors who have used this document as the spec have been able to apply their own translation based on the data available from their internal rebate applications and financial systems. They are able to substantiate and support the goal of 1 standard file layout for all their claim data. Another advantage is being able to automate the transmission to the manufacturer so they can receive prompt payment for their billback invoice and have a positive impact cash flow.

Even through it’s our preference to receive the EDI 867-Billback, we are flexible and can accept other file types such as Text (delimited-character), CSV and Excel. The file transmission can be transmitted via FTP or email. My recommendation is to use FTP to our secure site to allow automation and tracking receipt for the file delivery. If you are interested in receiving more information, contact Janet Zlokovich at janet.zlokovich@answerssystems.com or call 727-639-2151.

Technorati tags: deviated billbacks, electronic billback reporting,data acquistion

With the constant evolution of supply chain technology, nothing ever stays the same--it’s changing all the time

Answers Systems — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 13:44:54 GMT

by Janet Zlokovich

Answers Systems has been in production with our proprietary application, Eclaim^SM 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 dedicated IT professional resources that serves as a pipeline to load electronic files for our manufacturer claim settlement processing and data acquisition services.

As distributors and operators change their technology, file layouts, and access points, Answers Systems needs to keep up with the pace while gaining traction on new data acquisition. We target full automation from the file retrieval all the way though loading electronic billback claim files via Eclaim. Sometimes there is a curve in the road and we need to calibrate and customize to get beyond the bend. Each company can have different formats and file types so it requires us to tailor our data capture and translate to the industry standards regardless of whatever the claimant can offer. Data is then synchronized and staged to our standard file preferred layout.

**Currently 75% of the billback claims are Eclaim

A recent announcement from iTradeNetwork, on behalf of Sodexo, instructed our manufacturers to change the current claim submission workflow and download invoices manually from CaRMA. The new layout required both data acquisition and IT resources to complete the new set up for a seamless transition and no interruption with Eclaim processing. Our clients can be assured we will react to change, represent their collective voice, and evolve with the most current supply chain technology.

Technorati tags: data acquisition, data synchronization,billback, supply chain, eclaim

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

Answers Systems — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 19:06:41 GMT

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^SMhas 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.

Technorati tags: GS1 US, contract collaboration, supply chain synchronization, contract collaboration, trade promotion management, claim settlement

Technorati tags: data acquisition, data synchronization

Contract Collaboration: Automation for Electronic Contract Supply Chain Efficiencies

Answers Systems — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 22:03:38 GMT

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 Eclaim^SM; calibration occurs when the claimant submits all billbacks in an electronic format. To learn more about what the industry is doing to support this initiative: Foodservice GS1 US Standards Initiatives

Every foodservice Manufacturer, Distributor and Operator wants to know they are a valuable asset to their trading partners. All parties need to be able to understand their business and make decisions on how to implement the most comprehensive terms for embracing and growing supply chain partnerships. Understandably, every company has their own strategies and core objectives but when the approving hierarchy is ready to sign off on the contract, they need to know they can achieve measurable ROI results.

Trade Spend for Distributor Earned Income, Deviated Pricing, Fixed Rate Allowances and Operator Headquarter Rebates are an effective way for manufacturers to incent their Distributor and Operator customers on purchase compliance. It opens the door for Manufacturers to have discussions with their customer and review expectations on their spend attainment and tracking volume milestones for new and future negotiations. An important consideration for these negotiations is to incorporate language to ensure the billback reporting is in an electronic format. It eliminates paper from the supply chain and allows Eclaim to automate the file load.

Distributors and Operators want to be able to sit down with their suppliers to understand the expectations for earning the incentive. Remember, not everything can be accomplished the first year. Begin with benchmarks that can be measured based on your current business while setting expectations to incent future milestones. This will lead the way toward new collaboration.

ContractPro® is the Trade Spend technology used by Answers Systems clients who choose claim settlement and reconciliation as a service – it is an important tool and provides visibility for the entire supply chain. Claim settlement and reconciliation is most effective when the billback reimbursement request is provided in an electronic format and provides all the required supporting information down to the unit level. This will yield the maximum benefit for everyone because there is visibility to the entire supply chain business.

