Compute various types of rebates and enhance the company’s audit processes.
Automated calculation process
900 person-hours saved every year
Eliminate the possibility of calculation mistakes
Problem
Suppliers frequently provide rebates to large businesses. These rebates are a fantastic cash opportunity, but they are typically challenging to manage. The rebate management is often a mess of emails, spreadsheets, and general ambiguity due to the presence of numerous vendors. A decentralized strategy also hinders the company’s ability to control and fully use the value provided. A client of ours understood that but was held back by the convoluted process they had set up. The proper administration of rebates required many hours of highly manual calculations due to the variety of rebate types – each country was executing data review and calculation contract by contract. This process was extremely prone to errors and dependent on the person familiar with all the details -if they were missing during the month-end process, it couldn’t be finished and caused delays. And to top it all off, the final bonuses needed to be double-checked again by a different team to ensure everything was correct. So, this client decided to contact us to see if their processes could be simplified in any way.
Solution
We developed a solution in the form of an Anaplan model that could compute various types of rebates and enhance the company’s audit processes. The main advantage of our solution is that it completely automates the calculations of rebates dependent on achieved quantity or price thresholds. This model created significant flexibility when creating various rebate types and new contracts. The model’s straightforward user interface provides an effortless overview of data and makes its use easy and intuitive. Additionally, all data is stored in one place, creating a single source of truth and increasing transparency and traceability, which in turn enhances the audit processes.
Success
Ultimately, our solution helped our client save a ton of time by automating the calculation process. This new model saves a staggering 900 person-hours every year in rebate calculations. Not only does it save time, but it also saves human effort and virtually eliminates the possibility of calculation mistakes. Additionally, calculations can be done on a more detailed level. Previously calculations were done on the product family level, and now they can go all the way to the lowest product level. Transparency and traceability are significantly increased by providing an enhanced audit process. And to top it all off, users have to opportunity for data adjustment and validation. All this allows management and finance teams to stay on top of repayment terms and to provide a better position for negotiating rebate terms.
