Solving the deals and rebates challenge in your food ERP system

The food business has been positively impacted over the last 20 years, technology advancements have helped to bring efficiencies to the global food supply chain. Local and regional distributors that don’t have deep pockets wonder how they can flourish while staying market competitive.

Historically, legacy food and beverage ERP systems have not been fully equipped with all pieces of the business puzzle. It is not uncommon to see disparate systems being used for operations, tracking promotional dollars, accounting and so on. It is time to embrace change and progress from older business models and jump, fully prepared, into the rapidly changing flow of business today.

But how?

As technology makes the world smaller and markets closer, the niches we used to play in are slowly transforming into commodities. The answer is often a mix of hard work, smart business decisions, and the ability to identify areas of opportunity and converting that into growth. This includes picking the right technology partner!

Identify your requirements for new technology

Adopting and taking advantage of an evolved, purpose-built enterprise food distribution software solution is step one.

Use this process manufacturing ERP selection guide to find the right software for your food business

A software solution is powerful when it helps you perform every business task with ease and accuracy. One key element within the food business is razor thin margins. So, how does one sustain and survive in a highly competitive industry? It is imperative to find opportunities to make profits. An integrated ERP system which tracks deals, rebates and promotions accurately; and earn money on time will prove that line item profitability is not a myth anymore. Deals and rebates have been a continuous challenge. Several contributing factors—such as creative manufacturers, under-equipped staff at the food distributor, and the business of getting product out the door quickly—have led to distributors’ losing money on unclaimed rebates.

As a business owner, ask yourself these questions:

• Are you missing profit-making opportunities because deal management is too cumbersome and manual? How inefficient is your time utilization with regards to keying in multiple deals for customers and vendors? 
• Have you missed out on deal monies because you found out about the deal well after related transactions were already processed, or because they were dated incorrectly?
• Are you able to track the progressively more complex deals that manufacturers are creating?
• Are you spending time manually reconciling your claims and would like to have proactive electronic claims processing set up with your manufacturer for quick turnaround of the deal monies?
• Are you unable to track deals for your customers and vendors as a service?

If you answer even one of these queries with a resounding “yes!”, it is time to empower yourself with a robust enterprise food distribution software solution that is purpose-built and incorporates intelligent deal and rebate management. It is time to buy smart/sell smart and make money in the process!

What sort of food ERP solution to look for

Look for a purpose-built, fully integrated ERP solution for the food and beverage industry. While ensuring operational accuracy - the right product, reaches the right customer at the right time, realize that it is important that the business owner seizes profit making business opportunities, as and when they present themselves or be proactive about them.

With built in capabilities to handle the most complex deal and rebate models, a purpose-built ERP system gives you the tools to accurately accrue and capture deal monies, offer promotions to boost sales and promote profitable products and reduce cost by strategizing reduction of less profitable and low movement items. It will help you immediately account for the vendor receivables and customer payouts. Be encouraged that you can respond to the manufacturers’ challenges with confidence with a system that’s at the forefront of the emerging practice of competitive price agreements and bill-backs based on manufacturers’ list price. Understand that growth is never by mere chance; it is the result of powerful forces working together!