When I think about the basics for trade spend contract management negotiations, I apply some valuable knowledge I received years ago during management training about how to develop SMART goals. It sounds easy and makes sense but it takes considerable time to be realistic and know you will be able to execute the terms of the contract. The reality is if you don’t negotiate correctly prior to signing the contract, you might not be able to make the Contractee accountable to your terms. Always be sure to validate that it is truly electronic reporting according to the specifications below. For example a PDF sent via email is not valid for electronic reporting.

Specifications for Electronic Reporting:

I. File Type

A flat file is the minimum requirement for sending reporting in an electronic format. This would include 1 header row for column labels.

a) EDI 867-Billback

b) Text file formats (delimited-character)

c) Excel

II. File Content

a) Detailed sales transaction records for every invoice

b) Location level summary that qualifies for a pricing, allowance, or rebate incentive

III. File Transmission Delivery

a) File Transfer Protocol (FTP) used to exchange files

b) Email

Here are some tips on how you can apply SMART goal criteria:

Specific: Goals must be clear and unambiguous.

All billback claims should be submitted in an electronic format – the standard method for Billback claim settlement.

Measurable: You need to be able to measure your goal.

Include specific language that outlines the terms and conditions to qualify.

Don’t negotiate terms that cannot be executed and measured. Make sure your Trade Spend technology solution such as ContractPro can accommodate the terms you negotiate with your trading partner.

Attainable: Implement tier components for your distributor Earned Income and Operator Headquarter contracts. Allow multiple qualifying components for eligibility but remember to validate that the Contractee’s compliance to a certain tier before entering the contract into your Trade Spend software.

Relevant: Apply enough flexibility to the goal in case your Distributor or Operator has system limitations. This will give distributors and operators that require technology improvements the motivation to enhance their current capabilities while rewarding those that have already made the investment to support supply chain efficiencies.

Time-bound: There is no time like the present. Electronic reporting must be in place before agreeing to the terms of a contract. Answers Systems clients will use ContractPro.

Technorati tags: trade spend management, electronic claim, e-claim, ROI

Tax Returns and Trade Spend

Answers Systems — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 19:39:42 GMT

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-file returns to exceed last year’s record of nearly 90 million taxpayers.

Answers Systems has the similar expectations for claims we receive for Trade Spend Management on behalf of our manufacturer clients. Currently 75% of the billback claims we receive from distributors are loaded as “electronic data” using Eclaim^SM. Even better, we expect this ratio to exceed 80% in 2010. As further evidence of Answers Systems superior technology capabilities, Eclaim has become the pipeline to load electronic files for our claim processing and data acquisition services. Through our Eclaim technology, Answers Systems is supporting efforts to drive waste out of the foodservice supply chain. Eclaim provides savings in time and resources (paper, labor), and it increases claim accuracy to help prevent claim/rebate calculation errors.

One way to gain acceptance of the electronic data in the foodservice industry, is to explain how easy converting from paper to electronic can be for the contract claimant. Distributors especially, are sometimes hesitant about changing their current claim layout and developing alternative reporting file types and formats. They feel every manufacturer or trading partner will have different requirements and customizations. My answer to this concern is to use the GS1 EDI 867 standard document for Contract & Rebate Management.

In 2006, the GS1 Foodservice Committee finalized these documents for billback and sales reporting so they are ready for implementation. This committee was a collaboration initiative with manufacturers, distributors and operators. As a participant on this multi-year effort, I saw firsthand how important it is to have a common language for all sides of the foodservice triangle.

I’ve found the distributors that use the EDI 867 for communicating their billbacks have been very satisfied with the specifications. By using this standard spec you will be able to:

Document performance against a contract
Know which transaction sets t should be included in your document
Interpret standards for contract terminology
Understand guidelines for implementation

Since I work with the distributors to make sure we have interpreted and translated every field attribute before doing parallel testing with production data, I can testify to the accuracy. Distributors have all been able to accommodate their trading partner’s requirements by combining both the Header invoice and Detail transaction data in the same file. Some distributors that populate back-end systems with GS1Global Trade Item Numbers have been able to make significant advancements to communicate this data as the UK GTIN 14-digit Data Structure in their 867-billback. If we can match this number with the contract item during claim settlement, it’s a win for all parties to the contract.

As a side note, if a distributor wants their first create a format that requires less EDI expertise in their first attempt, a Text-Delimited format can work well for an alternative in the interim. I’ve seen every possible file type in my role as Data Acquisition Liaison. Answers Systems has a complete staff of Business Intelligence experts who perform the set up and administer ongoing data load for electronic billback files that require this service so we have many options available to assist foodservice with Trade Spend Management.

Technorati tags: trade spend management, contract, billback

Electronic Data for Foodservice Trade Spend Contract Management

Answers Systems — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 12:49:50 GMT

Posted by Janet Zlokovich

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 role in data acquisition includes manufacturer billbacks for distributor deviations, distributor earned income, and operator HQ rebates. On the operator side of the channel we receive sales reporting for our ValuTrak service and order guide price verification. During the 28 years I’ve been in foodservice, 17 were spent in contract management so I’ve seen it all and found it just gets more interesting!

For this Blog, I am going to talk about manufacturer billbacks because of their significant revenue impact to the bottom line. Reduced paper administration, elimination of manual data entry, enhanced working capital, and increased visibility to the entire contract management lifecycle is critical for channel partners to gain a better insight to their business. It’s all about more for less.

Answers Systems has been in production with loading electronic distributor billback claim files to our proprietary application, Eclaim^SM, since 2006. Most of the Top 50 Broadline Distributors have already been implemented. Operator claimants have become our latest target for data acquisition. There are currently 60 operators submitting claims electronically that are set up to be loaded into Eclaim^SM. Over 75 operators are expected to be converted to electronic processing by Dec ’09. We know this will increase data quality at Answers Systems.

Just to give you a glimpse of our definition of “electronic data” for trade spend contract management….the electronic claim lifecycle begins when Answers Systems receives billback submissions invoiced to our manufacturer clients. We have technology capable of transforming several different file types. It all begins when we retrieve the claim file, standardize and translate the data capture, and load the file for processing the same day. Wow, that’s an advancement that rivals any service provider for trade promotion management!

I’ve found creativity, flexibility and persistence to the most important skills I need to use in my job. Each company can have different formats and file types so we tailor our data capture to translate whatever the claimant can offer so the data can be synchronized to our standard file preferred layout. I am really inspired by distributors who are ready to adopt the GS1 US standards for data exchange, but just as excited when I can work with a company who wants to make any advancement toward any type of electronic billback capabilities.

My experience has been where some distributors want to invest in developing an EDI 867-Billback on their first attempt but others will take advantage of an alternative format available to those companies who have technology or resource limitations. Either way our Business Intelligence group can turn a report into electronic data without any human intervention, it’s automation at its finest!

I’ve had distributors that prioritized their development and dedicate the necessary resources to convert to electronic reporting in less than 2 weeks. Others might take 2 years before they finally decide to prioritize the project but then realize it was much easier than first anticipated. Regardless of the time it takes…they’ll hear from me. I guess that is why one distributor nicknamed me the “pleasant pest” because they knew I would be hanging in there until they determined the best solution to fit their needs.

The latest strides in trade send management come from industry leaders who take the initiative to adopt foodservice standards, maximize pricing efficiencies, and look beyond the enterprise to leverage supply chain technologies. One Answers Systems client offers program incentives to their trading partners for customer collaboration. A required element for the program eligibility is electronic claim submission so this initiative translates to value for the manufacturer’s trade spend. They want to be recognized as the most valued supply chain partner and know the key is Electronic Contract Management. It is the critical element that will reduce costs and drive efficiencies.

In my next blog, I will explain how easy it is to convert your paper and current billback reporting into electronic data plus more on how GS1 US standards have formed the framework for the entire contract management lifecycle.

Technorati Tags: foodservice, trade spend, contract management, trade promotion management, rebate management, GS1